Become a Main Street Champion!
V.1, N.5
Do you have what it takes to be a champion? That is, a local investment champion in your community? This issue inaugurates a new opportunity for The Main Street Journal (MSJ) readers to transform information into action. Local investment champions have just one responsibility – to do something. Maybe you want to set up a MSJ study group? Or a local investment club? Or a web listing of local investment offerings? Or a new local investment fund? Whatever your interest or ambition, take this opportunity to raise your hand, publicly identify yourself, and help other people in your region find you, work with you, and create a more powerful team. Our goal is to identify dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of champions like you across America. Together, we can move our hard-earned savings from Wall Street back into our communities. Below, you will find a link to a short “intake” survey, and in future issues we will share a link (and ultimately a website) where you can access the growing roster of fellow champions across the country.
Also happening this week, those of us in the community development field are focused intensely on the reckoning ahead for two recent infrastructure bills. After years of embarrassing underinvestment, buckling highways, collapsing bridges, and poisoned water systems, Congress is finally prepared to act. In this edition of The Main Street Journal, read about intriguing provisions buried in the bipartisan bill about supplementing federal spending with “private activity bonds” to spur local investment. You will also find articles on some great innovations on worker ownership in Cleveland, on BIPOC business funds in St. Louis, and on community land trusts in Colorado.
– Michael Shuman, Publisher of The Main Street Journal
NEWS
Infrastructure Bill Expands Use of Private Activity Bonds, FMSbonds, Inc. (August 11, 2021)
New $1.5 Million Fund Launched in St. Louis to Help Black, Latino Entrepreneurs, St. Louis Business Journal (August 6, 2021)
This Community Land Trust is Making Housing More Affordable in Colorado, Next City (August 10, 2021)
Evergreen Cooperative in Ohio Helps Companies Shift to Worker-Owned, News 5 Cleveland (August 11, 2021)
PARTNER VOICES
How Restorative Investing Can Support Socially Conscious Companies, Capital Insight Podcast (August 9, 2021)
Modernize the Investment Company Act of 1940 to Aid Local Investing, Janice Shade (August 12, 2021)
EVENTS
Increasing the Housing Supply, Part 1: Expanding Home Sharing – Webinar. Tuesday, August 24, 10am-7:30pm EDT. Hosted by Housing Solution Summit.
Massachusetts Investor Club – Webinar. Thursday, September 16, 1-3pm EDT. Hosted by Impact Finance Center.
Radically Rural Summit – In-Person or Virtual Conference. Wednesday, September 22 to Thursday, September 23. Hosted by Radically Rural.
New York State CDFI Investor Club – Webinar. Friday, October 1, 12-2pm EDT. Hosted by Impact Finance Center.
ICYMI
This Community Foundation Wants to Change the Face of Who Controls Wealth, Next City (July 6, 2021)
California Puts up $500 Million for Community Ownership Against Big Real Estate, Next City (July 27, 2021)
We Need Public Banking, Jacobin (August 2, 2021)
Group of Experts to Devise Business Plan for San Francisco Public Bank, San Francisco Public Press (August 5, 2021)
GET INVOLVED
The Small Business Bond’s new iPhone app allows individuals like you to invest in local small businesses you love. How you ask? “A Bond is like a loan, but instead of borrowing funds from a bank, a business borrows from everyday investors just like you. Anyone with a US-based bank account can discover available Bonds, choose which to invest in, and receive monthly principal plus interest payments.”
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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.