Reclaiming Our Local Economy SERIES

An event series focusing on local investment as a tool for rebuilding our region’s economy

“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. 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.”                                       

– Michael Shuman, Community Economist  

After a year of COVID-19 shutdowns, bankruptcies, deaths and economic despair, how can we, as individuals, help rebuild our economy and community?

A series of events and workshops hosted by Vital Communities and TLC Monadnock over the next several months aims to provide information and resources about local investment AND opportunities for action. Yes, opportunities! 

In addition to economic disruption and heartache, the pandemic has surfaced opportunities for relocalizing our economy, catalyzing innovation and shifting capital to where we live to fuel the entrepreneurs, businesses, and projects our communities need to be more sustainable, vibrant, and resilient.

Both the Monadnock Region Indie Impact Study and Upper Valley Indie Impact Study reported that businesses rooted in the region keep up to 4 times more money circulating in  our local economies compared to national chain stores, and that remote online retailers suck hundreds of millions of dollars from our economy each year. Local businesses create stable jobs, enhance community character, and support our communities with donations of time and money, and have proven to be critical resources during the pandemic emergency.

Increasing the development and success of more locally based businesses and innovations will make our region more resilient and strengthen our economy so that we can better handle future disruptions and challenges. Investment in these enterprises is critical to their success.

Reclaiming our economy will require that we all “invest” in our future -- whether by committing to shop locally more or by actually investing some retirement savings in the sectors, businesses or projects that will make our communities a better place to live, work, and play for generations. 

The goal of this series is to build awareness of the ways we can currently invest in reclaiming our economy as we recover from economic disruption, and to find new and creative tools and networks to move money from Wall Street to Main Street.

Investing for Home Creation

Thursday, April 8, 2021 5:30 pm

Your savings can help create more lower-cost homes. Learn how even small amounts can bring financial, social, and environmental rewards.

Put Your Money to Work Locally: Investment Clubs 101

Thursday, April 15, 2021 5:30 pm

Increase your power to do good by investing as a group.

Put Your Money to Work Locally: Community Loan Funds 101

Tuesday, April 27, 2021 5:30 pm

Community loan funds are a homegrown solution for investing in our communities, energy independence, and working lands. Join us for a deep dive into impact investing with Vermont and New Hampshire community loan funds.

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

March 4, 11, 18, 25, 2021

A four-session virtual workshop designed to help grassroots investors and community groups develop practical, local investment strategies, to fuel innovation and resilience in the community.  

Presenter: Michael Shuman, Community Economist and Author of Put Your Money Where Your Life Is

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. One readily available solution—one that does not depend on government bureaucracies—is to mobilize grassroots investment. Americans now have $56 trillion in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance funds—nearly all of it invested in global corporations. Here in the Upper Valley, one conservative estimate is that there are $5-6 billion in locally managed investments; this figure does not include the untold billions invested by local residents but managed out of state.

Recent changes in the law (around investment crowdfunding, for example) make it cheaper and easier for nonaccredited investors to put money into local businesses. However, most of us believe we have no choice but to continue to invest our money in the stocks and bonds of the world’s biggest companies, even if we barely understand them. There are real alternatives, but few of us 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 repayment of high-interest student loans. If you’re smart about local investing, you can do this in a way that provides substantial, stable financial returns and lower risk than for Wall Street investments. Plus, local investments come with social returns on investment and wind up strengthening your community, local resilience, and the tax base.

Local Investment 101 aims to help participants answer three essential questions:

• How can I rebuild my community and the local economy after the ravages of COVID-19?
• How can I make my community more resilient to better prepare for future global crises?
• How can I move my money into the businesses, projects, places, and people I know and love?

About the presenter:

Michael Shuman is an author and leading visionary on community economics, serving 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 performs economic-development analyses for states, local governments, and businesses around North America. His three most recent books are:

• 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
• Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street

Webinar Recording: Rebooting Your Community After COVID - How to Invest Locally Using Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401ks

The Local Crowd (TLC) Monadnock hosted an online introductory webinar with community economist and author Michael H. Shuman called "Rebooting Your Community After COVID - How to Invest Locally Using Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401ks" on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

Watch recording here!

Event partners included Green Energy Options, Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce, Monadnock Food Co-op, The Local Crowd, Vital Communities and Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship.

Questions?  Please contact Jen Risley at jen@thelocalcrowd.com or 603-283-5401.

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