Support grows for public banking
V.1, N.3
As many of you know, one of the best models for democratizing capital comes from North Dakota. The publicly-owned Bank of North Dakota was founded in 1919 “to deliver quality, sound financial services that promote agriculture, commerce, and industry.” The bank has since seen its assets grow to $7.7 billion and its cumulative profits for the state to over $2 billion, all while promoting community lending, local business, and grassroots investment. That it's wildly popular in a state where 65% of voters supported Donald Trump in the last election suggests the bipartisan appeal of community capital. You’ll read in this issue about how California and New Jersey are trying to mimic North Dakota’s success. You’ll also see an intriguing piece on how crowdfunded local companies are trying to take down global giants like Uber. And please look at the National Coalition for Community Capital’s petition to revise SEC rules on investment pools and make neighborhood funds easier to create. When obsolete laws stand in our way, we have the power to change them.
– Michael Shuman, Publisher of The Main Street Journal
NEWS
A Proposal for A Democratic Public Bank in Los Angeles, Democracy Collaborative (July 12, 2021)
Biden’s American Rescue Plan Can Help Save Your Local Main Street, Brookings (July 12, 2021)
This Driver-Owned Uber Alternative Seeks $1 Million in Crowdfunding, Bloomberg (July 14, 2021)
PARTNER VOICES
Sign NC3’s Petition To Make Community Investment Funds More Accessible, Ken Linge, National Coalition for Community Capital (July 2021)
EVENTS
The JOBS Act and Community Capital: Retrospectives and Prospectives – Webinar, Friday, July 30, 12:30-2pm PDT. Hosted by The Next Egg.
Employee Ownership in San Francisco – Webinar, Tuesday, August 10, 12-1pm PDT. Hosted by the City and County of San Francisco's Office of Economic and Workforce Development in partnership with Project Equity.
ICYMI
Never Trust Anyone Who Tells You There Is Only One Way To Raise Capital, Jenny Kassan, What Will It Take (August 2019)
Biden’s American Rescue Plan Can Help Rescue New Jersey’s Public Bank, NJ Spotlight News (March 26, 2021)
The Equitable Economy Fund Offers Start-up Growth Capital to Cooperatives, Karen Kahn (April 20, 2021)
What is Community Wealth?, Local Return (June 17, 2021)
BC Community Impact Investment Co-op Start-Up and Operations Guide, Eden Yesh (July 2021)
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About The Main Street Journal
The Main Street Journal catalyzes 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
Cutting Edge Capital, National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3), Project Equity, Revalue, The Initiative for Local Capital, The Next Egg, Prospera Partners, Jenny Kassan, and Democracy Collaborative. 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.