Founding pilot · closes December 31, 2026
Funded. Founding. First in your city.
Join as a founding church and we confirm your rate in writing. You receive a monthly stipend, free products, and a defined zone, and become the reason the block around your front door looks different.
What you receive
A monthly budget with a clear job for every line.
Every participating church is funded each month. The first two lines have strict rules about where they can be spent; the remainder supports your zone team, communications, and the program.
United States · per month, per church
- Directory budget
- Must be spent with member businesses in the directory.
- Outreach budget
- Spent only on people and needs inside your own zone.
- Zone team, communications & program support
- $550
- Total each month
- $2,950
Kenya · per month, per church
- Directory budget
- Must be spent with member businesses in the directory.
- Outreach budget
- Spent only on people and needs inside your own zone.
- Zone team, communications & program support
- KES 63,000
- Total each month
- KES 113,000
Your zone reps send a short monthly report showing where the money was spent. Everything is tracked inside your Nexus account.
What we ask of you
Recruit your 8-8-8 into the directory. Show up in your zone.
Each partner church brings eight of each partner type into the directory, seeding the local economy your stipend spends into. Your 8-8-8 can come from anywhere in your country: they join the directory, not your zone. Household and community data is collected with consent.
The 8-8-8
United States
- 8 home-based businesses
- 8 small-to-mid-size businesses
- 8 NGOs, PBOs, or CBOs
Kenya
- 8 vendors
- 8 merchants
- 8 CBOs
Visible work in your zone
United States
- Pick up trash
- Remove graffiti
- Mow overgrown lots
- Board up unsafe buildings
Nairobi
- Pick up trash
- Unblock drainage channels
- Whitewash and repaint shared structures
- Clear fire and structural hazards
The sign
A promise, planted at your front door.
Your church marks its zone with a sign so every neighbor knows help is available, and knows who to thank.
United States
5 blocks
in every direction from your front door is your Promise Zone, marked with a front-yard sign. Your first sign is free; your zone reps handle delivery and placement. Learn more about how zones work on Bridgewell's partner page.
Kenya
0.5 km
in every direction from your front door is your Promise Zone, marked with a window decal. Your first sign is free; your zone reps handle delivery and placement. Learn more about how zones work on Bridgewell's partner page.
Launch
Lift up the startups your church believes in.
Your church can vouch for up to 4 startups or micro businesses that are small and lack funding. Nexus gives each one a free Launch membership: a one-page website, a QR code for their marketing and a small contact list.
Launch members are not part of your 8-8-8 and do not receive church stipend spending. Nexus reviews every application; a church's vouch does not guarantee approval.
How vouching works
- 1. A startup applies and names your church.
- 2. You get one short email with a link to confirm.
- 3. Nexus reviews the application and welcomes them.
Pilot terms
Help us find what's broken, before we go global.
You're a founding partner, not a test subject
Pilot churches shape the final version of this program before it scales.
If we don't deliver, you tell us
Stipend late, product missing, directory not working: you flag it and we fix it before scaling further.
Your rate, in writing
Join before December 31, 2026 and we confirm your church's rate in writing at enrollment, no matter what later churches are charged. The directory listing is part of your membership and is not an extra fee.
Already in another program? Keep it.
A church that is already part of another church-partnership program can join Nexus too. Those programs serve individuals and families; Nexus works on the zone around your church, so the two work side by side.
Questions
Straight answers.
What is the Square Mile program?+
A funded system that turns a church and the businesses around it into one connected zone. Churches receive a monthly stipend, with a set directory portion they must spend with member businesses and a separate outreach portion for their own zone; member businesses pay for a membership that includes working products and a directory listing; and part of every membership funds visible neighborhood work like trash pickup and graffiti removal.
Do churches pay to join?+
Churches that join before December 31, 2026 are founding partners. We confirm a founding church's rate in writing at enrollment, whatever churches that join later are charged. The directory listing is part of the membership and is not an extra fee.
Where does the money go?+
Between 25% and 30% of what businesses pay each month goes into the program fund, which pays for visible work in the neighborhood, carried out by partner churches in their zones.
Where does the program's funding come from?+
From for-profit sources: Alliance Capital Reserve's capital and the fees members pay for their digital products and services packages, a portion of which supports the program. That money supports Bridgewell Urban Group and the partner churches carrying out the work in each zone. Partner churches report each month how their directory and outreach budgets were spent.
Is Nexus a nonprofit?+
No. Nexus is a for-profit company. Members receive membership benefits, and Nexus commits 25–30% of what members pay each month to visible neighborhood work carried out by partner churches. Bridgewell Urban Group is the nonprofit that runs the program on the ground, and its registration is in process.
Can our church join if we are already in another program?+
Yes. A church that is already part of another church-partnership program can join Nexus too. Those programs serve individuals and families, and Nexus works on the zone around your church, so the two work side by side.
Can we help startups in our congregation?+
Yes. Your church can vouch for up to 4 startups or micro businesses that are small and lack funding, and Nexus gives each approved one a free Launch membership. Launch members are not part of your 8-8-8.
Next step
It's free. What's stopping you?
Tell us about your church. We'll confirm your zone, walk you through the pilot agreement, and help you start recruiting your 8-8-8.
Take the next step.
Join as a business, a church or a neighbor, and start building something that stays on your street.