Invest in a Local Economy University
V.2, N.44
Most of you probably are unaware that my day job is teaching. Once a month, I fly across the country from Palm Springs to Brooklyn to teach economics, public policy, and triple-bottom-line business at Bard College’s MBA in Sustainability Program. And every week, I engage with twenty- and thirty-somethings for 90 minutes online. Our program at Bard prepares 40 mission-driven business people each year to, business by business, reshape every sector of the economy. The need for new expertise like this has never been greater—but, alas, Bard cannot meet this need on its own.
This explains why I was excited to see a new movement to buy out and repurpose Goddard College in Vermont. Goddard has always had a green hue, but like many small schools, it has struggled financially in recent years. This week’s lead story is about a $5 million initiative, led by Cooperation Vermont and the Cooperation Vermont Community Land Trust, to purchase the school and create a Just Transition Campus: a place of transformational learning, experimentation, and community resilience. Supporting the initiative is a coalition of former Goddard students, faculty, staff, and alums trying to rescue and repurpose this beloved institution before the land and facilities are auctioned off to developers and speculators.
Here are some other great stories you will find in this MSJ issue:
Community land trusts are once again helping homeowners hit by a natural disaster stay in affordable rebuilt homes—in this case, after fires swept away entire communities in Maui, Hawaii.
With help from the Cleveland and Gund Foundations, a Black-led green bank in Cleveland, Ohio, is now poised to claim its share of the federal government’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
In Western/Central New York and the Finger Lakes Region, small-dollar investments can now be made in Climate-Smart Notes to fund green infrastructure projects.
On Capitol Hill, Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) have introduced a National Worker Cooperative Development and Support Act (HR 7221).
The United Kingdom is now the number one country for worker ownership in Europe, thanks in part to the spread of "Ownership Hubs” across the country.
Also, a big shout-out to Supercrowd24 in April. Look for us in the crowd, as we will join many of our local investment friends at this exciting virtual event.
And if you want more of what we have to offer—including our local stock listings and special interviews—please subscribe to our paid edition, the MSJ Extra!, through this handy link.
~ Michael Shuman, Publisher
NEWS
Cooperation Vermont Looks to Purchase Goddard College, Cooperation Jackson (March 13)
Recovering From Maui Fires Through Community Land Trust, NPR (March 14)
Cleveland’s Black-Led Green Bank, ImpactAlpha (March 18)
Climate Smart Notes Launches, Larsen Engineers (March 14)
National Worker Cooperative Development and Support Act, US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (March 18)
Great Britain Becomes Number One in Employee Ownership, European Federation of Employee Share Ownership (Mach 11)
West Midlands Ownership Hub, Co-op News (March 1)
WHAT YOU MISSED IN LAST WEEK’S MSJ EXTRA!
“Ujima” is one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. It means ‘collective work and responsibility.’ And it’s an appropriate name for the Ujima Fund, which supports Black businesses in distressed neighborhoods in Boston. One reason for its success is the tremendous leadership of Nia Evans, who we’re pleased to interview today.
MS: Tell us about the Ujima Fund. How big is it? How many businesses does it support? What types of businesses? And in what neighborhoods?
NE: The Ujima Fund is a $5 million fund. It has $4.5 million in investment capital and a $500,000 loan loss reserve. In 2023, the Ujima Fund portfolio grew to eight companies across nine industries and the two neighborhoods of Dorchester and Roxbury. We also celebrated a major milestone last year. Boston Ujima Project deployed $1.6 million to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) owned, socially impactful businesses in Boston’s working-class communities of color. Additionally, last year was remarkable for us in that we deployed $1,075,000, making the most investments ever—five—in a single year.
SPONSOR CORNER
The National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) is dedicated to educating, advocating, and activating community capital. The Main Street Journal's Publisher, Michael Shuman, was a founding member of the organization in 2017. NC3 has been MSJ's fiscal sponsor since it began, and with a new Executive Director and an opportunity to reimagine NC3 communications, NC3 will no longer publish its own monthly newsletter but instead work with MSJ to share the conversations, actions, and resources of community capital from around the nation.
What does this mean? NC3 will hold space in each bi-weekly MSJ newsletter moving forward, sharing updates and announcements of community capital and ways for you to engage. Thank you for being a part of a growing movement—we can't wait to connect with you and hope you will take the first step of joining our membership. All new and existing members are welcome and encouraged to reach out at any point to schedule a conversation with us—simply email info@nc3now.org.
NC3 UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
ERC Fellowship Update. NC3 is excited to announce that our EDA-funded International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Economic Recovery Corps fellow is hard at work and about to meet with Michigan and national leaders to discuss the advancement of community capital. NC3's fellow, Sydney Davis, is a successful Main Street and tech entrepreneur who will develop a community capital curriculum and materials that can be integrated into Entrepreneur Service Organization (ESO) training and workshops. Working in Michigan, Sydney will partner with ESOs from across the state as she develops materials that can be used nationwide. "This is a tremendous opportunity to advance the community capital movement on the ground in communities across the country. Virtually all ESOs provide training and guidance on capital raising, but only a tiny fraction of them include information about how to raise capital from members of the communities where these businesses start their journey," said Chris Miller, NC3 Board Chair.
Due Diligence Procedures, Tips & Tricks for Values-Aligned Investing. Join us for a conversation with LIFT Economy, Revalue, Invest for Better, Candide, Opportunity Main Street, and Full Spectrum Labs to learn about taking the real steps to invest in your local economy. April 4, 1-2:30 pm ET, register here.
SuperCrowd24. NC3 is co-hosting this event to help you engage in impact crowdfunding. You will also hear several NC3's Board Members speak and moderate discussions by attending. Save 30% by using the discount code NC3member when you register here today.
PARTNER NEWS & VOICES
Act Local School: For People Repairing Local Economies, Neighborhood Economics (March 17)
Capital Institute Partnership to Catalyze Regenerative Transformation, nRhythm (March 17)
How B Corps Can Build on Success with Employee Ownership, B the Change featuring Project Equity (March 14)
The Marigold Effect of Investment Crowdfunding, Superpowers for Good (March 14)
Honeycomb Credit Reports Topping $25 Million in Funds, Crowdfund Insider (March 13)
Investment Crowdfunding Trends 2024, Crowdfund Capital Advisors (March 3)
How to Make Money with Impact Crowdfunding, Supercrowd (March 1)
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, and remember that all investments are risky, so click on the hyperlinks and read all the details carefully before investing.)
Roseland Center (Chicago, IL), Small Change: Building Black wealth through community-owned shopping centers. A project of Chicago TREND.
LOCAL ECONOMY FUNDS HIGHLIGHT
Community Foundations Embrace Mission-Related Investing to Boost Local Impact, ImpactAlpha (September 2023)
NOTABLE NEW RESOURCES
Try Local with Michael Shuman, Radio 2050 (March 14)
Banking for the People, Next City (March 11)
Solidarity Economy Funding Library, New Economy Coalition (March 8)
EVENTS
Works For All: Cincinnati's Co-op Economy - Virtual Event. March 29-31.
Community Not For Sale: Popular Education, Community Organizing and Cooperative Economics - Sheffield, MA. March 30, at 3 pm ET.
Move Your Money Month - April 1 - 30. Sign-on here.
Investing in Alternative Ownership Enterprise Funds: Insights from Investors - Virtual Event. April 3, at 1 pm ET.
Incredible New Developments in the Move Your Money Movement - Virtual Event. April 11, at 1 pm ET.
Supercrowd24 - Virtual Event. April 17 - 18. (Apply for the NC3 Pitch Session by April 1.)
Investment Crowdfunding Demystified - Virtual Event. April 23, at 2 pm ET.
ICYMI
Rhode Island Community Investment Fund, American Independent Business Alliance
JOBS BOARD
Just Economy Institute: Fellows
Mission Driven Finance: CARE Finance Senior Director and Senior Data and Analytics Engineer
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SOME OF MSJ’s VINTAGE ISSUES
What is the Cost of NOT Investing in Distressed Neighborhoods?
Does Your Community Want Its Own Home-Grown Investment Fund?
Crowdfunding Is Working for Women and Minority Entrepreneurs
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. Also, 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.
Our Team:
Michael Shuman – Publisher
Jen Risley - Editor
Jessica Landman - Strategic Advisor
PARTNERS
Abrams+Angell | American Independent Business Alliance | Candide Group | 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 Matters | Partnership for Southern Equity | PathLight Law | 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 | 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.