The Local Return
This week on Business Over Breakfast we were joined by Jessica David from the Local Return.
The Local Return’s mission is to build community wealth in Rhode Island through ownership and investment in neighborhoods that have experienced historical disinvestment.
Before her work with the Local Return, Jessica has an extensive background in philanthropy and nonprofits. She first started her career in affordable housing and then spent 13 years working at the Rhode Island Foundation overseeing strategy and community investments. In March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, Jessica left the foundation and decided to go out on her own. In addition to being a co-founder of the Local Return, she does a lot of consulting with community organizations.
There are six people on the founding board of the Local Return - all of which used to work at the Rhode Island foundation with Jessica. One day Jessica decided to bring everyone together for a conversation to say there was a gap; particularly looking at community wealth, building at community investment, and building out and supporting the ecosystem.
When speaking about the ecosystem Jessica is referring to,
“the environment, all the things that come together, all the factors that influence a local economy.”
If anything came from the pandemic it would be that it is now clear to people that this work is necessary. Community investment is necessary and it requires investors, people with capital, and an environment. The Local Return looks at the whole environment and all the factors that influence and allow the economy and ecosystem to flourish.
Through the American Rescue Plan, there are 2.6 Billion dollars (yes that’s billion with a B!) coming into Rhode Island. There are federal programs that community organizations and governments are going to be able to apply for.
“This is a good opportunity to jumpstart and lay the groundwork for some of the long-term transformative change.”
For the Local Return, it’s not just about creating some programs but making investments in ways that actually lay the groundwork for wealth. They look for an opportunity to use this funding to invest and to build ownership within communities.
On the Local Return’s website, they have a blog post with 10 specific recommendations on how the 2.6 Billion should be used. It includes both practical and specific ideas that could be implemented in many cases on a small level with small amounts of money. A big portion of those ideas support a mission that we also hold near and dear to our hearts — supporting local businesses.
“We know that buying local, just the multiplier effect of money spent at local businesses is far greater than at big box stores.” Once people come to know local businesses and the people who work there, they come back. There is a community of people out there who believe in this and are ready to be activated. Over the summer the Local Return offered a four-part virtual workshop series on local investing.
“At a time when everything felt very uncertain and very scary, a lot of people felt the sense of possibility of this is our chance to change the things that are not right.”
To learn more about the Local Return and all that they do visit their website here.
Each week on Business Over Breakfast, marketing experts Lori and Ben are joined by Rhode Island entrepreneurs who are living their dream of owning and running a business. If you’re a Rhode Island business owner and want to share your story please contact danielle@visualthrive.com and visit ShopLocalRhodeIsland to learn about other small businesses.
