Invest STL gets national attention by seeding $20K to residents in 2 neglected neighborhoods

The Nusantra Fund provides financial support directly to community-led projects in Indonesia. The aim is to improve the livelihoods of Indigenous and local people while tackling climate change impacts and protecting biodiversity.

Two conservation organizations are helping communities in Kyrgyzstan diversify their sources of income from livestock to include beekeeping, agroecology, ecotourism, and crafts. These efforts are preventing conflicts with snow leopards to conserve the local population. And some of the money made from the program goes towards funding environmental projects chosen by the community.

A San Francisco Bay Area loan program called the Black Wealth Builders Fund provides low-to-moderate-income homebuyers in black neighborhoods zero-interest loans to cover the down payment on their first home.

Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management entered into compact agreements with tribal nations in 2025, allowing tribes to operate cannabis dispensaries beyond reservation boundaries. Seven tribally owned off-reservation dispensaries are now open, with more planned. These dispensaries are serving as significant job sources as Waabigwan Mashkiki, White Earth Nation's cannabis company, has created 200 jobs alone in one of the state's poorest counties. Other states including Virginia and Wisconsin are now looking to Minnesota's framework as a model for their own tribal cannabis policies.

A community land trust in Fresno's Tower District used a combination of CDFI financing, foundation grants, and donations to acquire its first commercial property, bringing an indie bookstore to a neighborhood where high rents previously made that impossible. The land trust has also produced a new community park and favorable city zoning changes, demonstrating how CLTs can extend beyond affordable housing to support broader community development.

The Austin Cultural Trust is helping preserve the city’s music venues and cultural arts spaces by helping them obtain long-term leases to buy their land outright. The Trust is run by Rally Austin, a local nonprofit that has since dedicated $19 million and secured 67,000 square feet of cultural space, supporting various venues throughout the city.

Paris has implemented the world's largest participatory budgeting program, allowing any resident aged 7 and older to propose and vote on city projects funded by municipal money. Since 2014, the city has allocated 5% of its total budget and has implemented 1,345 citizen-proposed projects over the past 10 years, including rooftop farms, community centers, and infrastructure for homeless residents. In addition, research shows areas with participatory budgeting see greater trust in local leadership and higher rates of civic engagement.

Point-of-sale-based agency banking helps make digital finance more accessible and inclusive, allowing small businesses to act as banking agents, offering services like cash withdrawals and bill payments through fintech platforms. This integration has been particularly impactful in regions without bank branches. The integration of fintech throughout Nigeria has not only led to more autonomy in personal finance but has also created significant employment opportunities.

Faced with inadequate internet service that was driving away businesses, the remote West Texas town of Monahans launched a community-driven initiative to build its own fiber optic broadband network. The town cobbled together $3.2 million from a variety of sources, including federal CARES Act funds and venture capital, to create an underground fiber network that serves about 2,000 homes and businesses, with plans to expand.

The Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union provides small business loans to local Black and Brown businesses, through average investments of $24,000. This small, community lender provides more funding to local businesses than larger national banks like Citibank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, helping support local businesses and finance community development.