Stir to Action has launched a crowdfunder for the mass circulation of a new guidebook for community-led organisations looking to build their own local movements.
The ABCs of the New Economy, a free publication, will feature tools and ideas, with the aim of transforming a broken economic system through “reversing the social care crisis, remaking food systems, and changing the unfair housing market”.
Stir to Action – the co-operative publisher of STIR magazine – is looking to raise at least £15,000 to print thousands of copies and distribute them across the UK. The money will also support a downloadable event guide to support UK-wide movement-building events and 1-to-1 support for community-led organisations to host their own events
“Stir to Action has been publishing a quarterly magazine for over 10 years to share ideas, tools, and examples that can transform our broken economic system,” says co-founder Jonathan Gordon-Farleigh. “But despite a decade of positive economic initiatives and bold political experiments since the financial crisis, we know at the ground level there’s still not enough awareness and access to resources that could support new economic models in local communities.
“Despite crisis after crisis, new economic ideas are still largely unknown across communities, and it’s time for a post-pandemic movement to inspire local economic change.”
The ABCs of the New Economy “isn’t like other editions of our magazine,” he adds. Instead it will be an accessible guide to all aspects of the new economy, “sharing straightforward tools and ideas for workplaces, communities, and movements for change”.
The publication will feature ways to tackle the cost of living crisis and a broken energy system at the roots; introductions to mutual models that can transform an unfair housing market; stories about patient-owned cooperatives that can begin to reverse the social care crisis; and tried-and-tested ways that food systems can be re-made through community-owned enterprise.
“We’re also creating an event guide and support offer for community-led organisations to help them build their own movements,” adds Gordon-Farleigh, “from a step-by-step guide on securing event space to marketing and also one-on-one staff support. We’ll also send a box of The ABCs of the New Economy for distribution at the event.”
Stir to Action, which aims to use the power of democratic ownership to transform economic inequality, the climate emergency, and wider society, launched a crowd-funder on 21 June and has reached 75% of its £15,000 target with eight days to go.
“We’re crowdfunding to fund the free publication and mass circulation of The ABCs of the New Economy,” says Gordon-Farleigh.
“As advocates for new economic change, we’re inviting you to be part of this national movement by donating to the campaign and sharing it far and wide to reach more people. Every contribution will increase our print run and enable us to offer more one-to-one support to movement-builders across the UK.”
For more information and to support the project, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/p/abcs-of-the-new-economy
