Voluntary subgroups of participants who choose to share income beyond the base program percentage.
Enable experimentation with communal or semi-autonomous financial structures, while maintaining participant protections.
Serve as natural test beds for:
Effects of higher internal sharing on cohesion and trust
Behavioral and financial outcomes in collective pooling models
Balancing communal support with individual wealth accumulation
Membership: Participants may join multiple affinity groups, with contributions stacking additively.
Contribution Limit: Total contributions (base + all affinity groups) cannot exceed 100% of income.
Group-Managed Affinity Groups:
May be managed collectively with rules for internal pooling and distribution.
Individual autonomy: Members may leave at any time; exiting reverts them to the base program and any other affinity groups they remain in.
Group Size & Duration: Flexible; ongoing or defined for a research period.
Governance: Internal rules are transparent and flexible; base program rules always take precedence.
Base Contribution:
Fixed % of EI (e.g., 10%) goes to the base pool for all participants.
Affinity Group Contributions:
Optional, additive % of income goes into internal group pools.
Participants may assign a portion or the entirety of their affinity contribution to a collective bank account that funds community needs (housing, food, tools, shared activities).
Stacking contributions allowed across multiple affinity groups; total contributions capped at 100%.
Internal Rules / Funds:
Affinity groups may define rules for internal allocation, e.g.:
Exit community fund — reserves for participants leaving the group
Retirement or “nest egg” fund — accumulates individual wealth while working collectively
Conditional growth rules: nest egg contributions may start after certain time or once community income reaches a threshold
Flexibility allows groups to balance collective needs and individual wealth accumulation.
Payouts:
Base pool payouts remain unaltered.
Affinity group internal pools are distributed according to group-defined rules.
Participants may leave anytime; leaving stops participation in that group’s pool without penalties.
Buffer & Windfalls:
Internal pools may include a buffer (~5%) for stability.
Bonuses or additional contributions possible if the internal pool grows beyond projections.
Voluntary participation: Members can join or leave at any time.
Immediate exit rights: Participants can leave any affinity group without restriction.
Transparency: Group rules, contributions, and distributions are shared with all members.
Base pool stability: Exiting an affinity group does not affect base pool payouts or other affinity groups the participant remains in.
Affinity groups as experimental units allow study of:
Communal pooling versus individually-managed contributions
Long-term wealth accumulation within collective frameworks
Safety and wellbeing outcomes in flexible, participant-controlled environments
Interaction of community-managed funds with base system stability