FAQs

Bulk purchase groups, patients undergoing treatment, self-employed friends, art collectives, community energy start-ups - for a new fridge, an old debt, a holiday or a rainy day, there are literally thousands of uses for a Kin group but here are a few examples to get you started: 

1. A Traditional Rotating Fund - communities all around the world use "self-help groups" with slightly different rules but the common idea is this: every week or month everyone in the group contributes to the common pot and every week or month one person takes the whole pot. This continues until everyone has received and put in the same amount. The allocation of the pot can be decided by lottery or negotiation. Rotating funds enable groups to save for amounts that can be difficult to reach individually.
   
   Here are just a few names for rotating funds: didlum, menage, hagbad, ayuuto, pardna. 
    
   1. Pardna (variation) - in a pardna, people in the community can contribute different amounts each month - called "hands" - and will receive the whole pot more or less often depending on how many hands they contribute. It works like this: each hand is like a raffle ticket, if you choose to contribute 5 hands / raffle tickets of £5, you will pay £25 every month (5x£5). The total number of tickets or hands is the number of rotations until every ticket / hand has received the total. So let's say there are 20 hands or tickets in a pardna group, that's £100 every rotation. Someone who pays £25 every month will receive the whole pot 5 times in this period - once per ticket - that's £500. They will have paid 20 times £25, that's £500.

   2. Loose (high trust) - after working together for a longer time, some groups build enough trust and have good enough communication that they can become less regular and strict. The pot will accumulate over a longer time without anyone requesting it and people will be able to request more.

       

2. A community purchase - you may be working with your neighbours, friends or family to purchase something together or to support a common cause. Kin groups can be a way for you to manage contributions and keep track of your goal. Think of putting a new roof on the community centre or putting solar panels on the local car park and splitting the benefit!

    

3. Bulk purchase - you may want to use Kin to buy common items in bulk so you can all benefit from the savings. Great!

    

4. Solidarity fund - why not set up a fund for your community just in case someone needs it. If they do, they may contribute back and keep contributing to keep the fund growing. One day it could enable you as a community to purchase something together.

    

5. Multiple uses - the focus is your community. Kin allows you to track how much everyone in your has contributed and received so you can pause one use to help someone who is having a hard time and then get right back to the first use. It's up to you! 

Recurring contributions allow you to set up a regular contribution in Kin either every month or every week. This means if you are making a regular contribution to your group, you do not need to login to Kin every time to create your regular contribution. Each week or month your contribution will be automatically created on Kin. You will need to set up a standing order to make sure the funds are transferred according to the schedule you have set up. Every time we receive funds, we will email you to confirm your contribution has been received. 

Cancellation

To cancel a recurring contribution please use the Kin contact form and simply send a message saying you wish to cancel your recurring contribution. 

Groups are autonomous and that means kin.coop is not responsible for the behaviour of people in your group. If a member breaks kin.coop's rules or code of conduct, they will have their membership suspended or terminated but that might be too late for your group. 
 

Make a group agreement

Having a group agreement can help to build trust and prevent against issues by making it clear that it doesn't pay to free-ride. In the UK, a written or even spoken agreement can be used as evidence in a civil court. 

Ultimately, your funds will be safe if the people in your group are trustworthy and follow the way you have agreed to run your group. If you are unclear about how your group should work financially, please contact us at info@kin.coop

Visit the group agreement page now. 

Groups are autonomous and that means kin.coop is not responsible for the behaviour of people in your group. If a member breaks kin.coop's rules or code of conduct, they will have their membership suspended or terminated but that might be too late for your group. 
 

Make a group agreement

Having a group agreement can help to build trust and prevent against issues by making it clear that it doesn't pay to free-ride. In the UK, a written or even spoken agreement can be used as evidence in a civil court. 

Example questions and answers

Here are some of the most important questions you might want to answer in your group agreement: 

What happens if you are unable to contribute? 

Example answer: if you are unable to contribute within 14 days of the regular date, you must notify the group. If you fail to contribute without notifying the group, then you may be asked to settle the balance and to leave the group immediately and/or be expected to make an extra 10% payment. 

When can you leave the group? 

Example answer: you cannot leave the group if you have received more than you have contributed except under special circumstances and only then by resolution of 75% of the whole group.  

Who can join the group? 

Example answer: if a new person wishes to join the group, it must be agreed by everyone even if they are taking the place of a group member who is leaving. Alternative answer: the admin approves new members and guarantees their trustworthiness.
 

More:

In some groups you may also want to specify:

• the amount members are expected to contribute;
• how often;
• how decisions are made about money requests;
• and how group agreements and other rules are made or changed. 

A group agreement can be the difference between a happy community and a broken one

Having trouble with your group or thinking about your group agreement? Contact us at info@kin.coop

Kin has been developed for financial mutual aid - everyone benefitting by working together. That means there are things you cannot use Kin for: 

• You cannot use Kin to fund anything illegal.
• You cannot use Kin for individual private profit.
• You cannot use Kin for purposes of transacting business, trade, for supply of a service or anything liable for taxation as income or capital gain.
• You cannot attempt to coerce someone to use Kin or contribute more, more often or request money in smaller amounts or less often against their will.
• Admins cannot use their power to approve or deny requests for money for any reasons other than for the agreed, sustainable and equitable operation of the group. 

Anyone may report a group or member to your Kin Cooperative Team at any time. 

Any breach of these rules or any other Kin policy or the term of service may result in suspension of services or expulsion without prior notice. 

Kin is not a crowdfunder or a way for an individual to raise money for a private need but you can set up a group because you need something right now.

It is expected that you will contribute to the group by the amount you requested or in the manner you agree with the group. In this way, the group should all benefit in the end, not just you. So, if you set up a group for a specific purpose, make sure it is clear how this will help your community and don't let them down!