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A group of individuals in a specific community decide to form the a Golden Seed Community Land Trust (GSCLT) as a non-profit organization. The organization begins by raising funds through donations, grants, and other means or by finding a land owner that is willing to donate their land to this cause. With the funds raised, GSCLT purchases a piece of property in a desirable location within the community. The property is then leased to a trustee, who is responsible for maintaining the property and paying a small fee to the GSCLT each month, this fee is used to cover the costs of maintaining the non-profit and to fund the purchase of additional properties. As more properties are acquired and more trustees are added, GSCLT has a larger pool of funds to work with, allowing it to purchase properties at an increasing rate. The organization continues to acquire properties and leases them to trustees who meet certain qualifications and agree to the terms of the lease. The lease agreement is for a 2-year term, with the option to renew for lengthier terms up to 33 years. The trustee has the option to extend the lease term eventually to 33 years, this length would prevent leases from outliving the people involved in the agreements. The trustee is also able to transfer the lease to their heirs or others, just like a traditional property, without incurring capital gains taxes or inheritance taxes. Over time, the GSCLT has a large portfolio of properties and generates a significant amount of revenue through the fees paid by the trustees. The GSCLT uses the monthly fees collected from the trustees to maintain the organization, pay for property taxes, and to eventually fund community services such as paving roads, installing solar panels on homes, and other projects that would benefit the community as a whole. This would show the power of keeping our rents circulating in our communities rather than being siphoned off by the current banking system. Each regional GSCLT can utilize the Golden Seed's online forum where trustees, members of the organization, and other stakeholders can share information, ask questions, and provide feedback. This platform allows for the sharing of successful strategies for acquiring properties, managing and maintaining properties, and collecting fees. It also allows for the sharing of legal and regulatory compliance, and addressing specific challenges or issues that may arise. The online forum also enables the sharing of legal agreements and contracts, and soliciting feedback from community members and legal experts. This allows the organization to refine and improve the agreements over time, and to ensure that they are clear, fair, and legally enforceable. It's important to note that this is just one example of how the "golden seed" land trust model could work in practice and that the specifics of the model would vary depending on the specific community and location. The legal framework and regulations also need to be taken into account, as well as the specific needs and goals of the community. In the future, with hundreds regional GSCLTs across the globe using the online forum and contract library, the "golden seed" land trust model would have a much larger impact. Each regional GSCLT would operate independently, but they would all have access to the same online forum and contract library. Thus improving resiliency and preventing corruption from infection the entire network. The online forum would be a central hub for sharing information, best practices, and feedback among the regional GSCLTs. This would allow each regional GSCLT to learn from the experiences of others and adapt their own practices and contracts accordingly. For example, if one regional GSCLT develops a successful strategy for acquiring properties, other regional GSCLTs could learn from it and adopt similar strategies. The contract library would be a central repository for plain language agreements and contracts that could be used by the regional GSCLTs to purchase, hold, and transfer land. This would allow for a standardization of the agreements and contracts across the regional GSCLTs and would make it easier for community members to understand the agreements and for legal experts to review them. The collective impact of 100 regional GSCLTs would be to provide more affordable and sustainable housing options for more people and to improve communities across the globe. This would be accomplished by having a larger pool of funds to work with, by having a more efficient and effective implementation of the model.

Here are some Chat GPT generated responses to these questions that I thought were excellent. Food for thought. What is a Trust? A trust is a legal arrangement in which one or more individuals, known as trustees, hold and manage assets for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. Trusts can be used for a variety of purposes, such as to manage assets for minors, to provide for dependents with special needs, or to minimize taxes. Trusts are typically established by a grantor, who transfers ownership of assets to the trustees. Trusts can be either revocable or irrevocable. In a revocable trust, the grantor retains the right to change or revoke the trust at any time. In an irrevocable trust, the grantor gives up control over the assets and cannot make changes to the trust. Trusts can be classified into different types based on their purpose, the type of assets they hold, and the way they are taxed. What are the benefits of holding land in a Trust? Holding land in a trust can provide many benefits for both the current and future generations. One of the main benefits is asset protection. By transferring ownership of the land to a trust, the land is protected from creditors, lawsuits, and other potential legal issues that may arise. Additionally, a trust can provide tax benefits, such as avoiding probate and reducing estate taxes. Another benefit of holding land in a trust is the ability to control how the land is used and managed. A trust can include specific instructions on how the land should be used, who can use it, and how it should be managed. This can ensure that the land is used in a way that aligns with the values and goals of the person who established the trust. Trusts can also be used as a tool for conservation and preservation. By holding land in a trust, it can be protected from development and other activities that may harm the environment. This can ensure that the land is preserved for future generations to enjoy. Finally, holding land in a trust can provide a way for families to pass down land from one generation to the next. A trust can include specific instructions on how the land should be passed down, who should inherit it, and how it should be managed. This can provide continuity and stability for families who want to keep land in the family for generations to come. In summary, holding land in a trust can provide many benefits including asset protection, tax benefits, control over land use and management, conservation and preservation, and continuity for families. It can be a powerful tool for ensuring that land is used and managed in ways that align with the values and goals of the person who established the trust. How can a Trust hold land? A trust can hold ownership of land in a few different ways. One way is for the grantor of the trust to transfer the ownership of the land to the trustees. The trustees then hold and manage the land for the benefit of the beneficiaries. Another way is for the grantor to retain ownership of the land, but place restrictions on how the land can be used or transferred through a conservation easement, which is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust. The landowner retains ownership of the land but agrees to limit certain activities on the property in order to protect its conservation values. The land trust holds and enforces the easement, and has the right to access the property to ensure that the terms of the easement are being met. In this case, the trust has a right to use the land but not the ownership. How can a trust ownership of land be used to change the world? A trust can use its ownership of land to help change the world in a number of ways: • Conservation: Trusts can acquire and protect land to preserve natural resources, habitats, and biodiversity, which can help to mitigate the effects of climate change and provide important ecosystem services. • Access to nature: Trusts can provide public access to the land they own, allowing people to enjoy and appreciate the natural world, which can help to promote environmental awareness and stewardship. • Sustainable Agriculture: Trusts can use their land to support sustainable agriculture and farming practices, which can help to reduce the environmental impact of food production, improve soil health, and promote biodiversity. • Community Development: Trusts can use their land to support community development projects, such as affordable housing, urban agriculture, and public spaces, which can help to promote social and economic equity. • Education: Trusts can use their land as outdoor classrooms, to provide educational opportunities for students of all ages, which can foster an understanding of the natural world and its importance to our well-being. Overall, by owning and managing land in a responsible way, trusts can help to promote conservation, sustainability, and social and economic equity, and contribute to a more just and equitable world.

Golden Seed This nonprofit is designed to be a hub of info and the start of the first few projects. It is designed to be the beneficiary of land trusts. Our hope is that this model and concept can be replicated into smaller "cells" across the globe. We do not wish to be a global entity, yet we do envision being a globally connected group through the replication of similar models all connected through a digital environment. Land Trust Structure A proprety title can be transfered into a trust of many kinds. Trusts can be revocable or irrevocable. What happens in the deed in divided into two parts. The legal ownership or trustee, this part of the deed gives legal ownership to an individual, company or entity. That entity then has all legal rights to the land. The second part of the deed is called the beneficiary, this gives monetary ownership to an individual, company or entity. That entity then would be the beneficiary of the value of the land or property if it were ever sold. Ideally the beneficiary would be a non-profit or some organizational structure that would never allow the land to be sold back to a bank. The trustee of each property would then have a long term low cost transferable lease. They would hopefully agree to a yearly or monthly donation to the land trust cell which would then use that money to purchase more land in the future. With this method we could effectively reduce the costs of land to the trustee's and also create a mechanism to allow rents to stay within local communities. This is not the only method but it is one that we beleive is a step in the right direction for land ownership of the future. Long Term Lease's The main focus of the Golden Seed, is to acquire property through direct donations, pledges(people who choose to join the group and already own land), as well as by purchasing land. We do not want to limit the creative possiblities that can come to life with this trust concept. We will create a long term lease starting at 2 years and going up to 33 years. This lease will be fully transferable to anyone the Trustee so chooses. We will require the lease holder to be the trustee of the property giving them legal title to the land. The lease will require the trustee to pay a cost payment each month which includes, property taxes, insurance and a small donation to the land trust. The lease will also stipulate that the trustee work towards providing resilient sources of water, food, energy and shelter. The lease payments would then be held by the land trust or similar cell until such time that that entity could purchase additional land. The non-profit would be managed by a rotating board of trustee's, each land trust cell could choose their managing members in a way they felt was most effective. Trustee Requirements Each property will be different as to what the donors vision for the land as well as what is possible to accomplish on the land. A house in town will have less chance to achieve all the goals compared to a 100 acre farm. We will thoroughly vet the potential trustee's and find people who can feasibly accomplish their plans The Golden Seed will have nothing to do with any businesses, non-profits, farms or households We will set a baseline when new stewards take responsibility of the trustee title. Our purpose is not to manage or remove people from property but to facilitate their ability to achieve their goals. In fact this is one potential for corruption in future generations so our agreements will need to take this into careful consideration. How do we start The first projects are the most difficult, we have already had some adversity and failures. Currently we have no land held in trust. But we have a 10 acre parcel that we are working on a multi business approach using the land trust, with the hope of the shared profits from these business being given to the land trust inorder to purchase the land in the future. Our Director is also working on the purchase of a property that would be pledged to the nonprofit once the mortgage is paid off. As we develop the website more, we will begin to document and catalog all our agreements and projects.