Michael Marks
ael, Super interested in everything you've mentioned, but particularly in the farm project in Kingston. I'm only about an hour and fifteen minutes away, in Nyack. I'm really looking forward to hearing more. Warmly, Stacey
On Mon, Jul 22, 2024 at 9:19 AM Michael Marks <mbmsling@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Kevin et al.
Great to be joining this discussion. Leanne, thanks for bringing me in
As Leanne noted, I am heavily into the neighborhood enterprise space, having been involved in starting and supporting four community currencies (CC) since my PHD in 2008, including the Hudson Valley Current (HVC) in Kingston, NY. Leanne and I are working on a paper on HVC to be presented at RAMICS in November at their conference in Rome. It involves studying the combination of a community currency with an embedded social enterprise, a unique feature of CCs to date.
Quick background: I have been working in the child welfare and juvenile justice fields for almost 40 years (still involved) and pivoted to include fostering 'alternative' community and economic development innovations, after witnessing that so much of youth/family involvement in these two fields is poverty related. In addition to HVC, I am advising community leaders on social enterprise development, consulting with a national organization that is bringing together business allies using their social capital to assist people in their community and starting two projects below that I believe will be of interest to all:
1-I am in the early stages of planning for a CIT 4 Hudson for a local farm owned by the Kingston Land Trust community investment trust for a local farm project in Kingston. The farm was purchased by the Kingston Land Trust (KLT) as part of its Land in Black Hands Initiative . The farm will be a regenerative farming educational center as well as a historic center chronicling the history of Black people's relationship with the land. The land is fully owned by KLT. We are exploring adapting a model of ab community investment trust that originated in East Portland, Or. (and replicated up the road from us in Albany, NY), to enable unaccredited investors from a poor zip code in Kingston to buy equity shares of the property and also receive dividends on revenue produced by the farm project.
2-I am also working with the local community action program on developing a multi-stakeholder collaboration researching the potential of establishing a Green Energy/Weatherization SE social enterprise to provide affordable weatherization services for local working poor and middle class landowners and landlords. Our vision is to work with existing providers to train and place refugees and poor young people in jobs in these fields, with some becoming business owners creating their own LLCs. Interestingly, the CEO of the CAP wants diversity funding, ending dependence on mostly shrinking federal dollars and small donations that serve only income- eligible poor, recognizing that there are many more families in need of these services and solid long term careers.
I believe that my work has come full circle, from asset-based work with proven risk young people to community asset identification and maximization using new economic innovations that are maturing to support entire communities.
Hope this is helpful in understanding my interests
Kevin, I wish your wife well. Looking forward to meeting with you to learn more about Neighborhood Economics.
Best,
Michael
Michael B. Marks Ph.D. Action Researcher, Organizer, Educator: Social Innovations, Social Enterprises, Community Currencies and Exchange Systems; Community and Impact Investments Adjunct Professor: University of Albany School of Social Welfare Advisor and Consultant: THRIVE ON! Network Kingston, NY; Ulster County Community Action; Researcher and Program Consultant: The Open Table Research and Development Consultant: Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. Board Member: Trust Up Kingston and Dispute Resolution Center of the Hudson Valley Member: [[Social Work Innovation Network] (SWIN) Member: Riverbed Collective (formally Hudson Valley Prosperity Network) Member and Presenter: International Social Innovation Research Consortium Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems (RAMICS); International Research Network for Social Enterprises (EMES) Phone and Text: US 518-932-8269 mbmsling@gmail.com