Some Backtalk, Please!
V.2, N.34
Over the past two years, we at The Main Street Journal have been steadily building out lots of features to serve a growing universe of local investors worldwide. We have provided you—for free—33 issues stuffed with news, commentary, events, jobs, and, most recently, listings of the latest local investment options. We have done all this on a small grant from the Heron Foundation in 2021, plus hundreds of hours of volunteer effort. We now want to implement a plan for modest revenue generation so that this work can continue. And that’s where you, dear readers, fit in.
First, we would like you to consider donating. (Because of our affiliation with the National Coalition for Community Capital, a 501(c)3, your donation is tax-deductible.) For every issue henceforth, you will see a button that says “Support The Main Street Journal.” Please click on it now and then. If you find our publication useful, please contribute something. Anything, really, will be appreciated. And I pledge to remind you to consider contributing only twice a year.
Second, we have tentatively decided to split the newsletter in two starting in January. You will continue to receive The Main Street Journal every other week for free, and in the weeks in between, you can opt to receive MSJ Extra for a small fee (probably $10 per month). MSJ Extra will contain local investment offerings and original content, including interviews and special analysis.
You’ll note that I began the last paragraph with “tentatively.” This is where your opinion comes in. So, we invite you to participate in a single-question poll on this proposal.
If you have other opinions about what else we should (or shouldn’t) be doing—and we love that many of you are very opinionated—please email our editor.
Thank you for voting. And…enough of that!
In this issue, you’ll find lots of interesting news on community-owned solar initiatives, debt-based crowdfunding, new models for community development, new research on the benefits of employee ownership, and a new national cooperative for artisans. Please dig in!
- Michael H. Shuman, Publisher
NEWS
How Community Energy Initiatives Can Be an Effective Tool for Degrowth, Resilience (October 18)
Honeycomb – Debt Crowdfunding on a Hot Streak, Crowdfund Capital Advisors (October 17)
Four Winning Models For Building Community Wealth, Next City (October 10)
How Employee Ownership Lowers Inequality, Leads to Better Performance and Builds Social Trust, Social Innovation (October 6)
Announcing the Beta Launch of Artisans Cooperative, Artisans Cooperative (October 2)
PARTNER VOICES
Seven Pathways for Transcending Wealth Supremacy, Democracy Collaborative in ImpactAlpha (October 10)
Bringing Our Impact Home: Introducing the Employee Fund, Mission Driven Finance (October 5)
Hawai’i Investment Ready Helps Social Entrepreneurs, Natural Investments (October 4)
She Guides People on the Journey From Wall Street to Main Street, Superpowers for Good (October 3)
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
Decentralism File, Schumacher Center for a New Economics (October 19)
Ways to End Corporate Welfare in Your County, Innovative Pro (October 18)
Land Value Tax Shift for Tax Relief and Fairness, Land Value Tax Shift 4 Maryland (September 21)
EVENTS
Where I Went Wrong: Marjorie Kelly on Why Advancing Ethical Business Isn't Enough - Virtual Event. October 30, at 1 pm ET. Kelly draws on the lessons of her career—including her mistakes—to call for a movement that refuses to take the current system for granted. 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.
FOOD FUNDED 2023 Regenerate - In-Person Event. November 13. Food entrepreneurs and investors convene for educational workshops and live investment presentations to catalyze funding for food ventures. 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
Labor and Capital Align in New Movement for Worker Ownership, Impact Alpha
The Arts Generated More Than $150 Billion Last Year, Marketplace
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, an Investment Management Vice President, and a Structured Finance Director
Mission Driven Finance is recruiting applicants for the Impact Capital Managers Mosaic Fellowship, a 10-week paid internship in the summer of 2024 (Apply by November 6)
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.