Discussion about entry
GoodBank - A bank built by and for social benefit businesses and their conscious consumers
This is discussion about GoodBank - A bank built by and for social benefit businesses and their conscious consumers.
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Sharing some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about GoodBank
Thanks for reading about GoodBank.
I am often asked questions and probed for more details about GoodBank as an ethical bank.
To supplement the Changemakers' entry, I will post some of the questions and answers, and encourage readers to submit others for discussion and learning together.
Many Thanks,
Bruce
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Bruce B. Cahan
bcahan (at) urbanlogic.org
FAQ: What tools will you utilize to measure social impact?
As a regional score, sustainable resiliency® impactfulness will be the main metric GoodBank will use to answer “Did we raise or lower sustainable resiliency® for the regions our bank’s transactions touched?” Likewise, the Means Meter®-ed conscious consumerism will show trends in our customers’ gaining awareness and focusing their concern on improving their personal (reported in the aggregate) focus on healthy living and planetary outcomes. Like other CSR (corporate social responsibility) reports, we will aim to report in GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and standardized comparable formats.
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Bruce B. Cahan
bcahan (at) urbanlogic.org
FAQ: How do you plan to open-source your lending decisions?
Our lending decisions will tie the purposefulness of the credit to its impact on a regional scorecard (sustainable resiliency®).
Much like a FICO score, our calculaton of sustainable resiliency® will be published for regions where our customers have and want to have an impact. Also, our customers’ aggregate conscious consumerism profile priorities (as transacted through their Means Meter® credit card use) will be published, so as to attract corporate and government attention to the eco, health, fair trade, social or other concerns our customers consider relevant to product selection and brand loyalty.
There are other “open source” kinds of information services that GoodBank will gestate, whether that information is free or licensed, is a detail to be discussed.
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Bruce B. Cahan
bcahan (at) urbanlogic.org
FAQ: How do you plan to open-source your lending decisions?
Our lending decisions will tie the purposefulness of the credit to its impact on a regional scorecard (sustainable resiliency®).
Much like a FICO score, our calculaton of sustainable resiliency® will be published for regions where our customers have and want to have an impact. Also, our customers’ aggregate conscious consumerism profile priorities (as transacted through their Means Meter® credit card use) will be published, so as to attract corporate and government attention to the eco, health, fair trade, social or other concerns our customers consider relevant to product selection and brand loyalty.
There are other “open source” kinds of information services that GoodBank will gestate, whether that information is free or licensed, is a detail to be discussed.
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Bruce B. Cahan
bcahan (at) urbanlogic.org
FAQ: Tell us more about “sustainable resiliency” & "Means Meter"
Both have lots more detail.
Simplistically, sustainable resiliency® is a regional backboard (think basketball) composited as an open taxonomy (think Wikipedia®) of concerns about the sustainability and resiliency of regional activities, society and environment. In other words, GoodBank doesn’t create a rating of a region’s quality of life. Instead all the world’s experts and expertise about the region are invited to metatag their knowledge and let sustainable resiliency® fuse it spatially and temporally (by place and time) so as to create a portfolio score. While the sustainable resiliency® algorithm may be proprietary, the calculated results will be publicly available.
The Means Meter® is a platform for discovering and guiding the impacts of conscious consumerism on sustainable resiliency® in a place/region you care most about.
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Bruce B. Cahan
bcahan (at) urbanlogic.org
FAQ: How will you use procurement visualization software?
This is a way to see and use patterns of procurement by government and corporations to aim at social goals, instead of campaign financiers’ goals. Government procurement data can be mined for such patterns, whereby GoodBank as a merchant bank can extend working capital and expansion financing to worthwhile social enterprises whose goods and services would not otherwise have been solicited by the procurement, yet who are fully capable of fulfilling the bid. Focusing on procurement let’s GoodBank add revenue potential to social enterprises, while safely expanding our social business lending activity – knowing that the government or corporate buyer will create credit-worthy receivables.
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Bruce B. Cahan
bcahan (at) urbanlogic.org
Tension between doing well and good in a regulated bank
Bruce Cahan,
As an owner and operator of three CDFI Banks I read your submission with great interest. Starting a denovo bank and lending money in a highly regulated industry is ticky. Few examples: To start a bank in most states will take about $10 million minimum in capital even though the state may indicate lower levels. Seeking a "community development" bank charter has some significant drawbacks particularly to the environmental and organic food focus you desire. These areas are currently not a part of a community development bank charter or CRA regulation. Growing your denovo bank to profitability is critical not only for financial sustainability but regulatory survival.
The CDFI certification and funding can be a very helpful source of supplemental capital and access to deposits. However, it does come with significant reporting requirements. I would encourage you to contact the Community Development Bankers Association as a resource for practical information regarding the CDFI Fund.
Best Wishes - David
GoodBank, and other 'money' related initiatives
Hello,
We join the intention of a GoodBank, which Bruce is starting. As a related topic we just started doing research to another type of currency. A currency in which not only 'material stuff' has value, but in which non-material aspects such as environment, society, doing good, etc. is included as well.
The GoodBank Bruce is starting includes these 'requirements' too. Another initiative which has related elements in it is called 'transition towns'.
At the link below we keep an overview of similar initiatives, maybe crosslinking gives new ideas or impulses! (The link to the ethical GoodBank is included as well). And maybe the various initiatives can start exchanging value, once realised.
http://www.spirilogic.com/01-GoodIdeas/02-Alternative%20Money/02-%20Othe...
We would be thankful when readers notify us when they know of other people, other related ideas, etc.
Keep on doing the good work,
Iwanjka,
SpiriLogic member
www.spirilogic.com