Community ownership
Community-ownedassets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through somerepresentativemechanisms that allow acommunityto influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising.
Benefits of ownership ininfrastructureprojects such asdamsandirrigationare claimed to include increased responsiveness to needs of that community and the community valuing the projects more highly.
Community land buyouts
[edit]Communities can sometimes buy the land they live on and manage them through locally-run trusts. There are many examples of this inScotlandincludingEigg,AssyntandUlva.
Community-owned enterprises
[edit] | The examples and perspective in this sectionmay not represent aworldwide viewof the subject.(November 2013) |
InSaranac Lake, New York,after the localAmes Department Storeclosed due to bankruptcy and residents were forced to travel 50 miles (80 km) toPlattsburghfor staples, the town was approached byWalmartwhich offered to build a 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2)supercenter,but the community felt that Walmart would negatively impact local business and increase traffic. As an alternative, a community-owned store was organized and shares were sold to community residents. $500,000 was raised by about 600 residents who made an average investment of $800. The store, Saranac Lake Community Store, opened in October 29, 2011, in remodeled facilities in downtown Saranac Lake.Powell, Wyoming,also has a community store established in 2002 under similar circumstances. In both instances the securities wereintrastate offeringsregistered under less onerousstate securities lawsrather thanfederal law.[1]Funds were raised in a similar way for anindependent bookstorein Brooklyn, acoffeehousein Oakland, and restaurants inHastings-on-Hudson, New York[2]andHardwick, Vermont.In Hardwick two enterprises were created, one which operates a restaurant which prepares meals using locally grown food, another which bought and equipped the location as a restaurant.[3]
The New Rules Project of theInstitute for Local Self-Reliancea nonprofit corporation has worked to make financing of community owned business less onerous. H.R.2930, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act[1]Archived2012-12-15 at theWayback Machine,would relax securities law requirements making it easier for a community to raise money for community owned enterprises.[4]
See also
[edit]- Commons
- Community wealth building
- Community wind energy
- Cooperative
- List of fan-owned sports teams
- Reclaim the Streets
Notes
[edit]- ^Cortese, Amy (November 12, 2011)."A Town Creates Its Own Department Store".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 14,2011.
Community ownership seems to resonate in these days of protest.
- ^"Love a local business? Buy a share:Sometimes it takes a village to fund a company. "by Helaine Olen on CNN Money, September 10, 2009
- ^Mitchell, Stacy (August 24, 2010)."Grassroots Financing is Underwriting a New Crop of Neighborhood Businesses".Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2011.RetrievedNovember 14,2011.
- ^Mitchell, Stacy (November 8, 2011)."Crowdfunding Bill Would Allow People to Invest in Local Businesses".Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Archived fromthe originalon November 10, 2011.RetrievedNovember 14,2011.
External links and further reading
[edit]- Bryden, J and Geisler, C (2007) Land Reform and Community - a ‘new wave’ land reform?Land Use Policy
- Community Owned BusinessThis article by the American Independent Business Alliance explains the distinctions between community-owned and cooperative businesses and indexes many examples of community-owned enterprises in different business sectors.
- "Love a Local Business? Advise it to be careful about selling shares!"blog post by Katovich Law Group
- "Local Stock Exchanges and National Stimulus"by Michael H. Shuman, originally published in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Community Development Investment Review Volume 5, Issue 2, 2009
- "Community Development Investment Review"Volume 5, Issue 2, 2009, foreword by David Erickson, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
- Full review
- Could “Small Is Beautiful” Replace “Too Big to Fail?”Don Shaffer, RSF Social Finance
- Full review
- New move over land reform,BBC News Online, 19 August 2003