Revitalizing Chicago's Commercial Corridors

V.2, N.58

Oct 24, 2024

Our lead story in this issue is about Community Desk Chicago, which is deploying local investment tools in a way every community group should consider. According to its President and CEO, Ja’Net Defell, “We support nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and small community developers with real estate projects that do one of two things: have a direct impact on community wealth building and generational wealth, or bring new products and services and experiences to communities that are typically under-resourced.”

Starting in the South Shore of Chicago, the organization’s CorridorLive! project is acquiring and rehabbing abandoned or blighted commercial properties and preparing a pipeline of essential local businesses to occupy the buildings. The goal is to activate critical buildings, blocks, and neighborhoods. And at the center of the strategy is a Community Investment Vehicle Playbook, which outlines specific strategies for helping residents in target neighborhoods become owners of the upgraded properties.

Also in this issue:

A report on how the Brookings Institution and the Local Initiatives Service Corps (LISC) have helped three diverse rural towns in Indiana—Warsaw, Michigan City, and Seymour—reenergize distressed neighborhoods that historically were the victims of discrimination and divestment.
An essay on how Benefit Corporation laws (a corporate structure available in most states) have raised the social, environmental, and community standards of businesses and how new state laws could accelerate these trends.
An interview in The Providence Journal with Jessica David, who describes the latest news on Local Return’s effort to raise $3.5 million for the nation’s first Diversified Community Investment Fund.
A great overview, from Stir to Action, of new forms of worker ownership available in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia.
And the winners of this year’s cutting-edge worker-ownership innovations recognized by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.

Finally, a nudge. If you or your organization have an event, an idea, or an offering you’d like to bring to the attention of our 8,000 readers, we can provide you with some great, affordable advertising space. Let us know if you’re interested!

- Michael Shuman, Publisher

NEWS

Generating Community Wealth From Commercial Real Estate, Center for Community Investment (September 25)
Inclusive Economic Development in Rural Towns, Brookings (October 3)
Why Benefit Corporation Legislation Is Not Enough, B Lab (October 7)
What is a Community Investment Fund? The Providence Journal (October 15)
Putting Democracy Into Workers’ Buyouts, Stir to Action (October 10)
Worker Co-ops and Cooperators of the Year, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives (October 3)

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WHAT YOU MISSED IN THE LAST MSJ EXTRA!

MSJ Extra!

Silver Linings for Small Businesses

Oct 17

Small businesses seeking assistance have a huge menu to choose from, including courses, mentors, technical assistance, incubators, accelerators, maker spaces, and co-working spaces. But one approach that really impresses me is called the Silver Lining Action Plan, or SLAP™, designed by Carissa Reiniger. SLAP™ combines behavioral science, simple software…

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SPONSOR CORNER

The National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) is dedicated to educating, advocating, and activating community capital—and serves as MSJ's fiscal sponsor. Thank you for being a part of a growing movement! Contact NC3 for support integrating local investing in your work: info@nc3now.org.

NC3 UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

In considering what to do in the aftermath of powerful natural weather events, we hope readers are aware of efforts such as WNC Strong: Helene Business Recovery Fund, led by Mountain Bizworks, a nonprofit mission-driven CDFI lender. This rapid recovery loan fund serves as a bridge for businesses to meet immediate needs. Within 10 days of setting it up, they've had nearly 550 business loan requests. Please consider promoting this opportunity to aligned institutional or individual impact investors in your network who might be interested. There is a possibility for DAF holders to loan as little as $5,000 to this fund and have the principal repaid back into their DAF every six months as the loans are repaid. They are also looking for philanthropic capital to act as loan-loss. Institutions or individuals can also make a tax-deductible donation for business grants. For more information, please contact Bekah Wallace at bekah@mountainbizworks.org.

PARTNER NEWS & VOICES

The Power of Storytelling in Crowdfunding Videos, Superpowers for Good (October 17)
Perpetual Purpose Trusts for Wisconsin’s Future, Purpose Trust Partners (October 8)
Certified Employee Ownership Advisor Program for Financial Advisors, Project Equity (October 8)

NEW INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Our complete list of recently posted investment opportunities has moved to MSJ Extra! As a teaser, here is an offering from our list. (Please note that our listing of these opportunities is not an endorsement. Remember that all investments are risky, so click on the hyperlinks and read all the details carefully before investing.)

On the Farm (Cody, WY) - Wefunder: An online marketplace for farmers to connect directly with local consumers.

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NOTABLE NEW RESOURCES

Community Capital Live with Jay Nwachu of Ignite Capital
Co-op Ownership of Mobile Home Communities, Nonprofit Quarterly (October 18)
The Index of Systemic Trends, Democracy Collaborative (September 18)

ASKS

If you or your community has a project on local investment or local economies that needs help, please let us know. We invite our readers to assist each other.

From Capital Innovation Lab: Calling all Vermont-based women/female-identifying entrepreneurs! Are you looking to raise money for your business and don't know where to start? Are you just looking to better understand your financial options? We are seeking entrepreneurs to join our next Money Map cohort! The Money Map is a comprehensive resource for entrepreneurs to demystify the money-raising process and to support the development of more effective capital strategies to align money with mission. Through our partnership with Vermont Women's Fund, participation in the Money Map—including online resources and multiple one-on-one sessions with capital strategy coaches—is free for this cohort. This next cohort will run through late November and December. To register your interest, please fill out this form.

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Have you always wanted to start a local investment club, a website listing local investment offerings in your community, or a local investment study group?

Whatever your interest or ambition, we invite you to “go public” to help others in your region find you, scheme with you, and start a local investment movement in your community. We aim to identify dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of Main Street Champions like you in every corner of the globe. Together, we can move our hard-earned savings from Wall Street to Main Street into our own communities. Fill out the intake survey below to join this growing cohort!

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About The Main Street Journal

The Main Street Journal aims to catalyze the movement of $50 trillion from Wall Street to Main Street to facilitate economic development and economic justice. It’s sponsored by the National Coalition for Community Capital, with grants from the Heron Foundation, Wallace Global Foundation, and the Bondi Foundation. We welcome feedback about everything, from our design to content. Please send ideas to Jen Risley at jen@main-street-journal.com.

Our Team:

Michael Shuman – Publisher
Jen Risley - Editor
Wendy Wasserman - Strategic Advisor

PARTNERS

Abrams+Angell | American Independent Business Alliance | Candide Group | Capital for Change | Capital Institute | Community-Vision Solutions | Council Fire | Crowdfund Better | Crowdfund Capital Advisors | Democracy Collaborative | Exit to Community Collective | Fair Food Network | Impact Finance Center | ImpactPHL | Initiative for Local Capital | Institute for Local Self-Reliance | The Kassan Group | Mission Driven Finance | National Coalition for Community Capital | Natural Investments | Neighborhood Associates | Neighborhood Economics | New Majority Capital | Next Egg | Nonprofit Quarterly | Ownership America | Ownership Capital Lab | Ownership Matters | Partnership for Southern Equity | PathLight Law | Project Equity | Project for Public Spaces | Prospera Partners | Raise Green | Revalue | Rising Tide Capital | Schumacher Center for a New Economics | Shelterforce | Slow Money | SOCAP | Sun Valley Institute for Resilience | The Super Crowd Inc. | Transform Finance | Uwharrie Bank | Village Well | Zebras Unite

We welcome any nonprofit or for-profit committed to local investment as a partner. If your organization is interested, please contact Jen Risley at jen@main-street-journal.com.