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  • February 14, 2021 7:26 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    Snacktime Selfie Contest

    From February 15 - APRIL 30


    Announcing the Monadnock Restaurant Project Snacktime Selfie Contest. Snap a photo of your break, lunch, dinner, or anything in between that you purchased from a local restaurant, upload it to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the #MonadnockRestaurantProject AND #SnacktimeSelfie hashtags. FIVE lucky winners will receive a $100 gift card to the restaurant of their choice! Entries are due by 4/30 at 11:59 pm. Eat local today and you could win big!

    Learn more about the Monadnock Restaurant Project


    Rules:

    • Participation is via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter
    • To enter, participants must post a photo on one of these platforms using the #MonadnockRestaurantProject AND #SnacktimeSelfie hashtags and should tag the local restaurant (when applicable)
    • Acceptable photo options include:
      • A photo of the food/beverages ordered from a local restaurant
      • A photo of the participant/friend/family member etc. with or eating their meal
      • A photo of the bill and a “pay it forward” call to action
      • Other photos indicating the purchase of food from a local restaurant
    • Multiple entries are encouraged
    • Participants should ensure their posts are set to public viewing
    • On 5/3/2021 the Monadnock Restaurant Project task force will aggregate all the eligible entries and randomly select 3 winners
    • Winners will be notified on May 5 via either Facebook, Instagram or Twitter
  • January 31, 2021 7:08 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    • Do you have an incredible project just waiting to happen -- one that would strengthen your business, our community and the local economy -- if only you had the funds to make it happen?
    • Is your business a “social enterprise” that addresses social and/or environmental issues?
    • Will your project support community goals, while keeping to a budget of $15,000 or less?

    If you said yes to these questions…THANK YOU!  We invite you to submit a proposal to run a crowdfunding campaign with TLC Monadnock.

    Learn more

    We will accept proposals until 5 p.m. on Friday, March 12, 2021. 

    While we welcome all for-profits, non-profits and community initiatives to apply, preference will be given to projects that align with their city/town’s master plan and strengthen our Local Living Economy


    This year, we are especially interested in supporting projects that address affordable housing, local food and farms, and equity. 

    Out of all the applications submitted, we will select one to receive a free crowdfunding video produced by 710 Main Films.


  • January 26, 2021 12:09 PM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    Local Investment 101

    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!


    Show the Local Love this Valentine’s Day

    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.


    Pay-It-Forward

    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!


  • January 26, 2021 5:57 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    Event series focuses on local investment as a tool for rebuilding our region’s economy

    After a year of COVID-19 shutdowns, bankruptcies, deaths, and economic despair, how can we help rebuild our economy and community? By investing in our local economy, catalyzing innovation, and shifting capital to the local entrepreneurs, businesses, and projects, our communities become more sustainable, vibrant, and resilient.

    How to invest locally is the focus of a series of online events and workshops called Put Your Money Where Your Life Is: Reclaiming Our Local Economy, hosted by Vital Communities and The Local Crowd Monadnock.

    Local Investment: An Introduction

    February 23, 2021, 5:30-7:30 pm: A free virtual conversation to learn more about local investing from the people already doing it.

    Register today!

    Local Investment 101: How to Reboot the Region’s Economy After COVID-19

    March 4, 11, 18, 25, 5:30-7:30 pm: A four-session virtual workshop on practical, local investment strategies led by Michael Shuman, community economist and author of "Put Your Money Where Your Life Is."

    Learn more


    Find series details at tlcmonadnock.com/investing. Additional sessions focusing on investments in housing, food production, and more are planned for late spring, as well as a session for entrepreneurs seeking local investment opportunities.

    “When the pandemic recedes, we all will be called upon to take extraordinary steps to revive the local businesses that serve as the foundation of our communities," states Shuman. "One critically important step will be for you and other members of your community to move your investment capital from Wall Street to Main Street.”
                                 
    This series is sponsored by Savings Bank of Walpole, Mascoma Bank, King Arthur Baking Company, Hanover Co-op Foods Stores, Green Energy Options, Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, Monadnock Food Co-op, The Keene Sentinel, Valley News, Norwich Solar Technology, and LaValley Building Supply.

    For more information about sponsoring this series, please contact Jen Risley at jen@thelocalcrowd.com or 603-283-5401.

  • January 10, 2021 7:18 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    Thank you to all of our supporters -- you kept The Local Crowd (TLC) Monadnock pedaling 4WARD & higher!

    Leveraged our crowdfunding program to help local businesses respond to COVID-19 opportunities and challenges

    • Launched TLC 4WARD, a campaign that empowered 253 individuals to support six local businesses that they don’t want to live without.  TLC 4WARD provided participating locally owned businesses with over $14K to weather the COVID-19 crisis, meet changes in community needs and seize new opportunities to forward a more local, green and fair economy in the Monadnock Region.
    • Jump-started an online marketplace for our region’s locally owned businesses, called TLC Monadnock Mercantile, compiling local products, gift cards and takeout menus all in one site.
    • Collectively raised over $110K from 950 supporters for seven crowdfunding campaigns in 2020.

    Kept Shop Indie Local efforts alive locally and nationally


  • December 28, 2020 5:37 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)


    As 2020 draws to a close, The Local Crowd (TLC) Monadnock invites you to Pay-It-Forward.  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 online today!

    Our Pay-It-Forward program empowers us to provide extra resources to campaigns aligned with our 2021 community priorities selected by our community.  These priorities represent critical building blocks for our Local Living Economy, an economy that works for all of us.  A Local Living Economy improves our quality of life, meets everyone’s basic needs and cultivates engaged citizens.


    While TLC Monadnock crowdfunding campaign teams may be rich in social capital, they may need access to additional resources such as business consultants, videographers and marketing tools to ensure their success. We identify each campaign team’s specific needs through a pre-assessment – and, with your support, we will provide extra resources to fill in each team’s most critical gaps. We will also use our Pay-It-Forward funds to match donations for crowdfunding campaigns aligned with our 2021 community priorities.

    Since launching TLC Monadnock in 2017, we’ve raised over $230,000 from 2,000 supporters for twenty-six crowdfunding campaigns. Thank you, Monadnock Region!  Next year’s goal is to raise at least $100,000 from 1,000 supporters for ten campaigns.  You can help lay the groundwork for this future success by supporting our Pay-It-Forward program today.

    What types of crowdfunding teams do we hope to recruit and support in 2021?  Teams from this year provide inspiring examples for projects we hope to attract next year.

    More Local Food

    Food Connects raised $10,850 through their TLC Monadnock crowdfunding campaign, Growing Local Food Markets in the Monadnock Region.  They partner with local farmers and food producers throughout our region, like Frisky Cow Gelato, Echo Farm Puddings, and Picadilly Farm, and bring their products to schools, grocery stores, hospitals, restaurants and other businesses.  The funds raised enabled Food Connects to become an approved vendor allowing them to bring more local food to larger wholesale markets.

    “This is the start of something huge for our region,” said Laura Carbonneau, Food Connects Marketing Manager. “When we sell to wholesale customers in our community, more people have access to local food. Our work creates a vibrant food economy with a vision to make local food accessible to all community members.”

    More Affordable Housing

    Sharing Housing gathered $10,203 through their TLC Monadnock crowdfunding campaign, Teaching Successful Home Sharing.  These funds will help Sharing Housing develop an on-demand online course on how to create healthy, happy shared homes.

    “Even before the pandemic, many people struggled with housing costs and social isolation,” said Annamarie Pluhar, Shared Housing Founder.  “Shared housing is a viable solution many of us overlook when considering where and how to live, despite multiple advantages – social, emotional, and financial.”

    More Equity

    Keene Housing Kids Collaborative (KSKC) raised $2,230 during their TLC Monadnock crowdfunding campaign, Helping Kids Access Success. KHKC helps give kids living in Keene Housing households the chance to participate in activities in our community that will help them succeed.  They work to ensure that these children, the next generation of workers, parents and community leaders, have a better start in life despite their families’ financial struggles.

    “We believe kids, wherever they live, should be part of the community, not apart from the community,” said Liz Chipman, KHKC Executive Director. “That’s why we don’t have centralized programming onsite at Keene Housing properties. Instead, we partner with community organizations that are already providing excellent programming for kids.”

    Join our community of Pay-It-Forward supporters.  Empower us to grow more affordable housing, farms & local food, and living wage jobs & equity in our region.  Thank you so much for your continued support and Happy New Year!

    Please support our crowdfunding campaign today!

  • December 23, 2020 5:53 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    The City of Keene wants to hear from you! They are putting together a Community Power program, which will provide Keene with more local control of our electricity supply and more electricity choices. They’ve put together a survey which should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

    Please go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/CommunityPower to complete the survey. 

    Feel free to also share this link through social media so that your neighbors in Keene can also add their voice.

    City staff will share the results along with a draft Community Power plan at two (identical) sessions on Tuesday, January 26 at 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.  Visit www.keeneenergyplan.com/communitypower for links and to learn more.

  • December 10, 2020 5:26 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)



    We invite you to support our TLC Monadnock Pay-It-Forward Program by contributing $25 or more to our crowdfunding campaign.

    Please give today!

    Since launching our community-based crowdfunding program in 2017, we’ve raised over $230,000 from 2,000 supporters for twenty-six campaigns. We’re excited to leverage TLC Monadnock to grow more and stronger triple bottom line businesses.

    The Pay-It-Forward program will allow us to provide extra support and resources to campaigns aligned with our 2021 community priorities. These priorities include recruiting campaigns connected to the top 3 results of our Local Living Economy Building Blocks poll:

    While campaign teams may be rich in social capital, they may need access to additional resources such as business consultants, videographers and marketing tools to ensure their crowdfunding campaign's success.

    TLC Monadnock identifies each campaign team’s specific needs through a pre-assessment survey and, with your support, we will provide extra resources to fill in the team’s most critical gaps. We will also use our Pay-It-Forward funds to match donations for crowdfunding campaigns aligned with our 2021 community priorities.

    In 2021, our goal is to raise at least $100,000 from 1,000 supporters for ten campaigns. You can help make this happen by supporting our Pay-It-Forward program today.

    Pay-It-Forward Today!

  • December 05, 2020 9:49 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)


    Sponsored by the Keene Downtown Group

    Shop in downtown Keene and enter to win some fantastic prizes.  From now through December 24th, pick up a Keene Holiday Shopping card at the Monadnock Food Co-op (or any other participating businesses) and have it stamped when you make a purchase of $10 or more at any of the Keene businesses listed on the back of the card.  When you have three stamps from three different businesses, leave the card at any participating businesses to enter the drawing (but be sure to complete the contact information box first).

    All entries will be collected by 5 pm on December 24th and combined for a random drawing on December 26th. Winners will be notified by phone.  Enter as many times as you wish!

    GRAND PRIZE: $500

    First Prize: $300
    3 Second Prizes: $200 each
    4 Third Prizes: $100 each
    4 Fourth Prizes: $50 each

    Prizes will be awarded in the form of gift cards to any of the 49 participating businesses.

  • November 29, 2020 7:20 AM | TLC Monadnock (Administrator)

    From The Toadstool Bookshops

    For several years we have celebrated Cider Monday as the alternative to the much hyped Cyber Monday -- that day when so many have historically gone online to fill the coffers of the huge online behemoths.

    Our tradition has been to offer a free cup of cider to those who stopped in to share and express support for shopping in their local "bricks and mortar" stores. We truly believe stores such as ours bring far more vitality to our communities than do huge distant warehouses.

    This year, however, due to COVID-19 we can not offer the cider and we realize that many people may prefer to avoid the crowds found in stores and are turning to the web to order gifts. Our hope is that those doing so this year will find the websites of local stores many of whom, like us, have active sites where you can place your orders online.

    So if it is to be a Cyber Monday hoist a glass of cider before you sit down and be reminded to keep it local.

    Thank you!

    And here's a link to TLC Monadnock Mercantile where you can find the products and websites of other local shops: https://shop.tlcmonadnock.com/products/


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