The power of Community Development Investment Funds (CDFIS)
V.1, No.2
Happy Independence Day! Independence from King George, independence from COVID, and independence from Wall Street. In this issue’s news: For the first time I can recall, a cabinet official—Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm—has begun promoting local investment. (Memo to Joe and Kamala: We need to hear from you too.) There’s also a report on a dramatic shift in community development financial institutions (CDFIs), more than 60 of which are now accepting investments from local investors. Our friends in Nova Scotia, Canada, recently released a report on 20 years of neighborhood pension funds, and found that the associated government’s tax credits for local investors cost $575 per job (about a thousandth what most cities are paying to attract the Amazons of the world). And there’s a cool new video on how an agricultural cooperative in Philmont, New York, is converting brownfield properties into beautiful streetscapes. Enjoy! And please keep sending articles, reports, and videos we should share with others.
– Michael Shuman, Publisher of The Main Street Journal
NEWS
Energy Secretary Granholm Promotes “Place-Based” Climate Investments, S&P Global Market Intelligence (June 30)
Why You Should Consider Investing in CDFIs, Generocity (July 1)
How Your Local Agriculture Cooperative Can Lead Economic Development, A PBI Film (June 15)
The Huge Economic Impact of Nova Scotia’s Community Economic Development Investment Funds, Cooperative Enterprise Council (March 2021)
PARTNER VOICES
The Value of Seasonal Breaks, Angela Barbash, Revalue (June 2021)
Community Investment Funds: A Change is Gonna Come, Brian Beckon, Cutting Edge Capital (June 23)
EVENTS
Intro to Employee Ownership – Webinar, Tuesday, July 13, 12-1pm PDT. Hosted by the City and County of San Francisco's Office of Economic and Workforce Development in partnership with Project Equity.
The JOBS Act and Community Capital: Retrospectives and Prospectives – Webinar, Friday, July 30, 12:30-2pm PDT. Hosted by The Next Egg.
ICYMI
“Zoom Towns” Boost Community Wealth, Maury Forman (June 28)
Missed our first issue? Read it here (June 24)
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, and The Next Egg. 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.