Crowdfund Your Neighborhood Shopping Center
V.2, N.28
The business press is filled with headlines about how the COVID pandemic decimated the commercial real estate markets in downtowns, big and small. It seems to be a global pandemic of retail and commercial deserts. However, many low-income and neighborhoods of color have always had these deserts, even before COVID. A few pioneering developers are daring to change this by partnering with neighborhood investors to buy local shopping malls and populate them with local small businesses, not big monolithic chains.
Consider Lyneir Richardson, a former investment banker who is now the CEO of Chicago TREND, a social enterprise harnessing the community power of local investors to organize commercial development in predominately underdeveloped urban neighborhoods. Our lead story from Next City describes how Richardson used Small Change, a crowdfunding platform specifically dedicated to responsible and sustainable real estate projects, to raise over $780,000 in grassroots capital from 330 investors to underwrite two shopping plaza developments in West Baltimore.
We also offer a story, from Impact Alpha, on another visioner development company called LocalCode. Founded in 2020 by Jeff Mendelsohn, who previously ran New Leaf, a sustainable paper company, LocalCode is launching two redevelopment projects on Kansas City’s East Side, where the annual median income is less than $29,000. These new projects could mobilize over $175 million of fresh investment in the next few years (and perhaps long-term) for locally owned real estate on the East Side. How is he doing it? Partially via a direct public offering where Kansas City residents can invest for as little as $100.
Also, in this issue, you will find a summary of other affordable-housing developers around the country creatively using local investment tools offered by our friends at Cutting Edge Capital; a primer on the nation’s two dozen “green banks” (essentially local or state-run investment funds underwriting sustainability initiatives); and the U.S. Department of Labor’s opening of a new Division of Employee Ownership, which will open new opportunities for co-op conversions.
Finally, a thank you and a welcome. A huge thank you to Melea Huon-Dumentat for serving as editor for the past half dozen issues. In her shoes, please extend a warm welcome to our new editor, Jennifer Risley. Jen has been a huge asset to the local economy movement for more than a decade: in Keene, New Hampshire (where she lives and ran a buy local program); in New England (where she has helped organize local business networks): and nationally (where she is currently serving as the part-time director of operations at the American Independent Business Alliance - AMIBA). We are pleased to claim the other part of her time for The Main Street Journal. Please send your stories, events, and job announcements henceforth to jen@main-street-journal.com.
- Michael H. Shuman, Publisher
NEWS
Community Investors Are Doing What Big Dollar Retail Investors Won’t, Next City (July 18)
On East Side of Kansas City, LocalCode Adds Community Ownership to the Real Estate Toolkit, Impact Alpha (July 25)
Innovative Housing Solutions for Thriving Communities, Cutting Edge Capital (July 26)
Green Banks Could Pay For Housing and Climate Change at the Same Time, Fast Company (July 21)
DOL Launches Worker Ownership Initiative Mandated in SECURE 2.0, Bloomberg Law (July 11)
PARTNER VOICES
How One Organization is Preserving Housing Co-ops, Shelterforce (July 28)
New Financial Institution Announces First Major Loans to BIPOC Businesses On Juneteenth, Propsera Partners (June 20)
Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today's Crises, Marjorie Kelly of The Democracy Collaborative (Forthcoming September 2023)
EVENTS
Moose’s Corner: Innovations in Local Business Networks - Virtual Event. Join Michael Shuman (aka “the Moose”) and AMIBA for a monthly deep dive with the best local business networks in the United States. This month’s event—August 24, at 1 pm EDT—focuses on Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance.
Keep Retiring Rural Businesses Going with Employee Ownership - Virtual Event. August 7. Learn about employee ownership as a business succession strategy. Register here.
Intro to Crowdfunding with Crowfund Better - Virtual Event. August 10. Besides bringing in dollars, what else can crowdfunding do for your business?
Super Crowd Hour: How to Start Investing for Impact With $100 - Virtual Event. August 16. Featuring KingsCrowd's Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau.
Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership - In-Person Event. August 30-31. A global gathering of decision-makers in the field of employee ownership. This year will focus on government policies to grow these business models. By invitation only: Fill out an Interest Form here.
Neighborhood Economics - In-Person Event. February 26-28, 2024. Event facilitating ongoing conversations across geographies that help people build economic architecture so everyone will thrive. Register here.
ICYMI
A Visual Guide to Employee Ownership, National Center for Employee Ownership
How to Create a Debt Co-op to Take Back Your Student Loans, Shareable (June 20)
How Local Ownership of Clean Energy Boosts Benefits, Busts Barriers, and Builds Power, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (June 14)
JOBS BOARD
National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) is hiring an Executive Director and an unpaid Law Student Intern (to apply for the internship, send a resume to info@nc3now.org)
Project Equity is hiring an EO Equals Project Consultant
CLES is hiring a Head of Regional Economic Change and a Senior Researcher
Common Future is hiring a Director of Philanthropic Partnerships
Mission Driven Finance is hiring for multiple positions
FREE SHORT VIDEOS ON LOCAL INVESTMENT
If you want to short answers to your most pressing questions about local investment, we have prepared a series of 5-10 minute videos. Find them posted on our website under the “Local Investing Videos” page. Or click on the links below to be directed to videos based on the topic:
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. We aim 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 growing cohort!
SOME OF MSJ's VINTAGE ISSUES
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 additional information to include. Please send ideas to Jen Risley at jen@main-street-journal.com.
PARTNERS
American Independent Business Alliance | Candide Group | Community-Vision Solutions, Benefit LLC | Council Fire | Crowdfund Better | Cutting Edge Capital | Democracy Collaborative | Fair Food Network | Impact Finance Center | ImpactPHL | Initiative for Local Capital | The Kassan Group | Mission Driven Finance | National Coalition for Community Capital | Natural Investments | Neighborhood Economics | New Majority Capital |. Next Egg | Nonprofit Quarterly | Ownership America | Ownership Matters | Project Equity | Project for Public Spaces | Prospera Partners | Raise Green | Revalue | 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
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.