From his perch as founder of Fledge, a network of social impact accelerators, Luni Libes has claimed the role of industry provocateur, critiquing the prevailing Silicon Valley model of investment and agitating for more aligned funding models. In particular, he’s an advocate for revenue-based funding, whether via loans or redeemable equity, where startups buy back their […]
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Locavesting.com - A book, a movement... now a media site! News, analysis and resources focused on the intersection of community + financial innovation. Founded by Amy Cortese. @Locavesting
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With Acquisition, A New Chapter for Vermont’s Milk Money
Milk Money, a Vermont-only crowd investing portal, has been acquired, signaling a new phase for the platform—and perhaps the intrastate crowdfunding market as well. The two-year old intrastate crowdfunding platform’s new owner is the Vermont Innovation Commons, a regional innovation hub in Burlington combining a startup accelerator, co-working space and residential units under one roof. The […]
Program for Diverse Founders Targets Lack of Friends and Family Funding
Most startups fund their earliest days with money from friends and family, as well as angel investors. But what if your friends and family are not wealthy—and, in fact, are more on the struggling side of the equation? That’s the stark reality for many entrepreneurs, especially those from diverse backgrounds. The average white household has […]
Buy The Block Empowers Black Communities to Invest in Themselves
In this age of wealth inequality, runaway development and gentrification, it’s easy for communities to feel powerless in the face of rapid change. Lynn Smith founded Buy The Block, a real estate crowdfunding portal and the first portal that is African American-owned, to help change that dynamic. Smith (pictured above) has invested in real estate since […]
How One Solar Company Transitioned to Worker Ownership
Solar Company Powers Up With Employee-Ownership Program Inclusive Economy Challenge Served as Framework for Business Restructuring What is it with solar companies? They seem to be among the leaders in sharing ownership with workers—see Namaste Solar, South Mountain Company, and PV Squared, for example. The latest convert is Technicians for Sustainability (TFS), a Tucson-based solar energy installation company and […]
Women-Owned Businesses Surge, Led by Black and Latina Owners
Women are creating more businesses than their male counterparts, and African American and Latina women are driving that trend. However, women, especially non-white women, still lag in revenue and job creation. Those are some of the top line findings from the 2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, an annual report commissioned by American Express and prepared […]
Noted Community Capital Lawyers Launch Crowdfund Mainstreet
With more than 40 approved funding portals for Regulation Crowdfunding, the launch of a new portal might elicit a yawn. But Crowdfund Mainstreet, which debuts on Friday, has a unique pedigree—and a mission to match. The Oakland, CA-based portal is the creation of a pair of lawyers-Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch-who have been on the front […]
Is JOBS Act 3.0 About to Become Reality?
Investment crowdfunding may finally get the fixes that advocates have long called for. On Wednesday, a sweeping collection of bipartisan bills known collectively as the JOBS Act 3.0 passed the House of Representatives with broad support. The package now moves to the Senate. Sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Ranking […]
It’s About to Become Easier to Choose a Socially Responsible Investment Advisor
Starting this fall, choosing a financial advisor may become a little easier for people who care about the impact their money is having—thanks to a brand new professional designation for financial advisors that was recently unveiled by the College of Financial Planning, in collaboration with the US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Called the Chartered […]
Real Pickles: Anatomy of a Successful DPO
Long before the JOBS Act and state-specific laws legalized investment crowdfunding, there was the direct public offering, or DPO, a sort of do-it-yourself IPO. Kassandra Mayhew of Cutting Edge Capital recently talked to Real Pickles cofounder Addie Rose Holland (pictured at left) about how a DPO helped the Greenfield, MA company transition to a worker-owned cooperative and preserve its […]
Four Recent Reports Shed Light on the State of Impact Investing
Having trouble keeping up with the latest developments in the world of impact investing? Allow us to help. We dove into the weeds of four of the field’s most notable recent studies, extracting the most interesting findings for you. Some of the key themes involve the mainstreaming of impact investing, the vital role that women […]
Is Your Financial Advisor ‘Best for the World’?
Impact investing is going mainstream. But while you may rest easier knowing that your nest egg is making a positive contribution to society (as well as your financial position), what about the financial intermediaries in your life? Every year, B Lab publishes a list of “Best for the World” B Corps—those that rank in the top 10% […]
Debt-based Crowdfunding Is Quietly Generating Investor Returns
Crowdfunding success is often measured by the number of campaigns meeting their funding targets and the dollars raised. But what about the investor side of the equation? It’s still very early, and there are no industry-wide performance metrics that measure investor returns. But there are inklings. Some investment crowdfunding portals have lately taken to reporting […]
Obvious Ventures: Investing in Solutions for People and Planet
Entrepreneurs are often lauded as “disruptors” in their fields. But what about funders? Early stage venture capital firm Obvious Ventures is betting on a way of investing that disrupts the process at its core. The Silicon Valley-based firm makes investments in what it calls “world positive” companies, or “startups that create new solutions to big world problems in […]
For Regulation Crowdfunding, a Glass Half Full
Two years ago today, Regulation Crowdfunding went into effect with a promise to transform the investment landscape for entrepreneurs as well as investors. So how’s it working out? In the first two years, 910 businesses have used the Regulation Crowdfunding exemption (aka Title III of the JOBS Act) which allows them to raise up to […]
Regulation Crowdfunding’s Investor Limits Are The Real Problem
Since the JOBS Act was signed by President Obama in 2012, advocates have been urging Congress to increase the overall limit of $1 million (now $1.07 million, after adjustment for inflation) to $5 million for offerings under Title III (aka Regulation Crowdfunding). But for many issuers, the overall limit is less important than the per-investor […]
7 Steps to Creating a Sustainability Transition Movement in Your Community
In 2005, I was just an ordinary, low-profile guy in my thirties living in the town of Totnes, England. Like many of us, I worried about the crises endangering humanity—the rampant exploitation of natural resources, the frenetic and dehumanizing quest for profit, exclusion and widening of inequalities. It disturbed me profoundly, for example, that of […]
A Hawaiian B Corp. Expands With the Help of Small Investors
It was concern for Hawaii’s environment, economy and farming system that inspired Brett Jacobson to launch Hawaiian Ola, a maker of healthy beverages, in 2012. Jacobson, a farmer who previously ran a biofuel company, wanted to start a business that could help Hawaii’s struggling farmers—the average farmer in makes about $15,000 a year, according to the […]
A New Credit Union in Maine Will Fund Sustainable Food and Farms
A new credit union is hoping to fill a funding gap in Maine for small scale, sustainable farming and food production. Called Maine Harvest, the credit union is in a final fundraising push to reach a $2.4 million capitalization, at which point it can apply for a charter. It is expected to open in early 2019. […]
A Place-Based Impact Fund Debuts in Ontario
Impact investors are increasingly gravitating to place-based investing. The latest example: a new impact investing fund in Canada that will focus on loans to social and environmental enterprises in Southwestern Ontario. The VERGE Breakthrough Fund, as it is called, also underscores the willingness of impact investors to experiment with new approaches. The fund was created by VERGE […]
Crowdfunding, Guerrilla-Style. Lessons From Jolene’s First Cousin.
When Guerrilla Development opened up crowdfunding for its latest project, a two-building mixed-use development called Jolene’s First Cousin, the team figured there would be strong demand. An earlier project, the Fair-Haired Dumbbell (they have a penchant for quirky names to go along with their iconoclastic buildings), raised $1.5 million from 121 investors in eight months, using Regulation A. […]
Women Founders Are Benefiting From Crowdfunding, but Where are the Women Investors?
Investment crowdfunding is beginning to fulfill its promise of democratizing investment and access to capital. While women entrepreneurs are still outnumbered by men on most crowdfunding sites, their ranks are steadily growing. At Republic, a Regulation Crowdfunding portal that emphasizes women-owned ventures, 8 out of 13 businesses currently raising capital are women-owned. And on investibule, a platform […]
Grameen America Launches New Impact Investing Fund
Microlender Grameen America is upping its game in impact investing. The U.S.-based microfinance organization marked its ten-year anniversary last month by announcing a new $11 million impact investing fund, the first in what it said will be a series of new funds. Called the Social Business Fund, it’s aimed at providing additional money to women entrepreneurs […]
Community Foundations Go All-In on Place-Based Investing
Two years ago, Baltimore Community Foundation was working to build race equity into its selection process for investment managers when a question was raised. “We asked, ‘Why are we not considering local impact investing that could specifically address race equity and lack of access to capital for communities that have been shut out of wealth opportunities for […]
Regulation Crowdfunding Market Growing at Impressive Clip, Says Report
It’s time for a crowdfunding update. Regulation Crowdfunding closed out its second calendar year, and the folks at Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA) analyzed the data recently in a report for the S.E.C. While still in its infancy, the investment crowdfunding market is growing at a fast clip and represents a viable capital-raising alternative for small and mid-sized […]
Impact Investing Marketplace ImpactUs Shuts Down
ImpactUs launched last spring with a splash. Hatched out of the CDFI world and funded by heavyweights including the Ford and MacArthur foundations, the impact investment marketplace promised to bring new ease to connecting investors with vetted funds as well as direct investments in social enterprises. Its goal: $1 billion in transactions over five years. But less […]
For Real Estate Lender Groundfloor, It’s Slow and Steady and Open to All
Real estate has been one of the hottest areas of crowdfunding, although most of it is focused on wealthy “accredited” investors who put money into funds, known as REITs. (And let’s face it, accredited investors don’t lack investment options!) Just two platforms allow direct investing by unaccredited investors. One is Pittsburgh-based Small Change, which uses the […]
From Sundial and Unilever, an M&A Trend We’d Like to See More of
It’s been a busy few months for Richelieu Dennis, the founder of Sundial Brands. After selling Sundial, the personal-care products company he founded, to Unilever in late November, he kicked off 2018 by buying Essence, the storied black culture magazine, from Time Inc., returning the magazine to black ownership. “I’m very focused on giving back, investing and growing my community,” […]
Is it Time to Finally Change Your Bank?
As the stock market reaches giddy new highs, it’s worth noting that it was just 10 years ago that a mortgage bubble and risky behavior fueled by the nation’s largest banks brought the economy to its knees. That experience—along with a backlash against the high, often unscrupulous fees charged by big banks—prompted many people to […]
More Business Are Heeding the Call to be a Force for Good
Climate Change. Inequality. Political dysfunction and divisiveness. These are some of the monumental challenges we face in the year ahead. One encouraging note is that businesses are increasing stepping up and embracing the role of business as a force for good. The most visible sign of this is the B Corp. movement. Since its beginnings […]
Entrepreneurs: Looking to Raise Capital in 2018? Do This First.
Tired of bootstrapping and ready to raise money to expand your business this year? Congratulations. That’s the first step toward achieving your dreams. Too many of us, especially women, constrain our business’ potential by scraping by on a tight budget or maxed out credit cards. But before you dive in, it pays to get really […]
In Toronto, a Long-Awaited ‘Social Stock Market’
Social impact investment platforms are cropping up to help connect investors with investment opportunities. The latest, a platform for accredited and unaccredited investors called Social Venture Connection (SVX), recently launched in Toronto. An earlier version of SVX, introduced four years ago, served accredited investors only. “We really see this as a game changer for impact investing in Canada,” […]
Why Locally Owned Shops Deserve Our Business the Rest of the Year, Too
Americans are voting with their dollars. Sandwiched between the frenzy-inducing duo of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday has quietly become a force. Last year on Small Business Saturday, an estimated 112 million Americansspent a combined $15.4 billion at independent neighborhood retailers and restaurants, up 13% from 2015. The figures are not in yet […]
Transform Finance: Bridging the Worlds of Finance and Social Justice
Impact investment has the potential to transform economies and societies, say its advocates. But the growing field is littered with examples of good intentions gone wrong—often the result of a “top-down” approach. How can impact investors avoid unintended consequences and ensure that their investments are aligned with the goals and needs of the people and […]
NYC Will Invest in Local Women Entrepreneurs on Kiva
Women entrepreneurs of New York: your city wants to invest in you. Under a new program, called WE Fund: Crowd, when women entrepreneurs create a crowdfunding campaign on Kiva.org, the city will kick in the first 10% of their goal, up to $1,000. New York City officials hope to support at least 500 women-owned businesses over three […]
A New Credit Union Will Focus on Clean Energy
Worried about climate change? Want to do more to support the spread of renewable energy? There’s a new credit union designed for people like you. The Clean Energy Credit Union is a new federally chartered credit union with a mission to help speed adoption of renewal energy by making it more broadly affordable. It was founded by […]
Meet Impact America: A ‘Best for the World’ Fund
Every year, B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies B Corps, celebrates “Best for the World” companies—those that score in the top 10% of B Lab’s Impact Assessment. They also analyze investment funds. This year, 28 funds representing $1.3 billion in assets under management made the list of “Best for the World” funds; eight of them US-based. One […]
New Products Bring Impact Investing to the Masses
Many individuals would like to know that their investments are doing some good in the world. One recent survey found that 75% of investors were interested in impact investing. But the $114 billion impact investment market has traditionally been the domain of foundations, institutions and wealthy individuals. That’s changing. “We are at a tipping point,” says Dorrit Lowsen, […]
The Local Crowd: Building a Crowdfunding Ecosystem Across Rural America
Laramie, Wyoming may not be the first place you would look for an innovative experiment in digital age economic revitalization. And at first glance, Diane Wolverton and Kim Vincent might not fit the image of change agents. But the pair has been quietly building a crowdfunding ecosystem across rural America that is helping communities lift […]
Will Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Reg A Inspire?
If you were vacationing in late August, you might have missed a notable milestone in the young annals of crowd investing: the IPO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which raised $30 million in four weeks using Regulation A+. Not only is it one of the best known brands and social enterprises to date to […]
Is it Time for State-Based Crowdfunding to Shine?
What do Alaska, Florida, Texas and Vermont have in common? They’re among the 34 states that have passed state-based crowdfunding laws. When it comes to crowdinvesting, most of the attention goes to the JOBS Act, the 2012 federal legislation that gave us Regulation Crowdfunding, Regulation A+ and other provisions that make it easier for small companies […]
Innovators Face Challenges in Breaking Down Barriers to Capital for Underserved Entrepreneurs
In just a few short years, MORTAR, a small business incubator in Cincinnati, has made impressive strides in helping longtime residents in fast-gentrifying neighborhoods start businesses and grow in tandem with their neighborhoods’ fortunes. Since 2014, the incubator has expanded from its original location in Over-the-Rhine to include three other Cincinnati neighborhood programs as well […]
Crowdfunding and The Investment Company Act of 1940
One of the bugbears of investment crowdfunding is the fact that the laws do not allow special purpose vehicles—legal structures that allow investors to be pooled into a single entity, which streamlines investor communications and management. You also cannot crowdfund an investment fund. That said, there are exceptions to every rule. Real estate crowdfunding platforms […]
As Regulation Crowdfunding Turns One, Progress For Women and Minority Entrepreneurs
As its first full year draws to a close, Regulation Crowdfunding is making progress in breaking down barriers to capital for a wide range of entrepreneurs. But the flow of capital to women, minorities and rural entrepreneurs who stand to benefit the most from the new law is still just a drop in the bucket. […]
For Impact Investor Kristin Hull, There Are Many Ways to Effect Change
The California Bay Area has a well-developed impact investing ecosystem. But trace any one initiative, and chances are it will lead back to Kristin Hull. A Bay Area native and former educator, Hull drew on her insights from education, grad school and the family investment business to become an influential voice and leader in the […]
Impact Investing Marketplace ImpactUS Launches First Four Offerings
Impact investors often complain they can’t find enough viable social enterprises to invest in. And entrepreneurs bemoan a lack of available funding. A recently introduced online impact investing marketplace hopes to address that problem. ImpactUs, a Washington, D.C.-based platform, aims to provide a place where investors can find out about, research and connect with funds, […]
A Fund Where Investors and Homeowners Both Win
The mortgage crisis might seem like a distant memory, but in some ways, American families are more vulnerable than ever. More than 83,000 new families are impacted by foreclosure every month. Nationwide, one in every 200 homes goes into foreclosure. Jorge Newbery is out to change that. His company, American Homeowner Preservation (AHP), buys distressed mortgages […]
What’s a Successful Crowdfunding Exit, Anyway?
Exits. The stuff that crowdfunding investor dreams are made of. Or not? A story we ran recently has prompted us to think more about this topic. It was about the acquisition of Scotty’s Brewhouse, a mini-chain of midwestern brewpubs that is one of the few crowdfunded companies (in this case through Indiana’s intrastate exemption) to […]
Three Women-Owned Startups That You Can Invest In Today
Women entrepreneurs are at a disadvantage when it comes to raising capital for their businesses. They’re turned down more often than men and, when they do raise money, they raise smaller sums. (It’s a good thing they know how to do more with less). That’s starting to change, as new funding options that bypass the […]
Impact Investing Rise Good News for Women and Benefit Corps
Impact investing is expanding, and that is creating new opportunities for social enterprises, including Benefit Corporations, women-led firms and community-based ventures. Those are some of the implications of a recent study conducted by the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) Foundation. “There are encouraging signs for social entrepreneurs,” says Meg Voorhes, director of research for […]