3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
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Game Plan for Locavestors<br />
Community Capital 123<br />
its success is attracting more talented and ambitious entrepreneurs<br />
to the area. Honey Gardens, a winery that makes mead wine,<br />
relocated to Hardwick from Burlington to be part <strong>of</strong> the scene,<br />
opening a tasting room in town.<br />
The Vermont Food Venture Center, a $1 million shared- use facility,<br />
plans to open its doors in spring 2011, right next to Claire’s. The<br />
center will make its dairy, meat, and specialty food processing equipment<br />
and expertise available to local food businesses and startups—<br />
replicating, in a sense, the village canneries and creameries that<br />
once dotted the landscape here. “That building,” says Stearns, “will<br />
jumpstart a whole new generation <strong>of</strong> food entrepreneurs.<br />
Community capital is sort <strong>of</strong> a catch- all term for investments that<br />
bring together local residents with a local enterprise to fi ll a need—be<br />
it a café or a department store. These enterprises are typically supported<br />
or owned by the people they serve. There is no one model.<br />
Transactions can take the form <strong>of</strong> low risk community- supported agriculture<br />
and prepaid shares, interest- paying loans, or equity shares for<br />
those with a higher appetite for risk. The fi nancial returns may vary,<br />
but the feeling <strong>of</strong> being part <strong>of</strong> a local institution is, as the famous ad<br />
says, priceless.<br />
Pros:<br />
• There is perhaps no better feel- good investment than putting your<br />
money into a beloved local enterprise, whether a bookstore, café,<br />
or shop.<br />
• Although the monetary returns may be modest, such investments<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten carry perks, like discounted products and services.<br />
• For some communities, it is a pragmatic way to bring in a critical<br />
service or business that is lacking in the neighborhood (like those<br />
British villages that lost their local pubs and shops, or a Brooklyn<br />
neighborhood that wants a bookstore to call its own). The arrangements<br />
can involve equity, debt, or prepaid shares, allowing business<br />
owners to tailor the investments to investors’ appetite for risk.