Local Dollars, Local Sense by Michael Shuman

Author:Michael Shuman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: A Community Reslilience Guide
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Published: 2012-02-16T16:00:00+00:00

Moving from the Margins

Since its inception in the 1960s, community development has largely been about investments in marginal institutions focused on marginal people and projects with, at best, marginal financial returns. It has been a world dominated by mission-oriented players—government agencies, foundations, socially conscious banks, and philanthropists—who never expected to profit. Its practices and philosophy have shaped much of the public perception about the field of local investment.

Each of the stories here, however, shows how quickly the field is evolving. An odd consequence of the recent financial crisis is that millions of Americans, once regarded as solid members of the middle class, have fallen far enough to qualify for community-development programs. The size of the businesses considered micro is growing, as is the size of loans that qualify as micro. The financial tools being offered to these businesses are becoming more diversified. And in some cases, expectations that some of these programs could be profitable are growing as well.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.