Dear Colleague,
Welcome to our latest www.Community-Wealth.org e-newsletter, with a new look for 2013. In this winter edition, we bring you a host of new developments and site features:
- Today, February 8, The Democracy Collaborative and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT will release the findings of our case study: The Anchor Mission: Leveraging the Power of Anchor Institutions to Build Community Wealth. The report focuses on the path-breaking Vision 2010 Program implemented in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio by University Hospitals. Over a five year period, the initiative targeted more than $1 billion of procurement locally to create jobs, empower minority- and female-owned businesses and create a “new normal” for responsible, community-focused business practices in the region.
- We’re excited to announce that the third business in Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperative network, Green City Growers, has planted its first crop of leafy greens. GCG will produce 3 million heads of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs annually – while providing its worker owners with living wage jobs, no-cost health care benefits and wealth building through profit-sharing. The cooperative’s official grand opening is scheduled for February 25th.
- Democracy Collaborative staff continue to write and place articles on a number of important topics. Co-founder Gar Alperovitz argues that progressives at the state, county and municipal levels can further democratize wealth and power using a “checkerboard strategy.” Gar and Keane Bhatt of our research staff analyzed the reporting of the Wall Street Journal to demonstrate how the mainstream media underplays the importance of employee ownership. Our research director, Steve Dubb, recently wrote about the critical role anchor institutions can play in economic development.
- In December, Walter Wright of the Cleveland Foundation and I led a “Local First” webinar for our friends at BALLE. Our presentation explored how communities can engage anchor institutions to “buy local” and build community wealth.
- In the twenty-fifth of our continuing series of conversations with community wealth-building leaders, we interview Blake Jones, Co-Founder, President, and CEO ofNamasté Solar. Jones discusses the early stages of Namasté’s development, its current operations and structure, and the future of the solar industry and the green economy.
As always, we have added new links, articles, reports, and other materials to the site. Look for this symbol *NEW* to find the most recent additions. And don’t forget to view our regularly updated C-W Blog. You can also follow new developments on Facebook and Twitter.
Ted Howard
Executive Director, The Democracy Collaborative
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