Invest in a Rural New Deal
V.2, N.33
Earlier this month, I spoke at Planet Local in Bristol, England. Five hundred localization advocates from around the world attended this conference, all committed to developing local investing strategies. One of the keynote speakers included Zac Goldsmith, UK’s former Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate, and Environment for the Tory Party, who resigned in disgust when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak renounced the party’s climate commitments that Goldsmith had carefully crafted. Several days ago, the opposition Labour Party, seeing an opening, announced a major commitment to devolve power to cities across the United Kingdom, in part to facilitate local investment in climate mitigation measures.
It made me wonder if these political possibilities could come to the United States. Could the Republican Party once again become a force for environmental protection (as it was under Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush)? Could the Democratic Party become a force for decentralizing power?
A positive step toward both possibilities is our feature story, which suggests how empowering rural America could make it more self-reliant and a beacon for communities across the country. A group of thoughtful rural leaders just released “A Rural New Deal.” Their goal is “to build and rebuild local economies across rural America, reverse forty years of wealth and corporate concentration, restore degraded lands, reclaim land and ownership opportunities for those whose land was taken by force or deceit, and ensure that communities and the nation can and do meet the basic needs of its people.” One specific recommendation is to revitalize community banking, and the rest of the report suggests other promising opportunities for local investment.
You’ll also find in this issue fresh statistics about crowdfunding (including closing in on the milestone of creating 344K jobs), progress in implementing California’s public banking law (the East Bay Bank just hired a CEO), updates on worker ownership initiatives in Los Angeles, a feature about a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago, and new designs for community-owned real estate.
Plus, you’ll find 20+ new investment offerings. Don’t forget to visit our website to see the full version of available local investment opportunities from coast to coast.
- Michael H. Shuman, Publisher
NEWS
A Rural New Deal, Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (September 19)
Investment Crowdfunding Q3 2023 Roundup, Crowdfund Capital Advisors (October 4)
In California’s Bay Area, a Victory for Public Banking, Next City (September 29)
LA County Launches Worker Ownership Initiative, Project Equity (September 28)
Chicago Wants to Be the First Major US City to Run a Grocery Store, The Messenger (September 19)
Experiments in Community Ownership Taking Charge of Commercial Real Estate, Nonprofit Quarterly Magazine (September 13)
PARTNER VOICES
NC3’s Community Capital Accelerator, National Coalition for Community Capital (September 28)
Investing $1M Into Innovative Real Estate Models to Build BIPOC Wealth, Common Future (September 26)
Messiness, Mutuality, and Methodology: Three Tips for Measuring Impact, Candide Group in ImpactAlpha (September 21)
TDC President Joe Guinan discusses Wealth Supremacy with Author Marjorie Kelly, The Democracy Collaborative (September 20)
NEW INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Below is our list of recently posted investment opportunities across the United States. 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.
NOTABLE NEW RESOURCES
Report on the 42nd Annual Small Business Forum, US Securities and Exchange Commission (September 27)
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—October 24 at 1 pm ET—focuses on the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts.
NC3 Conversation with David Palmer - Virtual Event. October 18, at 1 pm ET. Learn more from the project team developing a diversified community investment fund in Detroit, Michigan. Register here.
Celebrating a Milestone: Investment Crowdfunding Soars Beyond $2 Billion - Virtual Event. October 18, at 1 pm ET. Sherwood Neiss from Crowdfund Capital Advisors will share ten insights defining this milestone's significance. Register here.
Leveraging Alternative Returns for Women’s Health Equity - Virtual Event. October 18, at 6 pm ET. Join fellow investors to learn more about unlocking alternative return instruments to increase the impact of your portfolio. Register here.
Rethinking Ownership and Work: Shared Responsibility and Reward - Virtual Event. October 19, at 2 pm ET. Schumacher Center convenes a monthly series featuring New Economic thinkers, builders, and activists in various fields. Register here.
43rd Annual E.F. Schumacher Lecture - In-Person Event. October 21, at 3 pm ET. Featuring co-founders of Rising Tide Capital, Alfa Demmellash and Alex Forrester. Register here.
DazzleCon 2023 - In-Person Event. October 20 - 21. Curated event for Zebras-aligned entrepreneurs, funders, or allied practitioners. Apply to attend.
Supecrowd Utah - In-Person Event. October 23. A dynamic one-day conference that unites investors and entrepreneurs on a mission to empower community builders, social entrepreneurs, and diverse founders. Register here.
Sell Your Food Business and Attract & Retain Employees - Virtual Event. October 23, at 1 pm ET. Learn how employee ownership could help you sell your company and attract and retain the best team in the food industry. Register here.
SOCAP23 - In-Person Event. October 23 - 25. An action-oriented gathering where investors, entrepreneurs, and social impact leaders come together to accelerate progress against the world’s toughest challenges through market-based solutions. Register here.
Sustaining Ownership: The Promise of Employee Ownership Trusts - Virtual Event. October 25, at 2 pm ET. An expert panel will discuss the current state of research into trusts, the benefits EOTs provide, and how EOTs compare to other forms of employee ownership. Register here.
NYC Meet & Greet: Charting Paths to Collective Ownership - In-Person Event. November 4, at 5 pm ET. Learn about Exit to Community, a strategy geared towards collective ownership to ensure sustainability and long-term benefits for all. Register 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 Different Kind of Developer: How Small Community-Based Projects Can Bolster Neighborhoods, The Buffalo News
CLTs Gaining Ground in NYC, Pratt Center for Community Development
Building Community Wealth: Shifting Power and Capital in Real Estate
Finance, Zebras Unite
JOBS BOARD
Common Future is hiring for a Controller, VP of Impact Initiatives, and a Philanthropic Partnerships Director
Mission Driven Finance is hiring a Senior Investment Analyst, a Senior Director of Real Estate Asset Management, a Structured Finance Director, and a Construction Project Manager
Project Equity is hiring a Black Employee Ownership Initiative Program Manager
Raise Green is hiring a Sales Development Representative and a Climate Finance Project Manager
FREE SHORT VIDEOS ON LOCAL INVESTMENT
If you want 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 US, from San Luis Obispo, CA, to Providence, RI, and even Australia! Together, we can move our hard-earned savings from Wall Street into our communities. Fill out the intake survey below to join this growing cohort!
CHAMPIONS BY STATE
AZ | CA | CO | DC | FL | GA | HI | IA | IL | IN | KY | LA | MD | MN | MI | MT | NC | NH | NE | NY | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SD | TX | VA | VT | WA | Australia | Belgium | Canada | India
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. 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.
PARTNERS
Abrams+Angell | American Independent Business Alliance | Candide Group | Community-Vision Solutions, Benefit LLC | Council Fire | Crowdfund Better | Cutting Edge Capital | Democracy Collaborative | Exit to Community Collective | 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 Associates | 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 | 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.