CREW connects people through donations and investing to build an active endowment, forever recycled, to fund small businesses and local farms that inspire thriving communities.

We believe, and recent research affirms, that individuals, when given the proper structure and support, can be more effective than institutions in making investments that serve their communities.

Examples of CREW working:

• Imagine that you have a small business in Chico, CA, that uses recycled materials to make beautiful "to go" supplies, from forks to lunch boxes.  You have an idea for an exciting new product - that would create five more jobs here in America - but you need $50,000 for the equipment to set it up.  So you send out a note to all of your customers to join CREW - you post the project - and within days you have the capital you need to expand your business, plus new customers and free advertising.

• Imagine that you are a college student with little money, but you can afford $11 a month and you have 300 friends on Facebook.   You tell them about CREW and soon you have thousands of dollars coming into your Stewardship Account every month from their donations.  You learn about business, while investing in your community, and making important contacts for your future career.

• Imagine that you live in Baltimore, MD, and several of the family businesses in your neighborhood - that have been there for years - may go out of business.  So you round up all your neighbors - hundreds of them - to join CREW and help raise money for the businesses.  The whole community turns out in support.  Your much-loved local businesses thrive again and your community is strengthened!

CREW uses the network model to build our membership community, but there are no products and no commissions, only donations and common good investments.  As these investments are paid back, we "fund it forward" and put the money back into the Stewardship Accounts that invested.  This creates the world's first ever-expanding, member directed endowment fund.  Because this money is recycled into more projects, your impact continues to grow with each member you invite and each project you help fund -- all for $11 a month. 

Community: CREW encourages members to study their communities and become a source of capital from the CREW Fund both to build a local community where all can enjoy life and to assist others around the world to do the same.

Stewardship: We are each the trustees of the wisdom and wealth we possess.  At full human maturity, we freely choose to give priority to the common good and second priority to our self-interests, while attending to both fully. Therefore, each member is considered a steward of the capital he or she directs into investments in their community.

Dignity: CREW encourages partnership relationships as opposed to primarily benefactor or investor relationships. Partner relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect, and they tend to give priority to the common good.

Accountability: Investments encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.

Transparency: The CREW website is an open platform where communication can flow freely around the world and all financials are transparent and online for all Members to review.

To create the world we want, we have to stimulate a new economy, by free choice and in free markets, that gives priority to the common good rather than a small group of shareholders.