Things are heating up early this spring – the weather, for sure, but also activities and events for SOLE and Think Columbus First (TCF).  TCF is the face of our campaign to educate citizens about how they can support the local economy.

If you haven’t visited our websites recently, please do – we’ve made . . . → Read More: Support Our Local Economy News and Events for April & May 2012]]> Hello SOLE Mates,

Things are heating up early this spring – the weather, for sure, but also activities and events for SOLE and Think Columbus First (TCF).  TCF is the face of our campaign to educate citizens about how they can support the local economy.

If you haven’t visited our websites recently, please do – we’ve made several upgrades!  SOLE now features sliding graphics on the home page and several blog entries have been added on the TCF site. You can also keep up with us on Facebook or search Think Columbus First, and be sure to LIKE us!

* = Volunteers!  See the list below of Upcoming Events where SOLE/TCF will be presenting or exhibiting… * Events with an asterisk indicates that we need volunteers!Contact Chuck Lynd <chuck.lynd@gmail.com> or 614-354-6172 if you can help out for an hour or two at one of the events.

Earth Day is fast approaching and SOLE will be a sponsor at the Celebration on Saturday, April 21 on the Columbus Commons downtown. Look for exhibit tents from the SOLE Coalition clustered together, celebrating local: Simply Living, SBB, Local Matters, ECDI, and Kemba. We’re working with the Earth Day organizers and the vendors to make our specially marked “Spend Me Local” $2 bills available as change.  Buy a beer for $3 and get a $2 bill as change from your $5 bill.

E-Waste Collection to Benefit SOLE! A special shout out to Big Green Head!  Their E-waste drop off collection site kicks off April 13-14 at Easton Town Center, and some of the proceeds from the event will go to SOLE!  Many thanks, Karen!

SOLE at BALLE National Conference in May… SOLE Steering Committee membersOron Benary of Brothers Drake and Wolf Starr of SBB will be attending AND presenting at the conference.  Todd Mills of Local Matters and Chuck Lynd of Simply Living will be attending as well. Bob Leighty, who just launched Food Start, also plans to register.

Upcoming Events!

> SOLE Talk at UU Church in Bellville OH – Sun April 1, 10:30 am Talk on Local Economy during the Service; 1:30 pm – film, Economics of Happiness, a film that addresses the problems of economic globalization and the alternative approach of economic localization.Location: 25 Church St., Bellville, OH 44813.

> *Earth Day Exhibit/Sponsor Plans, April 21 at Columbus Commons

> Slow Money Ohio meeting, Mon, April 2 at Till (formerly Dragonfly restaurant), 247 King Ave, Columbus, OH 43201.

> Simply Living Social at Celebrate Local - Fri, April 13, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Easton Town Center, next to the Apple store on Strand Ave.

> BALLE Conference May 15-18 (Tues – Fri) in Grand Rapids, MI

> *Midwest Fair Trade Fest Sat May 12 at Ohio State 4-H Center (2201 Fred Taylor Drive) from 10-5 on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Please call 614 621-1744 or 614 262-5535 for more information!  

> E-Waste Drop-Off at Easton Town Center -

> *Green on the Green in Worthington Sat May 19

> *Comfest June 22-24 (Fri-Sun)

> *Independents’ Day Sept 15, 2012 downtown Columbus

Invest Local Ohio!  SOLE partners with ECDI to offer informational meetings on ECDI’s Invest Local Ohio fund. We’ve offered 3 sessions so far and many of the 30+ participants decided to invest in the new fund.  ECDI provides micro loans to local entrepreneurs with sums ranging between $500 and $100,000. If you would like to be notified when the next session will be offered, email Chuck.Lynd@gmail.com. These meetings are free and limited to 12 participants in order to allow time for questions.

Local Dollars, Local Sense is hot off the press!  Authored by Michael Shuman, BALLE’s research director, the book addresses the role of “community capital” in building a strong local economy. Numerous models are described, including “Slow Money” lending circles, cooperative businesses/equity capital, and pooled funds for micro lending. ECDI’s Invest Local Ohio fund is described in the book – both the fund and the book are highly recommended.

Slow Money Ohio, affiliated with the national Slow Money Alliance founded by Woody Tasch (author of Slow Money) was formed at the OEFFA conference in February.  If you are interested in membership and exploring local lending circles for food and related food businesses, contact Filippo Ravalico <fir@foodsystembonds.us> for more information.

Best to all,

Chuck

The session is free but limited to 12 people. RSVP now using the information below!

The Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) has created an innovative opportunity for anyone with a minimum of $1000 to invest in small businesses in central Ohio. You can earn up to 3% . . . → Read More: EVENT 3/22: New Invest Local Ohio Fund Offers Individuals an Alternative Way to Save]]>

Thurs Mar 22
6:30 pm

The session is free but limited to 12 people. RSVP now using the information below!

The Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) has created an innovative opportunity for anyone with a minimum of $1000 to invest in small businesses in central Ohio. You can earn up to 3% interest and, even more important, enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar of your money will support our local economy, not the global multinational corporations and banks.

Want to learn more?

Come to an informational meeting and find out how the fund works with other ECDI funds to provide micro loans to small businesses. “Since 2004, ECDI has created a job a day, and helped a new business every week,” according to ECDI president and general counsel, Steve Fireman. Meet Steve and hear from Chuck Lynd how investing locally strengthens our community.

RSVP to Chuck Lynd or call 614-354-6172.
Location: ECDI, 1655 Old Leonard Ave, Columbus 43219.
Refreshments are provided by the Celebrate Local store in the Easton Town Center (ECDI is a partner).

Thurs Mar 22, 2012 at 6:30 pm

ECDI – the Economic and Community Development Institute – has created an innovative opportunity for anyone with a minimum of $1000 to invest in small businesses in central Ohio.  You can earn up . . . → Read More: An Alternative Way to Save]]> New Invest Local Ohio Fund Offers Individuals an Alternative Way to Save

Thurs Mar 22, 2012 at 6:30 pm

ECDI – the Economic and Community Development Institute – has created an innovative opportunity for anyone with a minimum of $1000 to invest in small businesses in central Ohio.  You can earn up to 3% interest and, even more important, enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar of your money will support our local economy, not the global multinational corporations and banks. Want to learn more?  Come to an informational meeting and find out how the fund works with other ECDI funds to provide micro loans to small businesses.  “Since 2004, ECDI has created a job a day, and helped a new business every week,” according to ECDI president and general counsel, Steve Fireman.  Meet Steve and hear from Chuck Lynd how investing locally strengthens our community. The session is free but limited to 12 people.

RSVP to Chuck Lynd <chuck.lynd@gmail.com> or call 614-354-6172. Location: ECDI, 1655 Old Leonard Ave, Columbus 43219. Refreshments are provided by the Celebrate Local store in the Easton Town Center (ECDI is a partner)

Follow the money, every dollar spent on local business benefits your community.

SOURCE: Civic Economics – . . . → Read More: The Multiplier Effect of Buying Local]]> When we buy from locally owned businesses, more money stays in the local economy and multiplies 2-4 times! A 10% shift from chain to local in Franklin County will generate $312 million dollars and 5000+ new jobs.

Follow the money, every dollar spent on local business benefits your community.

SOURCE: Civic Economics – “Local Works!” Study, 2008. Commissioned by Local First West Michigan localfirst.com.

The question is perhaps best answered by Michael H. Shuman, author of Going Local. As Shuman writes, “Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages and serve primarily local consumers. It means becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs.”

Significantly more money recirculates in central Ohio when consumers choose to support our locally owned businesses. Unlike their national competition, locally owned businesses regularly purchase from other local retailers, manufacturers, service providers and farms. Supporting our locally owned businesses is critical in growing a strong central Ohio economy and tax base.

Shift to Local Spending Works

“Local Works! Examining the Impact of Local Business on the West Michigan Economy” — a 2008 study of Kent County commissioned by Local First — determined that just a 10% shift in consumer spending toward locally owned businesses would create:

$140 million in new economic activity
1,600 new jobs
$50 million in new wages

According to research firm Civic Economics, when West Michigan consumers choose a locally owned business over a non-local alternative, $73 of every $100 spent stays in the community. By contrast, only $43 of every $100 spent at a non-locally owned business remains in the community.  The conclusions in Michigan also apply to Ohio’s economy.

Local Works: Executive Summary
Examining the Impact of Local Businesses on the West Michigan Economy. Prepared in partnership with Local First, Grand Rapids. 2008
GR Local Works Summary.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [678.8 KB]

Local Works: Complete Report
GR Local Works Complete.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [773.9 KB]

It’s Working

In introducing the results of its 2012 Independent Business Survey, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance notes: “Independent businesses located in communities that have an active “buy local” campaign operated by a local business organization, such as an Independent Business Alliance or a Local First group, experienced markedly stronger revenue growth compared to those in areas without such an initiative.”

 

Public awareness of the value of buying local is growing rapidly. 1,768 independent, locally owned businesses representing 49 states participated in the annual survey, including many Local First members in West Michigan. More than three-quarters of businesses said they thought public awareness of the benefits of supporting locally owned businesses had increased over the last year.

For complete survey results, CLICK HERE.

This video explains the work of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like the Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) based in Columbus. CDFIs combine creative and innovative financing, responsible lending practices and affordable products and services to meet the needs of America’s investors, communities and individuals. ECDI has “created a job a day . . . → Read More: Opportunity Multiplied]]>

This video explains the work of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like the Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) based in Columbus. CDFIs combine creative and innovative financing, responsible lending practices and affordable products and services to meet the needs of America’s investors, communities and individuals. ECDI has “created a job a day and worked with a new business every week” since they began their micro loan program in 2004. To learn more, visit ecdi.org.

Michael Shuman speaks at the National Trust Main Street Center Green Summit (Feb 2011) about BALLE collaboration.

Invest Local Oho? Is that even possible? Yes! ECDI – the Economic and Community Development Institute right here in Columbus, can offer you up to 3% interest and, even more important, the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar of your money will be invested in local, independent businesses . . . → Read More: SOLE Sponsors Informational Sessions on the New Invest Local OhioFund]]> Originally posted on Think Columbus First, a SOLE project.

Invest Local Oho? Is that even possible? Yes! ECDI – the Economic and Community Development Institute right here in Columbus, can offer you up to 3% interest and, even more important, the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar of your money will be invested in local, independent businesses in central Ohio.

ECDI has established a special Invest Local Ohio fund that can begin to reverse the trend of investing through Wall Street and help us rebuild our local economy on “Main Street.” You can move your CDs – or stocks if you own some – out of the global financial casino and begin investing in central Ohio. The minimum investment is $1000.

SOLE offered two informational meetings about ECDI’s new Invest Local Ohio fund in December 2011 and in January this year. The next meeting will be offered in March (date to be determined) at the ECDI offices,1655 Old Leonard Ave, Columbus 43219. This is an excellent opportunity to meet ECDI president and General Counsel, Steve Fireman and have your questions answered about the fund.

If you are interested in attending a future session, contact Chuck Lynd <chuck.lynd@gmail.com> or call 614-354-6172. The session is free and limited to 12 people. Refreshments are provided by the Celebrate Local store in the Easton Town Center (ECDI is a partner).

Michael Shuman speaks at the National Trust Main Street Center Green Summit (Feb 2011). This 11 minute video clip includes an overview of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). BALLE includes about 22,000 . . . → Read More: Investing in Main Street and the Local Economy to Create Jobs & Lasting Wealth]]> Michael Shuman Talks about Investing in Main Street and the Local Economy to Create Jobs & Lasting Wealth

Michael Shuman speaks at the National Trust Main Street Center Green Summit (Feb 2011). This 11 minute video clip includes an overview of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). BALLE includes about 22,000 businesses organized in 80+ local networks. Shuman cites studies that demonstrate how every dollar spent  in locally owned businesses generates 2-4 times the income, jobs, and wealth. The Kellogg Foundation study indicates that most money spent to create jobs is being invested in non-local businesses. Shuman compares the average cost of 45 programs was $22,000, or about 10 times more expensive than the $2000 cost per job when invested in small businesses. And after 10 years, the net cost for attracting out of state jobs is around $67, 000 because many companies left before delivering on their promise of new jobs. The US has about 26 trillion dollars in various savings, insurance, and pension related accounts, Since about 1/2 of the total US economy is local, we could expect half of our savings, or about 13 trillion dollars, would be invested in local businesses.  In fact, almost none of our savings are available to local businesses. Shuman proposes changes that will begin to transfer our wealth from Wall Street to Main Street.

Michael Shuman