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A regenerative systems-change platform

Let us be clear

We are out of time.

For decades, the extractive-based linear economy has simultaneously exceeded the supply of resources from the planet, degraded vital ecosystems, and failed to meet basic human needs for much of the global population. Even so, the damage caused by our collective action mostly goes unseen and ignored, in the hopes that someone else will take responsibility or that the problem is not that bad.

The world needs a new model to relate to one another and the biological world that is both restorative and equitable.

Our socio-economic system is complex, multi-layered, and deeply intertwined with the natural world. So, while transactional solutions and innovations look positive on the surface, deep interconnections between cities, people, and the environment are unraveling our good intentions.

Only by fully understanding this dynamic will we be able to build a genuinely sustainable and resilient economy: one that works for all people and supports the development and growth of all living things.

The Circular City Coalition is introducing a regenerative systems-change platform supported by two funding models designed to enable cities to proactively engage on leading the regenerative and equitable circular transition:

Funding Model 1

Circular Innovation Ecosystem

A blended finance model deploys capital across an entire local/regional value chain.

The Circular Innovation Ecosystem (CIE) ties circular economy investments and innovation to impact outcomes through four key elements:

Innovative Finance: Scaling high-value circular economy solutions and accelerating/transforming businesses through the development of results-based finance mechanisms in collaboration with private and public financiers.

Synergist Acceleration: Accelerating a cohort of circular economy businesses that act synergistically towards shifting a target industry towards circularity.

Partnerships: Collaborating with cities to leverage public budgets, implement circular practices, participate in public/private financing, and champion circular innovation at scale.

Replication: Building local CIEs in cities across the country by openly prototyping and sharing best practices.

Funding Model 2

Donor Advised Fund

This charitable fund offers U.S.-based corporate and individual donors an immediate tax benefit for their gift while providing the flexibility and scope to support circular economy projects worldwide.

To catalyze the transition to a regenerative and equitable state, the Circular City Coalition must be able to provide tangible funding streams to key civil society organizations and social enterprises that are on the front lines of the circular city transformation. The Donor Advised Fund accomplishes this through three essential elements:

Civil Society Activation: Activates and prioritizes a city’s key civil society stakeholder’s charitable activities in enabling a circular city.

Donor Flexibility: Provides an innovate funding mechanism that allows donors to give charitably to a wide range of issues that enable a circular city transition.

Replication: Allows for the creation of a DAF that speaks to and specifically engages the local population.