“There is a gap between the sustainable economy and the economy focused on economic justice. They seldom meet.”
The core of a Neighborhood Economics conference is highlighting promising and potentially replicable solutions that are working to repair the economy in one neighborhood, solutions could be replicated in other city.
At our national conferences, we highlight innovations that help create assets for and by people in neighborhoods that have been marginalized by the traditional capitalist economy. We highlight ways people are buying the block through new and replicable playbooks to help people buy back the block. This playbook includes building community wealth through commercial real estate led by our long time partner Lyneir Richardson
Or innovative philanthropic investment solutions like the Deerfield fund providing a down payment for families that could afford to pay mortgage but never amass the assets to get a down payment.
But I was asked to give the keynote to the North Carolina Sustainable Business Council’s annual conference, here in Asheville, where the next Neighborhood Economics conference will be held in about seven weeks. There were 100 people in attendance, and awards were given to local breweries for sustainable practices, to local businesses like eco-panels.com, creating energy efficient wall panels or environmentally conscious water bottles, solar and other products. All good, climate conscious businesses.
But not present were any of the solutions that show up at Neighborhood Economics, creating economic power for folks in the zip codes where people die 10 years younger. You could potentially make a healthy return investing in the businesses creating climate solutions, winning the awards at the NC Sustainable Business Council. By contrast, investing in neighborhoods where there is historical discrimination usually means there is a cost to doing good. That means you make less money or even need to give to invest, investing philanthropically like with the CATacap.org donor advised fund platform to create systemic change.
There is a gap between the sustainable economy and the economy focused on economic justice. They seldom meet.
We are going to hold a session to imagine creating a local, “chamber of commerce like” platform that bridges that gap.
Could we create an organization that would celebrate the sustainable practices of local breweries, tiny house companies using materials that are good for the planet, climate-focused businesses lowering carbon in the regional supply chain, but also a place to hear the voice of the local community economic development initiatives that will be speaking at Neighborhood Economics? We could hear from the people repairing local economies like these:
– BluenoteJunction.com, helping the urban renewal harmed Burton Street neighborhood create a center for events and food,
-Emma community, where undocumented immigrants working as Poder Emma are using an innovative, networked coop model to buy the land under their trailer park to preserve them from predatory developers,
–Tierra Fertil farming coop growing culturally significant central American foods on the grounds of a strong ally like Calvary Episcopal Church which has acres of previously unused land.
What I am envisioning is a local, sustainable chamber of commerce, a partner of the statewide group that bridges the divide between sustainability-focused groups and local groups creating economic justice in their neighborhoods. That big tent, from sustainability to economic justice, could help people in this region thrive and build relationships across race, class, and zip codes. People working on climate at the table with people working on repairing systemic injustice through innovative and replicable new funding platforms can be a powerful force
When the voices of those historically without power are at a new table with people creating sustainability, many possibilities could arise.
When I have a big question like that, my go-to for historical and national context, to find out what has worked and what has failed, I ask Michael Shuman, of themainstreetjournal.org. An author and the acknowledged expert on local investing in the United States, Michael and I along with my longtime co- conspirator, Stephanie Swepson Twitty, have been doing an online show twice a month that bridges that divide. One week will present a show about a sustainable local fund, focused on food in New Hampshire followed by one about a group like Ujima that arose in a redlined neighborhood in Boston.
Could we create a viable chamber bridging the same divide, I asked Shuman.
Here is Shuman’s response:
“A dozen successes. Hundreds of failures. The biggest is in Arizona, which is statewide, represents 2000+ businesses, and has a staff of about 25. There are also great groups in Bellingham (WA), Austin, Boston, Charleston (SC), Grand Rapids (MI), and a few others I’m forgetting. And, of course, Vicki’s organization for NC. But hundreds–literally hundreds–of efforts have failed. In my view, the central problem is the absence of a revenue model. Talented leaders step forward, pored their lives into organizing, and the only revenue model they have is fund-raising from foundations and city grants. Both are scarce and intermittent. The leaders burn out and that’s that. My book, The Local Economy Solution, is all about models that could solve this problem. I cover nearly 30 of these models (and most have since failed, by the way.
I like Arizona Local First’s approach. By going statewide and building a large network of businesses, its dues structure gives it some financial stability. With that, the organization does pitch grants but more importantly it pitches contract opportunities for state, county, and local government. That said, even they could use a better revenue model at their core.
I believe that there’s perhaps a local investing model that could serve as a backbone for reviving local economy groups. Specifically, a mothership fund (nationally or statewide), with subsidiary pots of money in communities, could draw lots of interest from businesses, investors, and others. The typical Local First groups focused on purchasing, but I believe investing might be a more promising vehicle.
Other things that could really help a movement of state-based efforts, with local tentacles, would be: online resources about best practices in local economic development; online lists of great local businesses across the country, plus communities of practice bringing them together; and resumption of annual conferences that bring people together and humanize the joy of our movement.”
In short: a dozen have survived, one has thrived and grown to 25 employees, and hundreds have failed.
There is real enthusiasm in Asheville to get this started.
Stephanie Swepson Twitty of Eagle Market Streets CDC is also on board to help make it happen. Vicki Lee Parker High, the ED of the well-run North Carolina Sustainable Business Council, says her board is not ready to talk about creating a chapter here in Asheville, yet, but is interested in staying in the conversation.
Tara Brown, of Selfhelp.org, who leads community engagement in this part of the state for the powerful credit union, is willing to talk about the potential of her organization providing the local organizational backbone if this kind of chamber arises in Western North Carolina.
She says that Self Help is on board to be the anchor and lead partner. “I’m originally from West Virginia and saw both environmental devastation and resource extraction growing up. Working to build a sustainable economy that centers community self-determination is at the center of all of my work, so I’m honored to be in this space working with people who share these goals. We want to listen to the community, all the community, as this is birthed, but we think it fills an important gap. At this point, I’m really here to listen and learn regarding what is already happening with sustainable businesses, existing networks, and what further connections and resources are needed”
And Nina Tovish, at SustainAVL, agreed the gap needs to be bridged. “Any definition of sustainability that does not include an understanding of the way climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately impact the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us is missing a key element needed to address the challenge. Solutions that do not benefit all of us are not solutions. The robust economic development that comes from a thriving sustainability sector must reach every segment of our community.”
Shuman will be on hand at our Asheville event on November 12-13 to offer his perspective.
A chamber that links the people in the tree-lined neighborhoods and climate-focused businesses that are sustainable with treeless neighborhoods where innovative people are repairing local economies is an idea that is worth imagining.
Neighborhood Economics plans to hold an annual event here where most of the staff live, around Asheville. It will be interesting to see if this idea catches on, to see who likes it and wants to help it become a reality by next year’s event.