Borrowing Communities

A way to finance cultural and educational projects

Cultural, artistic, or educational activities are vitally important to the quality of life in our communities. Gift finance is often sought by projects involved in these activities because they need to operate in an atmosphere of freedom, and without undue financial pressure. To this end, Prometheus supports the formation of Borrowing Communities as a unique way of creating gifts through loan finance.

The Borrowing Community Concept

A Borrowing Community consists of a group of people who collectively borrow a sum of money from Prometheus, and gift this money to a project or an individual. This enables gift money to be made available to an initiative immediately. Responsibility for repayment is shared out among the members of the Borrowing Community, equally or in varying amounts. As with all donations, the recipient of the gift is under no obligation to repay.

The chief aim of a Borrowing Community is to make money available to projects or individuals where the liberating quality of a gift is most appropriate. This gift can be used for a variety of purposes: for example, the purchase of land, buildings, or equipment, for repairs or renovations, for discharging debts or financing studies.

The second aim of a Borrowing Community is a social one. It involves the co-operation of a number of people to bring about something that benefits the community at large - projects or enterprises that might not otherwise be possible.