Introduction to Local Democratic Finance

Past Event - watch recording below

This session, led by Katie Little-Sandler from Community Shares Scotland, aimed to increase awareness, knowledge and use of financial models that generate and capture wealth within a community. These financial models are particularly pertinent as funding becomes harder to attract, and we attempt to move away from grant dependency towards building thriving, sustainable and resilient enterprises.

The session provided information on: Community Shares; Community Bonds; Donation Based Crowdfunding; and Case Studies.

The Community Shares Scotland programme has proven the many strengths of citizen investment in community led enterprises. By supporting local people and organisations to invest in projects through community shares and other alternative financial models, wealth is retained and boosted within communities. The programme will also include a capacity building strand – focused on raising awareness of democratic finance models, both with communities and third sector intermediaries. We will champion a collaborative approach, bringing in sectoral expertise from other intermediaries where needed and are keen to learn from communities who are already using alternative models.