Workshops
Online Workshops
Local Investment 101
Americans have approximately $56 trillion in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurances funds—nearly all of it invested in global corporations. If you and your neighbors could shift even a small amount of that capital from Wall Street to Main Street, your local economy could flourish. This workshop is designed to help you personally and your community develop practical local investment strategies.
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Video Topics
Those interested in local investment
- Why are local businesses so important for community development?
- What are the returns and risks of local investments?
- What are the most promising kinds of local investments?
For local investors
- How can I find local investments?
- How should I evaluate local investments?
- How can I use tax-deferred pension savings for local investments?
- What are the rules governing self-directed IRAs and solo 401ks?
- Why are local banks and credit unions important for local investors?
For local businesses looking for local investment
- What local investment opportunities do cooperatives offer?
- What are the basics of securities law?
- What tools and resources are available to help me prepare my business for financing?
- How can my business raise funds from accredited investors?
- How can my business raise funds from grassroots investors?
For policymakers
- What kinds of community investment funds might facilitate local investment?
- What kinds of state and local policies can facilitate local investment?
Questions?
FAQs
Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the Local Investment 101 workshop. If you have any further questions that are not answered here, please reach out and contact us.
The course is built around four 90-minute zoom sessions led by Michael, spread over at least a month. The sessions are structured to be highly interactive. Between sessions, participants will watch 15 videos, each 20-40 minutes and built around one key question. (See the adjacent box.) The material incorporates and updates key points from Michael’s last three books.
If we organize the workshop, we typically charge $199 per student. We also provide an option for people just to view the videotapes for $99 (register here, if you’re interested). If you organize the workshop, the fee structure is up to you.
The target audience is anyone in your community interested in moving some of his or her money into local businesses, projects, or people. But many others might benefit from this workshop as well, including local businesspeople looking for new sources of capital, economic developers, local finance professionals, and policymakers.
Some. If we organize the workshop, we will work with you to raise funds from local underwriters, including banks, community foundations, and local philanthropists. We already have proposals ready to go. Once our fees are raised ($4,000), we will coordinate marketing efforts. If you take the lead, we will ask for a deposit of $5,000, and then you get to keep all the fees collected. If you sign up 50-100 students, you and your organization actually could make money.
