Community Builders
As a community builder, we know you are pursuing what you think is best for your community, and we sincerely appreciate your efforts. To support you in this work, we encourage you to utilize community capital as a source of funding, but also as a way to uplift your local economy alongside the success of your work.
There are many ways to utilize community capital, but to impact your whole community, the most effective way will be to build a Community Investment Fund (CIF). The following resource pages will provide CIF basics, initial considerations for CIF building, and how to imagine beyond this information into the reality of actualizing community-determined projects and local wealth-building opportunities.
Basics
What is a community investment fund? How can community investment funds be structured?
CIFs are typically locally managed investment funds with two essential characteristics: Capital is sourced from people in the community (including from retail/non-accredited investors); and Capital is invested into local people, projects, and businesses that reflect the values and needs of the community.
Building
How do you build a community investment fund?
Theory of Change
A theory of change is “a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context.” It goes beyond what your fund does, and helps define how your actions will achieve your long-term goals. Figuring this out is a great team-building exercise and will help keep your priorities aligned and focused.
Beyond
How might you engage your community? How might you establish a pipeline of local investments?
Community Engagement
From the very beginning of building a CIF, you will want to engage your community. The more people who know about and feel a part of what you are doing, the more investors you will have ready once the CIF is built.