FinEthiCom

Financial Ethical Capacity for Community Initiatives

Programme: Erasmus+ Small-scale partnership in adult education
Duration: September 2026 to October 2027
Coordinator: Baltic Ecovillage Network (Sweden)

Why this project?

Community-led initiatives and ecovillages speed up the social and ecological transition, but they need money to secure land, buildings and the basics of their work. Traditional banks are often unwilling or unable to support them, especially in disadvantaged areas or when young people without collateral are involved. Across Europe there are inspiring ethical and solidarity-based finance models, but knowledge about them is scattered and hard to find. FinEthiCom brings it together.

What we want to achieve

  • Create learning opportunities and educational materials for starting and running ethical solidarity finance initiatives for community-led projects.
  • Build capacity in community-led initiatives and their networks to start, run and work with solidarity finance organisations.
  • Give visibility to ethical and solidarity finance that already exists.
  • Create platforms for cross-border cooperation in the green economy and solidarity finance for a fair, citizen-led ecological transition.

What we are doing

Gathering information

We map solidarity finance organisations in the partner countries, consult community initiatives and investors about their needs, and build a searchable pilot database that stays public after the project.

Showing what works

Six in-depth case studies of solidarity finance initiatives from across Europe, based on interviews with their founders, with practical recommendations for others who want to start one.

Sharing the gold

A series of six webinars (four national, two international) with expert speakers, recorded and turned into a short self-paced online introduction course.

Producing the new

A five-day design lab in an ecovillage in Sweden in June 2027 where participants work in teams to create at least four draft prototypes for new or growing solidarity finance initiatives.

Who is it for?

  • Community-led initiatives and ecovillages, especially those that struggle to access traditional finance.
  • Networks that support community-led development and resilience.
  • Non-formal educators in ecological transition, ecovillage design and education for sustainable development.
  • Citizens and investors interested in solidarity finance and the green economy.

We particularly want to reach people from underrepresented or financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Partners

  • Baltic Ecovillage Network (BEN), Sweden: coordinator and lead of the design lab
  • Landsforeningen for Økosamfund (LOES), Denmark: lead of mapping and research
  • Rete Italiana Villaggi Ecologici (RIVE), Italy: lead of the case studies
  • Stichting EcodorpenNetwerk (GEN-NL), Netherlands: lead of the webinars and online course
  • Associated partners: GEN Europe, Coopérative Oasis and Les Pas Sages

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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.