Member Loan Program FAQ

Two questions:

1) How can people who can't make a $1000 donation to the fund contribute? Could people combine their money to make $1000, or would that be too complicated?

2) Can people participate in the loan program if they are not coop members?

Thanks for the info!
Sarah

Thanks, Sarah.

First of all, we are talking about loans, not donations. Anyone is free to donate any amount they please, so the simple answer to question 1) is: write a check or even round up your purchases! You don't need to be a member to make a donation to the co-op.

We are setting up another way that members can put money into the co-op. Part of the change to the member equity rules that Clint described in the previous posting will allow members to purchase additional shares of equity. Like your existing equity you can request to have it returned if you move town or just want it back.

There is nothing in the contract to prevent members from grouping together to write a loan. Please note that at the end of the loan, the final check will have to be written in the names of the people on the loan document so make sure they are people you plan to get along with for the next ten years!

Your second question is more tricky. The simple answer is "no".

The reason for this is that we are operating under some legal constraints. If we aren't careful government regulators will consider our member loans to be financial instruments like corporate bonds or stocks and subject us to an unbelievable amount of regulation.

A few things protect us from that fate.
1) We only allow members to participate
2) The lenders have to be residents of Illinois

We also have to be careful not to induce someone to become a member just so they can loan the co-op money.

Ben