Happy JOBS Act anniversary! (though it could be happier)
V.1, N.21
April 5th was the tenth anniversary of President Obama signing the JOBS Act which codified investment crowdfunding as a legitimate financial tool. It was the first – and only – time I’ve been to the Rose Garden for a legislative signing. With the cherry blossoms in full bloom, that moment was a time of enormous hope. Some of that hope has been realized. As of today, according to data from Crowdfund Capital Advisors, more than a million Americans have invested $1.4 billion in nearly 5,000 small businesses and created 193,000 jobs. The average successful raise is now $344,000 – and rising.
Yet, investment crowdfunding is one of the few areas in which grassroots investors like you and me can participate. Most of the federal investment programs targeting communities of color and supporting economic and racial justice, such as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), and Opportunity Zones, involve government grants or rich people banking tax breaks. You and I are left out.
In this issue, we’re happy to highlight CDFI programs funded through corporate penalties in Nevada, CDFI grants going to 158 forward-looking private banks, and rich philanthropists favoring donor-advised funds that invest the corpus locally. This is all good stuff. But it also could be so much bigger.
Current rules reward wealthy investors to support businesses in distressed communities through tax incentives, while you and I are throwing hard-earned nickels and dimes at Main Street businesses without compensatory benefits. Let’s change this.
Here are three ideas:
Extend federal tax credits to all Americans who choose to invest in businesses in distressed communities (including those who rely on a standard deduction on their annual tax forms);
Nudge CDFIs to allow grassroots investors to participate in their programs;
And encourage CDFIs to supplement or match BiPOC crowdfunding to magnify their collective power.
Let’s try to celebrate successes like these for the 20th anniversary of the JOBS Act!
And…ICYMI…check out our new website: TheMainStreetJournal.org to find an archive of past issues, an expanding roster of Main Street Champions, and our list of partners. Please join them!
– Michael Shuman, Publisher, The Main Street Journal
NEWS
How Green Worker Cooperatives Helps Grow Cooperatives In New York City, AlterNet (April 3)
Nevada Forms First Statewide CDFI to Help Women & Minority-Owned Businesses, The Official State of Nevada Website (April 8)
CDFI Fund Awards $26M To Banks That Increased Investments In Severely Distressed Communities, The Ritz Herald (April 11)
Bringing Community Power to the Mostly Hidden World of Donor-Advised Funds, Next City (April 5)
PARTNER VOICES
Community Economic Development & Small Business Finance, The Kassan Group (April 11)
Thoughts On Food, Money & Nonviolence, Slow Money (April 3)
Can Community Finance Advance Racial Equity? It Takes an Ecosystem, Nonprofit Quarterly (March 30)
EVENTS
SB 1407 by State Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) is a legislative effort underway to advance employee ownership across the state. SB 1407 is set to be heard in the California Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development on Monday, April 18th and could use your support! Please sign up here for updates on the bill or reach out to Bernadette King Fitzsimons at bkingfitzsimons@seiu-uhw.org.
Investing In Employee Ownership Models To Build Generational Wealth – Webinar. Thursday, April 21, 12pm ET. Hear from fund managers that demonstrate employee ownership and the benefits of democratic governance structures. Also, impact investors will share how they are structuring investments in these kinds of models and deploying catalytic capital to ultimately build wealth and power in communities.
NC3’s Listening Tour – Video Conference. Are you in the process of creating a Community Investment Fund (CIF) or other community capital project? NC3 is conducting a Listening Tour to learn about your project’s development and current needs. To participate in the Listening Tour and share your experience, sign up for a 30-minute meeting here.
Total Impact Summit 2022: Investing For New Economies – In-Person Conference by ImpactPHL with SOCAP. May 16-17 at Convene Center City in Philadelphia. This two-day summit is for individual and institutional investors, fund managers, and financial advisors to learn about local and global innovations, discover investable solutions, deploy capital, and generate social impact. Register here and use code SHUMAN to take $300 of the current price.
ICYMI
Cryptocurrency BerkShares Pegged to US Dollar Used To Purchase Bread In Massachusetts, CoinTrust (April 5)
How Worker Cooperatives Shift Power To Workers, Prism (April 11)
JOBS BOARD
Fair Food Network is seeking a Director of Institutional Funding, Business Operations Manager, Senior Director of Impact Investing, and Program Ambassador.
Mission Driven Finance is hiring a range of positions. See all open jobs here.
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
NH Senate considers strangling local investment in affordable 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.