Getting everyone involved
The idea of a community shop is that the whole community gets involved. So to enable as many people as possible to contribute as much as possible, we have devised three ways to contribute.

1. Membership of the Rushlake Green Village Shop Community Group
2. Contributing financially to the campaign fund
3. Contributing time, effort and skills to the community shop itself

Once you’ve read about the different ways to contribute, you can register your commitment online, or by using a paper application form that’s available from the campaign group and at campaign meetings. To register online, click the link in the right hand menu of this website.

Membership
We urge everyone who has an interest in the shop to become a member of our Rushlake Green Village Shop Community Group. The cost of membership (£25) has been set at a level that we believe will enable anyone who wants to, to join.

The first one thousand applicants will be made the ‘founding members’ of the Group – in recognition of the fact that they were ready to back the project from the start. Each individual can only take out a single membership, but there is no limit per household. So please also try to encourage your family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances to join. You can download a membership form from this website but will need to pay the £25 (Cheque or cash) to a member of the campaign team or post it to the address provided.

These initial membership fees will be held by the RGVS Trust, and if the community shop does not go ahead in any form, the fees will be re-distributed to members, less any costs incurred by the Community Group and the Trust.
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Contributing financially
The precise amount we need to raise from the community and other sources will depend on the outcome that faces us following the auction of the property. In the case of having to buy the property outright, the amount we’d need to raise is very considerable.

The basis on which we raise money from the community will vary according to the vehicle we need to adopt to form the community shop organization. And that vehicle (IPS, Charitable Trust, plc etc) will depend again on the scenario we face. The likelihood is that contributions will be accepted in a number of forms such as non-refundable donations; bonds that could be redeemable at an agreed future point or loans on an agreed basis

At this stage therefore, we are not asking for up-front financial contributions (beyond the £25 membership) but would very much value and indication of the level of financial contribution you might be willing to make. On the online registration page, and the paper registration form, you will find a question that asks you to indicate what you might contribute financially, on the assumption that the basis of the donation or investment was satisfactory to you.

There is a range of values with tick boxes from £100 up to £10,000. This is to indicate that any contribution large or small will be very welcome. You can either tick a box or write in a figure you feel you could contribute. These indicative numbers will be treated with total confidentiality.
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Contributing time
Contributing time, effort and skills to the community shop itself will be a vital way in which all of us in the community will be able to support, and help to develop, the community shop enterprise.

Contributing your time could involve working behind the till part time, helping behind the scenes with shelf-stacking or admin, going out and about doing deliveries or providing window display or merchandising skills. Or you might be able to contribute time and skills to the development and refurbishment of the shop itself – everything from retail design and planning, through building work and shop-fitting to painting, decorating and installing electrical and electronic equipment. We know that many people are keen to do these tasks and have the required skills. What we need now is for you to indicate where you would be will to help and importantly roughly how much time you think you could contribute. There is space on the registration form for you to indicate this.
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