← Back to Hub

The Local Playbook

[NAME OF LOCAL GUILD] CIVIC INTERLOCK

How to use this template: This document is a free, shared starting point to help local groups organize shared resources and clear up responsibilities. It isn't a rigid, top-down contract. Local participants are encouraged to take this text, adapt it to their own neighborhood's culture, and pair it with standard, common-sense safety practices for their area.

1. WHAT WE ARE (AND WHAT WE AREN'T)

Just a Record, Not a Bank

This group is simply a way for neighbors to keep a transparent record of shared tools, volunteer hours, and local inventory. We are not a bank or a financial business. We don't hold people's money, we don't issue currency, and we don't offer investments.

The Main Goal

The whole point is to make it easy to see what resources we have locally and share them without friction or red tape.

No Skimming or Speculation

Nobody is here to get rich off the community. We don't do profit margins, dividends, or speculative gains. If a transaction doesn't directly benefit the local group, we don't do it.

2. WHO HOLDS THE GEAR vs. WHO OWNS IT

Keeping It Separate

When tools or supplies are added to the group, we make a clear split between who is watching the gear and who gets to use it:

  • The Caretaker: Someone volunteers to watch over the gear (like a Quartermaster). They hold the keys, but the gear does not belong to them personally.
  • The Community: The actual right to use the gear belongs to everyone in the group who is actively participating.

The Role, Not the Person

Because the caretaker is just watching the gear on behalf of the group, their personal life stays totally separate. If a caretaker steps down, the keys simply pass to the next volunteer. Personal debts or issues of a volunteer have nothing to do with the shared community gear.

Purely Voluntary

Everything put into the store or treasury is given voluntarily. You aren't buying stock; you're just chipping in to build local resilience.

3. HOW WE KEEP TRACK

To keep things moving fast without risking our most important backup supplies, we use two separate ledgers to track our stuff:

The Daily Flow (Store Balance)

  • What it is: Tracks day-to-day volunteer hours, local pantry items, and daily mutual aid.
  • What it's for: Immediate needs, basic tool sharing, and fast local distribution.
  • How it works: Decisions are made quickly by the people actively doing the daily work.

The Treasury (Heavy Gear & Reserves)

  • What it is: Holds the big stuff—heavy equipment, long-term supplies, and emergency backups.
  • What it's for: Making sure the community has a safety net against big disruptions.
  • How it works: Moving this gear requires a formal agreement among caretakers and an open check of inventory.

4. NO SECRETS & PASSING IT ON

Open Books

Any active participant can look at the full inventory and records at any time. If you volunteer to watch over the gear, you have to be completely transparent. Secrecy means you lose the right to hold the keys.

If the Group Ever Closes

If this local group ever decides to shut down, nobody gets to sell off the shared gear for personal cash. Whatever is left over gets passed directly to another local non-profit, tool library, or community group doing similar work.

5. THE HANDSHAKE (SIGN-OFF)

By signing below, the founding caretakers and active participants agree to play by these rules, keep the books completely open, and look after the shared resources for the good of the neighborhood.

Participant / Caretaker Signature:
Printed Name / Handle:
Designated Role (if any):
Date Signed: