Buy Nothing. Share Everything.
Local Connections. Global Impact.
Your Support Powers Buy Nothing
THANK YOU for visiting our Update page! This means you are likely an admin of a Buy Nothing group on Facebook. We're grateful for all the work you do to build community in your neighborhood. PLEASE NOTE: It is NOT MANDATORY that you update your group's 3 questions, rules and description. But, these are the most current versions available to you.

Each Buy Nothing private group may use the information on this page per the directions below, including the links to the Group Description page and the 10 Rules page. NOTE: the content on the Group Description page and the 10 Rules page cannot be copied, distributed, or edited without permission from the Buy Nothing Project.


Your group should LINK to the Group Description and 10 Rules pages, using the directions and links on this page. This will give your community one-click access to the most current Buy Nothing foundational documents, without any future updates needed on your part. 


If you'd like to build a Buy Nothing group for your community, contact us here and we'll get you set up.

Buy Nothing Project Private Groups
Update Your Group's Documents

If you'd like our help updating your group's documents, we'd be happy to lend a hand. Simply click here and fill out this form and we'll be in touch via email.

Here's how to update your Buy Nothing group's documents.

Note: We've simplified the process for updating your group! Gone are the days when you'd need to copy and paste or download and then upload, and then update whenever there's a change. Now we provide permalinks to the most current, universal and official Buy Nothing Project documents which we maintain for the world. With these stable permanent links in place, your group will always have access to the most current Buy Nothing support.

Once you update your group with the text and links on this page, you'll never have to worry about future updates and you'll never accidentally be in violation of copyright law (which could lead Facebook to delete your group without notice).

The text of the universal and official Group Description and 10 Rules allow for any Local Variation rules or practices you establish for your local private Buy Nothing group. If your group is a Local Variation, be sure to see the point below called "Is Your Group a Local Variation" to learn how and where you add your own unique local rules.

There are 3 areas that most groups need to update as of December, 2022:

Click each plus sign ( + ) or text with dashed underlines below to expand each section, so you can read all of the text

Group Description
This is the only part of the group description you'll copy and paste into your group's description area. It links to a more expanded description for people who would like more detailed information. 
Copy and paste the entire bolded text, including the copyright and link below, into your Group Description field:

Click here for a general description of this local Buy Nothing group. Once you join this group, you’ll be able to see any special local rules or practices set up by this group’s local leaders to serve this community well. (If this link isn’t live, type it into a browser).
https://buynothingproject.org/buy-nothing-group-description

To join us, click “Join Group” and answer the membership questions. Contact one of the local volunteer Community Builders, whose names are listed here under “admin”, with any questions about membership in this Buy Nothing community group.

© The Buy Nothing Project, All Rights Reserved
If Your Group is Capped, Add This to Your Description Too:
This is an extra sentence for groups that aren't currently accepting new members. Copy the bold text below and paste it into your Group's Description field with the other Description info: 
This group is capped and is not currently accepting new members. You can still connect with the Buy Nothing community today via the BuyNothing app (available in the Play Store & App Store), and visit our Build Buy Nothing page for more options https://buynothingproject.org/build
Group Rules
This is the only text you will copy and paste into your group's Group Rules section, using the area for Rule #1. It will always link your group to the up-to-date Buy Nothing 10 Rules. If you add anything to the areas for Rules 2 through 10, you will become a Local Variation Group and will need to follow the simple steps we guide you through on this page. 
Copy and paste the text and link below into the Rule #1 field in your group (and be sure to turn on the toggle "Ask People to Agree to Group Rules"):

The Buy Nothing Project Mission & Rules

We have 10 Rules.
Please read them here: https://buynothingproject.org/10-rules
(If this link isn’t live, type it into a browser)

Is Your Group a Local Variation with Its Own Special Local Rules?
We have a page just for you! Follow the directions here that will walk you through the additional steps you need to take to let your community know about your Local Variation rules and best practices, and who created them (you!).

In a nutshell, you need to write any new rules for your group in your own words, and you'll add those to your 10 Rules section. You'll also need to use your own words to add some information about your Local Variation to your group description, below the Buy Nothing Project standard group description and attribution.

Our Become a Local Variation page will walk you through all of this. If you have any questions, please contact us and we'll gladly help.
3 Questions
These are our suggested 3 Questions. To use these, copy and paste the text below into the 3 Questions fields in your group. These are the questions that people who click on "join group" need to answer so you can approve them to join your private group:

Q1: Thank you for your interest in joining the Buy Nothing Project! Are you a member of this community as identified by our group’s name? (1 of 3)

Q2: Are you also using the BuyNothing app to connect with people who aren’t on Facebook and to travel with BuyNothing? You can download the app for iPhone & Android if you’d like. (2 of 3)

Q3: Are you an adult? (If you’re not sure, please look up our region’s legal definition of the age of an adult.) (3 of 3)

Copyright 2023 Liesl Clark & Rebecca Rockefeller, The Buy Nothing Project. All rights reserved. Each Buy Nothing private group may use the information on this page per the directions above, but the content on this page cannot otherwise be copied, distributed, or edited without permission from the Buy Nothing Project. The content on the Group Description and 10 Rules pages cannot be copied - Your group should LINK to the Group Description and 10 Rules pages, not copy them, using the text and links provided on this page.


If you'd like to build a new or sprout Buy Nothing group for your community, contact us here and we'll get you set up! If you'd like our help updating your group's documents, we'd be happy to lend a hand. Simply click here and fill out this form and we'll be in touch via email.