Your financial support
In order for the school to open in 2020, we need u in the start-up phase, but also in the first years.a. urgently your financial support. In the future, the costs of running the school will be borne to a large extent by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, but the rest of the school budget will be financed by the school community and friends and supporters of the Democratic School Dusseldorf.
In the founding and start-up phase, for example, there is a need for financing for expert opinions and architects, for construction measures and the furnishing and equipping of the school, but financial security is also needed for the first few years of the school's operation.
To put school finance planning on solid footing, while reducing dependence on commercial lenders (such as.B. banks) as low as possible, we therefore ask for your support in the form of a private loan, a guarantee, a participation in a loan and gift community or – quite classically – donations.
Private loan
If you would like to support us, but cannot do without your money in the long term, you could lend us your money for a certain period of time. You then give us a private loan without a bank being involved.[su_expand more_text="read more" less_text="less" height="24″ text_color="#333333″ link_color="#0088FF" link_align="left"]
With the borrowed money we can then already pay bills and make investments in the founding phase. For example, we pay the craftsman who designs our rooms before school starts. After the start of school, i.e. while the school is already in session, we can pay back your private loan from the regular flow of funds.
The interest will be paid at the maximum market rate, otherwise we risk our non-profit status.
The loan amounts may only be used for purposes that are in accordance with the statutes of the association – any use for other purposes is thus excluded. Nevertheless, according to the regulations of the Federal Banking Supervisory Office, we cannot offer any special collateral for personal loans.
When we receive your letter of intent, we can discuss everything else, share our detailed financing plan and conditions.[/su_expand]
Guarantor loan
The DSD is a social start-up. There are many volunteers, many interested parties, applications and commitments, concrete financing plans and projects and many applications for approval. But what the DSD is unfortunately not yet, is a running business, which could already show stable income and expenses of the last 5 fiscal years. Since banks love such proven business reports, they have a hard time with loans to start-ups – unless there would be a guarantor. Or two. Or very, very many![su_expand more_text="read more" less_text="less" height="24″ text_color="#333333″ link_color="#0088FF" link_align="left"]
If you can imagine to vouch for us to a bank (i.e. to stand in for us in case of emergency to repay a loan we have taken out with the bank), then you can join our guarantor community. If everyone guarantees only a (small) part of the loan, then the DSD can take out the sum of all guarantee amounts as a loan with a bank. So it does get a loan, even though it is "just a start-up".
Thus, projects can be realized with guarantor loans that would otherwise be difficult to obtain a loan. The GLS-Bank, our possible partner for such a guarantee loan, has been using this instrument successfully in the field of education for a long time. Many schools could already be built this way due to the guarantee communities of parents.
The GLS-Bank writes on its website about this (see "The We makes it possible"):
– Loans can also be granted without additional collateral
– manageable risk for the individual guarantors
– favorable conditions: only the costs incurred by GLS-Bank
(no profit margin) will be charged (cost recovery allocation)
– Build a loyal group of interested parties very connected to the project
Please be aware of the risk when providing a guarantee: If DSD were to become insolvent, the bank would approach you and demand payment from you.[/su_expand]
Lending and giving community
You would like to support us regularly with a small amount and transfer it to us as a donation? And at the same time you want to enable DSD to dispose of the total amount of your future donations beforehand, so that the school can get started?[su_expand more_text="read more" less_text="less" height="24″ text_color="#333333″ link_color="#0088FF" link_align="left"]
Then join our lending and giving community.
You would then not give your regular donation directly to DSD, but transfer it to a trustee who would collectively transfer all regular donations from the lending and giving community to our partner bank (again, we would work with GLS Bank). Since the bank now has the security of receiving a certain total amount over time, it pays this total amount to DSD directly at the beginning. And the DSD can in turn use this to start school operations.
Actually one can formulate it also differently: You take out a loan with the bank, which you then pay off again over time through regular transfers. And you donate this credit amount to the DSD right at the beginning. From this interpretation then also arises the name of the construct: you give, and the bank lends.
GLS Bank writes about this on its website (s. community helps):
But the risk to [individual] supporters remains manageable.
Each member of the community agrees to support a project for a maximum of five years with a monthly contribution of z. B. 50 euros to support, a total of 3.000 euros. This amount can be made available to the project by us immediately as a loan community loan. Ten lending community members thus enable a loan of 30.000 Euro.[/su_expand]
Donations
Of course you can also simply donate an amount to us, and we would be very happy about that. The easiest way to do this is through our donation page or our crowdfunding campaign on Betterplace. You may even want to set up a standing order? Then please let us know briefly so we can plan better. You will receive a donation receipt for your tax return at the end of the calendar year.
Your head is spinning and you don't know which kind of support is the right one for you now? You just want to meet the people who want to start a school with your money? You want to get insight into our financial planning to make sure we are serious about planning and responsible about donations and loans, and only then decide on the right financing for you? Then use the form below to contact us. We will get in touch with you as soon as possible to answer your questions.
We look forward to hearing from you.