Tracking Changes
See sic-050202.htm for colorization of Christina's changes since 01/25/05
See sic-050125.htm for colorization of Christina's changes since 12/07/04
See sic-041207.htm for colorization of Christina's changes of 12/7
See sic-041206.htm for changes from 12/6 and 12/1 conference calls
See sic-041129.htm for changes from 11/29 and 11/26 conference calls

Solari Investor Circles Starter Kit
              We're All Investors Now

                                  Draft Outline 02/02/05

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: LEARNING ABOUT THE SOLARI INVESTOR CIRCLE

  1. Introduction
  2. The Solari Investor Circle Opportunity
    Making the case for Solari Investor Circles
    1. A Paradigm for Winning at Economic Warfare
    2. Introducing Two Teams
      • The Tapeworm Economy vs. The Solari Economy
      • Understanding the Drain of “Tapeworm Economics”
        1. We are being drained by the Tapeworm, the Tapeworm is getting engorged
        2. Feeling the Drain at Home (ref. Bill & Alice)
        3. Most of us have been supporting the Tapeworm, feeding what is draining us and feeling helpless
        4. See also Building a Wonderful World (slide presentation)
      • Mapping Our Political & Economic Landscape
        1. Key Risk Issues
        2. Scenarios to Dictate Course of Action
      • The Opportunity is to shift our support to The Solari Economy in a way that gives us energy and shrinks the Tapeworm
        1. A Good Defense: Short Term Investment Strategy (Personal “Safety Net”)
        2. A Good Offense: The Solari Power Shift
      • The Solari Power Shift
        Any healthy economy (including Solari Economy)  has these 4 elements:
        (see chart Shifting Cost of Capital         )
        1. Sound Money
        2. Transparency/Privacy
        3. Voting with our Money
        4. Equity
      • It’s About Cost of Capital (explain)
        1. To make the shift, our key point of leverage is to drive the Tapeworm’s Cost of Capital up, while lowering ours
        2. See chart Shifting Cost of Capital for examples
      • Here’s where our votes really count
        1. our intention, blessings, prayers, and attention
            (it’s about the Field; ref Coming Clean!)
        2. our spending, banking, earning, credit card debt, investments, donations
      • Magic & Money - If you don’t get the magic right, the money doesn’t help
    3. Solari is a Game Plan to Reverse the Drain
      • Individuals Coming Clean!
      • Solari Investor Circles Coming Clean! together
      • A Solari Investment Advisor and Databank in every neighborhood
    4. Solari is a conspiracy, and the Solari Investor Circle is a Cell in the Conspiracy, an open secret society
  3. What is a Solari Investor Circle?
    Definition and basic description
    1. Solari Investor Circle Defined
    2. Everyone is an investor
      • If you want things to change and you consider yourself an investor, novice or otherwise, this is for you
      • If you want things to change and you do not consider yourself an investor by any stretch of the imagination, this is for you
      • In our book, an Investor is anyone who spends time or money ...
        1. When you spend time or money in the Tapeworm economy, then you are a Tapeworm Investor
        2. When you spend time or money in the Solari Economy, then you are a Solari Investor
        3. A Solari Investor Circle is for anyone who wants to shift from being mostly a Tapeworm Investor to becoming mostly a Solari Investor – and make money doing it - in a way that strengthens the Solari Economy while draining the Tapeworm
    3. Solari Investor Circles in all shapes and sizes
      • can be formal or informal
      • for laypeople as well as experienced investors
      • start small and grow
    4. A Solari Investor Circle is a cell in the Conspiracy
  4. Statement of Purpose & Principles
    Our covenant; can be read at each meeting like AA
    1. Solari Investor Circle Purpose
    2. Solari Investor Circle Principles
  5. Finer Points of a Solari Investor Circle
    Summary level only -see Appendix B for detail
    1. What makes it a Solari Investor Circle
      • It is a conspiracy for building wealth locally in a way that secretly transforms the world
      • It is based on a set of unifying principles -- aligning sound economic principles and wealth creation with a deep respect for all life on earth
      • Its members seek to master the Solari Tool Kit
      • Its members take responsibility for local economics and politics
      • Members are co-inventors of the solution(s)
      • It seeks to build wealth that is a balanced mixture of Financial Capital & Living Capital
      • It is a joining of forces, a unity of both camps -- business/financial people with environmental activists, community activists, and alternative energy experts
    2. How a Solari Investor Circle is different from the typical Investment Club
    3. How a Solari Investor Circle goes beyond Socially Responsible Investing
    4. How a Solari Investor Circle goes beyond Local Living Economies
    5. Solari Investment Criteria
  6. What You Need to Know to Start and Run a Solari Investor Circle
    Basic elements of forming the core group and "coming clean" together
    1. Membership
      • The Optimal Group for You
      • Membership Basics (size etc.)
      • Membership Formation (recruiting)
        - attraction vs. promotion
        - use Coming Clean as a screen
      • Forming your core group
      • Members commit to Coming Clean together
    2. Solari Toolkit
      • Popsicle Index
      • Solari Ratio
      • Scenario Development
      • Solari Analytics
      • Place Based Data Collection
        - mapping local money flows
      • Networking (locally & with Solari Action Network)
      • Solari Investment Advisor & Databank
        - a Databank is a business with infrastructure of software, live databases, and sophisticated tools for synthesizing, optimization, analyzing, pricing
    3. Management
    4. Legal Requirements
      • Use of the Solari Name
      • When to Become a Legal Entity
        - the minute you pool money for investments you should form a legal partnership
        - before that time you'll want to have a record of agreements as a group, and
        - establish a bank account you need to give a member's SS# or TaxID#
        - the minute you pool money for investments you create bank acct with group TaxID# and issue K-1s for individual member tax returns
        - you need a Tax ID# and file K-1s for tax returns, you should get more formal
        - as soon as you collect group money to invest a partnership is implied
        - the assumption of your intention per Federal Income Tax
        - when you have Gain or Loss you are a partnership with a Tax ID#
      • Investment Clubs as a Legal Model
      • Fed, State requirements
      • Overview of legal structure and documents
        - Legally you are already a Partnership
        - Forming a General Partnership (everyone is a full partner)
      • Liability Issues
        - Considering the Legal Structure of what you invest in
        - If you invest in something that has liability, you'll need to consider exploring an
          LLC for that investment with local counsel to protect specific investment opportunities
    5. Focus & Direction of your Solari Investor Circle
      • Phasing Your Learning Curve
      • Coming Clean Together
      • Common Literacy
        - Understanding the Tapeworm and your symbiotic relationship with it (local/national/global level)
        - Mapping power and money in your local area
      • Overview of Model Investment Opportunities
        - Eliminating Credit Card Debt
        - Energy Bill Reduction
        - Fresh Food Aggregation
        - Savings Club
      • More "Real" Investment Opportunities (short list)
        - Local Investment
        - Precious Metals
        - Securities in "Real" Companies
        - Onshore vs. Offshore
        - Creating Your Net Energy Minus Types and List(s) - extending Solari's List including local businesses
        . . (aka Genocide Fund)
        - Creating Your Net Energy Plus Types and List(s) - extending Solari's List including local businesses
        - PopWhacking & Shareholder Activism
      • Checklist of Potential Investments/Investment Areas
    6. Four Phases of a Solari Investor Circle

                                                         i.            Getting started by organizing an informal close-knit group

                                                       ii.            Working on Coming Clean together

                                                     iii.            Becoming a Legal Entity to allow for pooled investments

                                                    iv.            Investing pooled funds according to Solari Investment Criteria

    1. Solari Action Network
      • Sharing best practices and lessons learned with other Solari Investor Circles thru SAN
      • Cross pollination increases your ROI / reduces risk
    1. Risk Management
      • Net Energy Minus Groups and Individuals
      • Economic Warfare Tactics
      • Staying off the Radar Screen While Information Gathering
      • Privacy
      • Sabotage
  1. Recommended Reading & Preliminary Action
    1. Coming Clean- Building a Wonderful World From the Inside Out,
      by Catherine Austin Fitts & Christina Engelbart
    2. one or two books about Investment Clubs
    3. books and articles that foster financial literacy
    4. see also references listed throughout Coming Clean
    5. Early actions to ramp up your learning curve
  2. Networking Your Solari Investor Circle Conspiracy
    1. Networking with other Solari Investor Circles
    2. Spawning other Solari Investor Circles
    3. Networking local business opportunities
    4. Networking your local community
    5. Inspiring a local Solari Investment Advisor and Data Bank

PART II: DOING A SOLARI INVESTOR CIRCLE - FOUR PHASES

Phase One: CORE GROUP FORMATION

  1. Assembling Your Core Group
  2. Kick Starting Your Core Group with Coming Clean
  3. Defining Your Purpose, Principles & Practices
  4. Agenda: First Meeting
    • see Appendix for Sample Agenda
  5. Review of Agenda/Time Investment
  6. Notetaking: research and decisions
  7. Who are we?
    • What is a Solari Investor Circle? discussion
    • Why are we interested in doing a Solari Investor Circle?
    • do the following after discussing Solari Index?
    • Vision
    • Mission or Purpose
  8. Decision and Commitment/Covenant
  9. Allocation of Roles
  10. Investment/Commitments of Time
  11. Review "Early Actions with Quick Results" under Phase Two for discussion purposes
  12. Next Steps

Phase Two: ONGOING LEARNING & DOING

Actively Coming Clean together, ramping up the learning curve, sampling simple transactions

  1. Coming Clean Together - Focused Actions
    - select 1 or 2 actions from both Financial + Living Equity tracks
    1. Financial Equity Track - Learning about our Ecosystem:
      • Identify Risk Reduction/Investment Opportunities
      • Reading/Research on Financial Planning and Investment
    2. Living Equity Track - Learning about our Ecosystem:
      • Identify Risk Reduction Investment Opportunities
      • Reading/Research On Living Equity
  2. Sample Early Actions with Quick Results
    1. Group Prayer / Meditation
    2. Move your personal bank accounts to local/independent bank or credit union
    3. Discuss members' Popsicle Index and Solari Ratio
      - and Opportunities to improve them
    4. Identify sources of greatest personal drain (health issues, debt/finances, ...)
    5. Identify how this group can help members address their drains
      - e.g. exercise together, help a member find a job, ...
    6. Portfolio Simulation & Education Agenda
    7. Savings Club
    8. When you are ready to start pooled investments with tax consequences, advance to Phase Three
    9. Start Group Finances: Decide Monthly Contribution
      - What Do We Need to Set Up a Bank Account, Tax ID and to start doing deals?
  1. Networking with Other Solari Investor Circles

Phase Three: LEGAL FORMATION FOR POOLED INVESTMENTS

Forming a legal entity for pooled investments and income tax requirements

  1. Put the legal paperwork together
    1. reference Legal Requirements in Part I
    2. get a TaxID#
  2. Open a joint bank account
    1. providing the Circle's TaxID#
  3. Find a tax accountant and an attorney with _____ expertise to review and sign off on your legal structure
  4. File all required tax forms as required by IRS and state/local tax law

Phase Four: MAKING YOUR POOLED INVESTMENTS POWERFUL

Ever more powerful pooled investments, while continuing Coming Clean

  1. Continue Coming Clean Together
  2. Pooling Investments
    1. Checklist of investment areas
  3. Networking with Other Solari Investor Circles


APPENDICES

  1. Lessons Learned : Group Composition
  2. Key Solari Concepts [renamed]
  3. Effective Group Tools and Process

1.    Knowledge/Experience Diversity

2.    Believe/Know/Do

3.    Myers Briggs Balance

4.    MIT Project Management Protocols

5.    Sample Meeting Agenda

6.    Basics of Running a Meeting

7.    Group Decision Making & Conflict Resolution

  1. Sample Legal Documents

1.    Membership Agreement

2.    By Laws

3.    Promissory Note

4.    IRS Tax ID

5.    A Note About Investment Clubs and the SEC

  1. Posting on SAN - Knowledge Management

1.    Create "Topic" for your group

2.    What to Post

      • Group Name, Location, Size, Status (Forming/ComingClean/PooledInvestments)

3.    Post event announcements, status reports, learnings, ideas

  1. Model Transaction I - Financing Credit Card Debt
  2. Model Transaction II - Financing Living Equity
  3. Solari's Net Energy Minus Investment Index

1.    Includes filtering criteria

  1. Solari's Net Energy Plus Investment Index

1.    Includes filtering criteria

  1. (And so forth)

 

REFERENCES


THE TOWN THAT WAL-MART TURNED DOWN
Progressive Review, Nov 30, 2004
http://prorev.com/2004/11/town-that-wal-mart-turned-down.htm

Meeting & decision making processes

The Professional Paranoid