Private Community Host Resources

1)    Does my community name need to say “Buy Nothing?” 

No! It’s entirely up to you what you name your Private Community. 

2) Can I use the same community name in my FB group as my BN Private Community? 

Yes. It’s a place name. We’ll differentiate the 2 platforms on the worldwide Find Your BN Community list. 

3)    Can an app Private Community and my FB group co-exist? 

Yes, this is a great way to meet your community-members wherever they are. Some are moving off of Facebook and will appreciate the chance to stay in a Buy Nothing gift economy, and others may not want to try a new platform/app, while some will use both platforms. 

4)    What if only a few community members come over from my Facebook Group, and not all?

That’s ok! Every Buy Nothing gift economy started with just a few and grew to where they are now. Building community takes time and intention. 

5)    Can we cross-post between a Facebook Group and BN Private Community? 

Yes, you’re welcome to cross post between the 2 communities. In the app, we’ve made it easy for you to share a post (copy it to your clipboard and paste it into your Facebook group, and you can do the same with your Facebook posts, but for both of these scenarios, only members in both communities will see the posts. 

6)    Can FB groups exist simultaneously with BN Private Communities? 

Yes. Both can be available to the community, to include as many community-members as possible as not everyone is on Facebook or BuyNothing, so we want to capture as many community members as possible in the Buy Nothing gifting experience. 

7) What tools will a host of a Private Community have? 

Community hosts have the power to add and remove members, and post Tips. They also have a Host badge.

8) Can an Admin/Host delete their private community and remove members? 

Yes. The process, however, is an archiving process. If you cannot Host your community, we ask that you contact us so we can help you to find a new host or simply archive the community until a community-member steps up to host the PC. We aim to build private Buy Nothing communities in as many neighborhoods as possible.

9) What if I’m a member of a FB group and the Admin doesn’t want to start a private community on BN; Can I set up a private community? 

Yes!

10) What other benefits do Hosts get in BuyNothing? 

Hosts are Subscribing Members so they receive subscription benefits, including a Host badge. 

11) What if an Admin/Host can’t continue hosting a BN Private Community and can’t find a community-member to carry on Hosting duties? 

We archive the group and mark it as waiting for a volunteer Host in the community itself. Potential volunteers, who are Sustaining Members, can reach out to us to host the community.

12) Can I Host more than one Private Community?

Yes!

13) Do members of a private community have to pay to participate in the private community? 

No. To be clear: The Buy Nothing Project app is free for everyone. You should have no problem downloading and using the full, core features of the app entirely for free, either via the web at Buy Nothing Project or through your mobile app store (the App Store or Google Play).

14) Can I be a member of many private communities? 

Yes, but your membership is ultimately up to the host of that community. 

15) How long does the special offer for Facebook Admins to create Private Communities last? 

1 month for community members to test out our subscription benefits and a lifetime subscription for admins turned hosts within that month.