Locavesting is “a call to rethink the way we invest so that we support the small businesses that create jobs and healthy, resilient communities.” Just as “Buy Local” campaigns have found that a small shift in purchasing from chains to locally owned enterprises can reap outsized benefits for a community, so, too, can a small shift in our investment dollars.
The phrase Locavesting was coined by journalist Amy Cortese in 2008 (and the title of her book published in 2011) to capture the ‘citizen investor’ phenomenon she saw taking hold in the wake of the financial crisis.”
The Local Crowd is crowdfunding like Kickstarter, except with a distinct local investment focus. The Local Crowd is a Wyoming, LLC founded on the belief that strong local economies hold the key to a strong national economy. Their model “combines the power of Internet crowdfunding with a strong educational focus designed to increase the knowledge base and sophistication level of rural entrepreneurs and investors in using the Internet to raise money and make investments in local companies.” They offer a “full-service package including locally-based crowdfunding software, consulting and instruction–including webinars, seminars, workshops, retreats, classes (in-person and online), and courses for groups and individuals.”
Local Futures, also known as the Economics of Happiness, is a pioneer of the new economy movement, dedicated to the renewal of community, ecological health and local economies worldwide.
Local Futures is offering a FREE webinar on Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. PST – a deeper dig by Shaun Chamberlin and Helena Norberg-Hodge into the work of the late Dr. David Fleming, author of Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy – a different vision for a post-growth society. Register Here. This event is jointly organized by Local Futures and Transition US.
Check out DarkOptimism (Shaun Chamberlin’s blog), which “offers a better future for a troubled world… unashamedly positive about what kind of a world humanity could create, and unashamedly realistic about how far we are from creating it today.”
This 2 ½ minute YouTube video highlights the benefits of localization.
“Now is the time to repair and restore the atrophied social and ecological structures on which most human cultures were built – not only because we miss them dearly, but also as an absolute practical priority, for they are the only basis for a nourishing and cohesive society that might survive the turbulent times to come. This work could become the story of our times, and living it imbues our days with joy and meaning.”