Community Wealth Building: Locally Rooted Finance
April is Move Your Money: Bank Local, Invest Local Month
When we talk about banking and investing locally, we're talking about a critical element of Community Wealth Building: Locally Rooted Finance.
“Community Wealth Building seeks to increase flows of investment and capital within local economies and encourage recirculation of this money so that local residents and businesses, as well as the community as a whole, ‘get more bang for their buck.’ It does this by harnessing and rooting the wealth flows that already exist locally, rather than seeking to attract new national or international capital.
~ Democracy Collaborative: Action guide for advancing Community Wealth Building in the United States
Take a moment to dive into these eight examples of Local Rooted Finance below. Which ones resonate most with you? Are there local or regional examples near you?
What is Community Wealth Building?
Community Wealth Building calls for a “great ownership transition” — shifting ownership from the hands of a few to many. Who owns and controls a city or town’s businesses, buildings, and other assets profoundly impacts community members’ health and wealth. So, Community Wealth Building calls for broadening ownership through diverse strategies like forming cooperatives, moving money to community banks, public banks, and credit unions, cultivating land trusts, and much more. This approach also reimagines how wealth is invested to serve community needs over building billionaires. With a shift in wealth comes a shift in power.
Image Credit: Democracy Collaborative
Move Your Money Month Inspiration
