🎶 Invest in your local music venue 🎵
V.1, N.25
Transforming devoted fans into direct investors is the secret ingredient fueling the proliferation of America’s local microbrewery scene. Now we’re seeing this trend revive forlorn music venues in the United Kingdom. An estimated 93% of UK music halls live precariously as tenants, and in the decade before COVID about a third of these venues were closed. Our top article is about a social enterprise, Music Venue Properties (MVP), rustling up three-and-a-half-million pounds of investment to save nine such British venues via direct ownership. For many communities – especially in a country where cutting-edge music defines the culture – these halls are critical institutions for the community and for the economy. MVP promises to become a musician-friendly landlord, with each venue run by an elected community board.
Also in this issue is an article about how credit unions across the UK are expanding their loans to “green up” local housing with energy efficiency and solar energy. “Purpose matters,” says Billy Doyle, CEO of Ireland’s Dundalk Credit Union describing this effort and the link between credit unions, and the cooperative movement.
Another story this week showcases how a new worker cooperative in Los Angeles is beginning to organize 10,000, mostly Latino, car-wash workers.
And be sure to read the great article by Steve Dubb in the Nonprofit Quarterly outlining important educational resources available for those who want to organize new worker cooperatives or convert existing enterprises into worker-owned entities.
Our list of Main Street Champions – that is people actively organizing local investment in their communities – has now expanded to 74, with our newest addition from India. Please consider becoming Champion #75!
– Michael Shuman, Publisher, The Main Street Journal
NEWS
Community Ownership Project Launched To Protect The UK’s Music Venues, New Statesman (May 23)
Credit Unions And The Green Lending Opportunity, Co-op News (May 31)
A New Worker-Owned Car Wash In Los Angeles, Fast Company (May 27)
Building Worker Co-op Infrastructure: What Knowledge Does The Field Need?, Nonprofit Quarterly (June 1)
New Federation Planned For Worker Co-ops In The UK, Co-op News (June 1)
PARTNER VOICES
Innovative Real Estate For The Local Economy And The Environment, Mission Driven Finance (May 10)
The SOCAP Content team curates content from many sources: listening to the field, reading, art, partners, and SOCAP Open. SOCAP Open is your chance to propose content for SOCAP22. Submit your ideas here before July 7.
Andrea Armeni: An Opportunity To Spur Deep Structural Change, Transform Finance featured in Fifty by Fifty (May 25)
Total Impact Summit 2022 Convenes 300+ Local & National Impact Stakeholders, ImpactPHL (May 26)
EVENTS
Retirement Investing For A Just Future – Webinar. Wednesday, June 22, 1pm ET. This webinar explores a project that hopes to democratize access to social justice investing via retirement savings, while creating a non-extractive investment chain that is owned and governed by social movement actors at every point. Register here.
ICYMI
A Comprehensive List Of Community Land Trusts In North America, Schumacher Center for a New Economics (May 2022)
Making Microlending Work, RecentlyHeard (June 1)
Is Private Equity Joining–Or Co-opting–The Employee Ownership Movement?, Fast Company (May 19)
Crowdfunding Market Size To Grow By $239.78 Billion, Technavio (February 2022)
JOBS BOARD
Mission Driven Finance is seeking a full-time Salesforce &Technology Administrator (can be fully remote).
Social Enterprise Greenhouse is seeking a CEO.
Boston Ujima Project is seeking a Communications Associate.
BECOME A MAIN STREET CHAMPION
Have you always wanted to start a local investment club? A website of local investment offerings in your community? 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. Our goal is to identify dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of Main Street Champions like you across America. We already have Main Street Champions across the U.S., from San Luis Obispo, CA to Providence, RI, and even Australia! Together, we can move our hard-earned savings from Wall Street back into our communities. Fill out the intake survey below to join this first cohort!
SOME OF The MSJ’s VINTAGE ISSUES
As Wall Street implodes, consider investing in local housing
How San Franciscans secured $9.4 million in affordable housing 🌁
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 a grant from the Heron Foundation. We welcome feedback about everything, from our design to content. And we welcome suggestions of other groups to involve as partners, and other information to include. Please send ideas to Sophia Leswing at sophia@main-street-journal.com.
PARTNERS
We welcome any nonprofit or for-profit committed to local investment as a partner. If your organization is interested, please contact Sophia Leswing at sophia@main-street-journal.com.