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Making a More Democratic Economy, One Revolving Loan Fund at a Time

Oscar Perry Abello

November 14, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Berkeley, California

Advancing the model of worker ownership requires expanding access to loans for cooperative businesses. In California, Berkeley City Council recently adopted changes to its Loan Fund for small businesses, allowing businesses without a CEO to apply for a loan. The City Council and Loan Administration board approved an idea put forth by the Sustainable Economics Law Center (SELC), which will permit coops to appoint a panel of owners to serve as guarantors of a loan, in lieu of a single CEO.

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In Borneo, healthy people equals healthy forests

Adam Wernick

November 12, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Borneo

Those who live on the island of Borneo understand that their well-being comes from the Gunung Palung National Park, but logging remained rampant because it was the only way to make money to pay for healthcare. Thus, an organization named "Health in Harmony" was borne through "radically listening" to locals to find out what they needed. This organization accepts creative forms of payment for healthcare and offers incentives to cease logging, including a chainsaw buyback program. As a result, ten years later they saw a 90% drop in logging households and a re-growth of 52,000 acres of forest.

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After cyclone Fani, women in a migrant fishing community start resilience fund

Sahana Ghosh

November 12, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Penthakatha, Odisha

After an unexpected summer cyclone in the Indian state of Odisha, hundreds of women from slums across the region formed a community fund for disaster preparedness. The women all try to contribute 10 rupees per month to the fund, slowly building their security net in case of another natural disaster.

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Free the Floodplains!

Yen Duong

November 11, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

There is a unique, homegrown local flood buyout program in Charlotte, NC that helps homeowners on floodplains relocate safely and with financial security. This came as a result of the city and county of Charlotte forming a joint storm water utility in the 1990's, which generated money by fixing aging pipes and other storm water needs—funding the local “Quick Buy” program. This gets the aid to the homeowners much quicker than FEMA money does and has since relocated 650 families and saved $25 million in losses.

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Changing Lives by Building Credit History — One Microloan at a Time

Farida Jhabvala Romero

November 08, 2019 |

KQED |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A program through the Mission Asset Fund, based in San Francisco, helps low-income communities get loans and good credit from an unlikely source: each other. The initiative pools together funds from family members and neighbors and distributes the loan to one of the contributors each month; the loans are interest free and allow community members to build credit without the difficulties of breaking into the typical microfinance realm.

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Banks Don't Know What to Do With Their Branches

Allison Prang

November 07, 2019 |

Wall Street Journal |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

With more users than ever use digital resources to access their bank accounts, banking companies with brick-and-mortar locations get creative with how to balance the digital and physical requests from their consumers. Some companies, like Capital One, have steered away from the traditional teller environment and have instead opened cafes and hosted community workshops to help people feel more comfortable in a bank setting.

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This Conservative City Built a $132 Million Park Using One Weird Trick

Zach Mortice

October 11, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

After falling behind in urban planning and innovation in the 1990s and early 2000s, Oklahoma City created a limited-time sales tax called MAPS to pay for capital projects, like the new Scissortail Park. The tax consisted of a series of one-cent sales taxes and has brought in over $1.5 billion and has helped fund convention centers, other urban green areas, and more.

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Fill, Build and Flood: Dangerous Development in Flood-Prone Areas

Laurie Mazur

October 08, 2019 |

U.S. News & World Report |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

To combat excessive flooding in low-plain areas, cities like Charlotte are passing critical legislation that regulates fill-and-build development, a type of construction that leads to more intense flooding in vulnerable neighborhoods. Charlotte bases flood control plans off future conditions rather than current or past flooding areas, and the city charges a fee for homeowners that, in turn, provides dedicated funding for stormwater management

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California Just Legalized Public Banks. Will the Rest of the Nation Follow Suit?

Ananya Garg

October 04, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

In California, Governor Newsom recently signed into law a regulatory framework for public banking in the state. Public banking, a concept not without its detractors, has been established successfully in North Dakota and California hopes to follow suit to tamp down on frustrations that big banking institutions put profits over social good. Supporters of public banks see them as a tool to create positive community change and support historically marginalized groups.

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How Penn State Is Cutting Greenhouse Emissions In Half — And Saving Money

Dan Charles

October 04, 2019 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, State College, Pennsylvania

Enrolling administrators and financial planners in sustainable projects takes proving that investments pay for themselves. With the help of pressure from students and faculty, Penn State Universities administrators have adopted a long-term strategy to reduce the university’s carbon footprint and implement sustainable practices. Students produced the data that illuminated the university’s unsustainable practices; the numbers now show that their efforts are paying off.

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