New from The Democracy Collaborative
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Two new guides on how to plan local convenings to advance community wealth building
We are excited to release two new installments in our Community Wealth Innovators Series, in which we work with practitioners in the field to document critical lessons learned during on-the-ground efforts to build more inclusive and equitable local economies. Both publications provide resources and insights into how to convene a conversation about advancing community wealth building. The first, Jacksonville’s Community Wealth Building Roundtable details a municipally-led process in Jacksonville, Florida. Written by Michelle Barth, then the Mayor's Deputy Chief of Staff, the report details how the City convened stakeholders to develop new strategies to address chronic disinvestment in Northwest Jacksonville. In the second, Sparking the conversation in your community, Justine Porter chronicles lessons learned from a volunteer-driven effort to convene a similar summit in Poughkeepsie, New York. We hope these two new publications can help both city officials and concerned residents alike better and more effectively navigate the process of bringing their communities together to create a more inclusive local economy.
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Financing Broad-Based Ownership Models for Community Wealth
Washington, DC
Monday, February 27,
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST
The Democracy Collaborative’s Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow Marjorie Kelly will be joining a panel on advancing broad-based ownership models for inclusive economic development in Washington D.C. on February 27th. Co-hosted with SOCAP 365, Marjorie will be joined by Yanique Redwood, president and CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation; Jennifer Bryant, community organizer & cooperative developer with Cooperation DC; Harold Pettigrew, executive director of the Washington Area Community Investment Fund; and Rob Wilson, CEO of CEI 7(a) Financing. Find more information and register online.
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Michael Hudson Presents "J is for Junk Economics: A Guide to Reality in an Age of Deception"
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, February 21, 7pm EST
Baltimore, MD
Wednesday February 22, 7:30pm
The Democracy Collaborative and the Next System Project will be hosting renowned economist Michael Hudson in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland for a discussion of his new book, J is for Junk Economics: A Guide to Reality in an Age of Deception. A former Wall Street analyst, government adviser, and fierce critic of neoliberal economic order, Hudson is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Professor of Economics at Peking University in China. He is the author of many books on the global economy, with a focus on financial history, debt, land tenure and related economic institutions from antiquity to the present. Find more information and register online for the Washington, D.C. event or the Baltimore, MD event.
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Equity is not a zero-sum game
“Opportunity doesn’t trickle down; it cascades out and up,” writes PolicyLink’s CEO Angela Glover Blackwell in this new article published in the Winter 2017 edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Using the transformational success of disability activists in the 1960s and 70s as an example, Glover Blackwell describes how programs designed to benefit the most marginalized groups often end up yielding considerable benefits to society at large,. She applies this principle to addressing income inequality, noting that programs that build the wealth of the most vulnerable will create greater prosperity for all residents. Read more>>
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Connecting small business lending to quality job creation
This report from the Opportunity Finance Network details how community development financial institutions (CDFIs) can support quality job creation as a way to reduce income inequality. Noting that this approach is currently underutilized in the field, the report draws on five case studies of CDFIs that are using tools such as debt and equity products, interest rate reductions, and technical assistance to not only grow small businesses, but ensure access to quality jobs for low-income communities. The report makes recommendations for how to scale this approach in the CDFI field. Read more>>
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The Ohio Benefit Bank
Launched in 2006, The Ohio Benefit Bank, a program of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, is a resource that connects residents to tax credits and other supports. Using the Solutions for Progress Benefit Bank model, the Bank has connected over 800,000 individuals to over $1.5 billion in benefits to date, including wealth building opportunities. Similar benefit banks exist in Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Find out more>>
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REVES
REVES, translated as the European Network of Cities & Regions for the Social Economy, is a member-based network of local and regional organizations in the EU working to promote cooperatives, mutual societies, and other organizations grounded in democratic ownership and solidarity. Their website includes a list of EU policies that promote the social economy, case studies of different sectors, and a map of existing partnerships and initiatives.
Find out more>>
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