community development fund
As part of PROSPER’s efforts to encourage continued recovery and growth, we will work with leaders of the community who are involved in the project to begin the Community Development Fund (CDF). This fund will work to ensure the ideas and growth made through this project will continue to benefit this community long after we leave it.
The purpose of the community plots, and the crops that will grow on them, is first and foremost to provide healthy, chemical free food for the members of the community. It is PROSPER’s goal to give long term support in the way of resources in order to continue planting and harvesting, as well as to expand the impact of the project itself. Once the plots are yielding more than can be useful to the participating members due to larger plots and more fertile earth, we can give the participating members of the community the option to sell the surplus crops for a profit, and put the money back into the Community Development Fund.
The Community Development Fund will be managed by a Board of Directors. This board will act as representatives of the larger community. These representatives will be responsible for voicing the needs and concerns of the community. They will discuss these needs and concerns in order to come to a conclusion on to whom or what the money from the Community Development Fund will be allocated. The Board of Directors will consist of community leaders as well as active and engaged participants of the project. This board will at first be guided and communicate with liaisons from the PROSPER team. One of the goals PROSPER has is gender equality in terms of representatives on the board. It is our hope that women in the community will take this opportunity to get involved in community decision making that will impact their family, friends and neighbors.
The Community Development Fund can be used in many different ways at the discretion of the community. A few of the ways this fund can be used are as follows:
The purpose of the community plots, and the crops that will grow on them, is first and foremost to provide healthy, chemical free food for the members of the community. It is PROSPER’s goal to give long term support in the way of resources in order to continue planting and harvesting, as well as to expand the impact of the project itself. Once the plots are yielding more than can be useful to the participating members due to larger plots and more fertile earth, we can give the participating members of the community the option to sell the surplus crops for a profit, and put the money back into the Community Development Fund.
The Community Development Fund will be managed by a Board of Directors. This board will act as representatives of the larger community. These representatives will be responsible for voicing the needs and concerns of the community. They will discuss these needs and concerns in order to come to a conclusion on to whom or what the money from the Community Development Fund will be allocated. The Board of Directors will consist of community leaders as well as active and engaged participants of the project. This board will at first be guided and communicate with liaisons from the PROSPER team. One of the goals PROSPER has is gender equality in terms of representatives on the board. It is our hope that women in the community will take this opportunity to get involved in community decision making that will impact their family, friends and neighbors.
The Community Development Fund can be used in many different ways at the discretion of the community. A few of the ways this fund can be used are as follows:
- Continued support for the current project
- Purchase of seeds and planting/harvesting resources for future season - Investment in other infrastructure projects such as constructing boreholes or other clean water infrastructure