Local Impact Investing Opportunity Network Event

NEOEDD is working with our regional partners to re-localize private investment from Wall Street to Main Street. The goal is to make more capital available to local businesses by shifting a portion of the money that typically leaves the region back into local investments. The Community Capital Initiative is not focused on accredited investors but on non-wealthy people who have some investment money and care about the region in which they live.

October LIION events will feature panelists who have direct experience in local investing in our region. The events will also share highlights of changes in state regulation that may take effect as soon as January of 2015. "We're excited to learn that new regulation is under development. We want to make sure that local businesses are prepared to take advantage of new options for accepting investment from regular citizens," says Lisa Dawson, NEOEDD Executive Director. "This is the kind of regulatory change that we've been hoping for and it is happening much quicker than we expected."
October LIION Events
Panelists: Ed Millar, Terminal Gravity; David Schmidt, Integrated Biomass
Business Spotlight: Kim Metlen, Joseph Branch Railriders; Garrett Lowe, Dry Creek Design

In Wallowa, Union and Baker counties, locally owned businesses created 1,141 jobs from 2002 to 2012 while non-locally owned businesses reduced employment by 35 people during the same time period. Nationally, locally owned businesses created nearly 7.5 million jobs in the same time frame while non-locally owned businesses lost nearly 100,000 jobs. Nationally, from 2000 to 2012, bank loans for micro-businesses were down 33 percent and for small businesses down 14 percent. In addition, locally-owned businesses have a higher multiplier impact than non-locally-owned businesses. Community capital programming can help local businesses meet their financing needs, diversify residents' investment portfolios, and improve resiliency through encouraging local investments and purchasing.