This March, community economist Michael Shuman will return to our region to offer a Local Investment 101 Workshop Series that will teach, inspire and mobilize us to invest more of our dollars locally. If you missed his introductory webinar from October, please feel free to view it on our website today. “Small businesses throughout Vermont and New Hampshire have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdowns, as have the local economies that depend on them,” said Michael. “One readily available solution—one that does not depend on government bureaucracies—is to mobilize grassroots investment. Recent changes in the law (around investment crowdfunding, for example) make it cheaper and easier for nonaccredited investors to put money into local businesses.” The Local Crowd (TLC) Monadnock and Vital Communities will host this online four-session series each Thursday in March from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Registration for all four workshops is $100 (and partial scholarships are available). A signed copy of Michael’s latest book “Put Your Money Where Your Life Is” and a workbook is included.
Learn more!
“Americans now have about $56 trillion in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance funds—nearly all of it invested in global corporations,” stated Michael. “There are real alternatives [to Wall Street], but few know about or consider them. In fact, you can invest in everything that matters to you. You can put your money into that neighborhood grocery store you love, your little sister’s first house, or your nephew who needs to pay off high-interest student loans.”
Michael will offer us a way to make our community more resilient -- to prepare for future global crises -- and help us move more of our dollars into the businesses we don’t want to live without. The series focuses on grassroots investors eager to invest locally, businesses looking for local capital, and policymakers committed to facilitating local investment. “If we could shift even a small amount of that capital from Wall Street to Main Street, our local economies could flourish,” shared Michael. “This series is designed to help community leaders, personally and collectively, achieve this vision by developing practical local investment strategies.” Michael Shuman, a leading visionary on community economics, serves as Director of Local Economy Programs for Neighborhood Associates Corporation and Adjunct Professor at Bard Business School in New York City. He is also a Senior Researcher for Council Fire and Local Analytics, where he performed economic-development analyses for states, local governments, and businesses around North America. His most recent books include “Put Your Money Where Your Life Is: How to Invest Locally Using Solo 401ks and Self-Directed IRAs”; “The Local Economy Solution: How Innovative, Self-Financing Pollinator Enterprises Can Grow Jobs and Prosperity”; and “Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street.” Learn more at michaelhshuman.com. We hope you’ll join us!
Switching gears now to February 14: This Valentine’s Day, show your “local love” -- love for your sweetie and your whole community -- by purchasing gifts (or gift-making supplies) and meals (or ingredients) at locally owned businesses. Check out TLC Monadnock Mercantile for ideas.
Local Love Ideas
“Talk about a sweetheart gift! If every family in the country shifted $100 of their Valentine’s Day shopping budget to locally owned, independent businesses over $7.8 billion would be directly returned to local communities,” shared our friends at Independent We Stand. Locally owned businesses offer us much to love. They strengthen our local economy, culture and wellbeing. Independent businesses recirculate four times more money in our community than chain stores. Moreover, studies show that most new jobs are created by small businesses -- meaning today’s local Valentines are tomorrow’s jobs. So, show lots of local love this Valentine’s Day, and the love will circle back to you, your loved ones and -- best of all -- your entire community. Downtown Keene retailers will offer a “Love is In the Air” event on Saturday, February 13. Enjoy special deals at participating businesses. Learn more at facebook.com/Keenedowntown/events.
We’ll end with a reminder about our Pay-It-Forward crowdfunding campaign that ends on January 31. Help us recruit and support more crowdfunding campaign teams working to grow affordable housing, farms & local food, and living wage jobs & equity in our region. Contribute $25 or more to our crowdfunding campaign at bit.ly/payitforwardmonadnock. A big thank you to those who have supported our campaign already!
Give Today!
The Local Crowd Monadnock - Keene, NH
