Thanks for Sharing Your Opinion!
V.2, N.36
A month ago, we asked whether you would be willing to pay $10 per month for an additional issue of the MSJ called the MSJ Extra! (we currently publish every other week). We were blown away with your responses. More than 600 registered opinions, and 542 said “yes” to this plan.
So, here’s what will happen next:
Beginning January 4, we will publish weekly on Thursdays.
The flagship MSJ will remain free to all subscribers and be sent every other week.
Paying subscribers will also receive the MSJ Extra! on “off weeks.” Our listings of local investment opportunities will move into the MSJ Extra!, and we will add interviews and other features as well (though we’ll place short summaries of these in MSJ the following week).
Starting in this issue, you will find a subscribe button below that will take you to Substack to add your payment details. (You can revert to “free” whenever you want.)
We will continue to engage MSJ Extra! subscribers to ensure we deliver exactly the information you want and need.
Now, to the real news. In our featured articles this week:
How small credit unions are serving targeted markets in distressed communities.
The story of the Artisans Cooperative, which is trying to outcompete Etsy (a publicly traded company) with a stakeholder platform owned by participating artists (300 are participating already).
Cutting-edge strategies for increasing black homeowners by, for example, creating funds that help underwrite their down payments.
How the Industrial Commons is trying to bring the employee-ownership model of Mondragon, Spain, to Western North Carolina with a 40,000 square-foot Innovation Campus and more.
New ideas for bolstering independent, brick-and-mortar retail, such as Meantime’s kits for filling vacant commercial properties with pop-up stores.
And amazing statistics about fast-expanding worker-owned enterprises in the United Kingdom. These firms are 8-12% more productive than their privately owned counterparts.
Don’t forget to check out the latest listings of local investment opportunities. And please sign up now for the MSJ Extra! now:
NEWS
The Outsized Impact Of Small Credit Unions, Next City (November 21)
Owned and Run By Artists and Makers, Shareable (November 20)
Building an Ownership Movement to Close Racial Wealth Gaps, ImpactAlpha (November 15)
The Closest Thing to Mondragon’s Network of Worker-Owned Businesses, Solidarity Hall (November 14)
We Need a New Movement for Independent Retail, The New Urban Order (November 6)
Employee Owned Businesses Deliver Productivity Boost, Employee Ownership Australia (November 4)
PARTNER VOICES
Money as an Expression of Faith, Neighborhood Economics (November 20)
The Grain Shed: Brewer, Baker, Social-Bond Maker, American Independent Business Alliance (November 20)
Wefunder’s Jonny Price Explains the $5M-in-a-Day Offering, Superpowers for Good (November 9)
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
Alternative Ownership Enterprises, Transform Finance (November 20)
Rethinking Our Way Out of the Affordable Housing Crisis, KQED (November 20)
People Powered Growth, Employee Ownership Association (October 20)
Employee Ownership at the Crossroads, Ohio Employee Ownership Center (October 10)
EVENTS
Alternative Ownership Enterprises: an Introduction for Mission-Oriented Investors - Virtual Event. December 1, at 1 pm ET. Gather key insights from research about Alternative Ownership Enterprises. Register here.
Launching Businesses with Crowdfunding - Virtual Event. December 5, at 2 pm ET. Explore both the financial and non-financial benefits of crowdfunding for startup entrepreneurs. Register here.
Remaking the Economy: Redefining Journalism - Virtual Event. December 7, at 2 pm ET. Explore how journalism can advance economic justice. Register here.
Ask Me Anything: Values-Aligned Investing - Virtual Event. December 12, at 1 pm ET. How to align your retirement savings with your values. Register here.
SuperCrowdHour: Building Stronger Communities with Investment Crowdfunding - Virtual Event. December 20, at 1 pm ET. Funding Hope’s CEO, Dorian Dickinson, will discuss the power of investment crowdfunding in building stronger communities. Register here.
Regenerating Local Food Economies: Feeding Eight Billion - Virtual Event. December 21, at 2 pm ET. Featuring three activists advancing just, sustainable farming practices through organizing, education, and innovation. Register here.
Neighborhood Economics - In-Person Event. February 26-28, 2024. Facilitating ongoing conversations across geographies that help people build economic architecture so everyone will thrive. Register here.
ICYMI
Toward an Anti-Racist Paradigm in Community Development, ThirdSpace Action Lab
JOBS BOARD
Mission Driven Finance is hiring a Senior Investment Analyst, an Investment Management Vice President, a Real Estate Asset Management Senior Director, and a Fund Operations Manager
Project Equity is hiring a Policy & Impact 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 | ME | 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.