The National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) came into being when a small group of passionate community advocates came together around the possibility of using local capital to create equitable, inclusive, and resilient local economies.
A few voices in the wilderness had been preaching on the theme, but the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 gave the movement a national stage.
Prior to the JOBS Act and subsequent state-based investment crowdfunding exemptions, there were very few opportunities for retail (non-accredited) investors to invest in their own communities and build individual and local wealth. Local investments and private market investments were restricted to the already wealthy, limiting economic opportunity for the majority of the country.
A handful of firms who had been using the few existing legal strategies available to aggregate and invest local capital, including and especially from non-accredited investors, now found themselves with colleagues from a variety of fields and geographies. NC3 was born out of this synergy and determination to build the community capital movement.
This work began in earnest in 2016, when one of the founding board members of NC3 worked to set up a conference (ComCap 16) in Portland, Oregon. At the conclusion of the conference the team that became NC3’s founders met together and agreed to work on a second conference and explore other ways to share what we were learning. NC3 was officially formed during ComCap 17 in Monte Ray, California, followed by ComCap 19 in Detroit, Michigan, and roundtables in Washington DC, California and Vermont.
For many, these conferences and roundtables were the first opportunity to learn about community capital. They convened the few national figures in what was then a nascent movement, with a handful of examples of what was possible to do differently and better than the systems and infrastructure that existed. This was seed planting on a national level, for a paradigm that provided for the democratization of capital using tools that didn’t exist less than a decade ago.
Since its founding, NC3 has contributed to the community capital movement through accessible educational content, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and cross-discipline partnership building. In 2021, NC3 was able to secure operational funding in order to hire our first full-time director. NC3 remains committed and energized as we see the challenges our communities face socially, politically, and economically. Our work has brought us together in partnership with many local, regional and national organizations and movements that are equally committed to building and maintaining vibrant, resilient, and equitable communities where all share the opportunity to live healthy, fulfilling lives.
Read more about our work here:
Local Investing Resource Center
Community Investment Funds
Practitioner's Directory
Events & Webinars
Annual Reports
A few voices in the wilderness had been preaching on the theme, but the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 gave the movement a national stage.
Prior to the JOBS Act and subsequent state-based investment crowdfunding exemptions, there were very few opportunities for retail (non-accredited) investors to invest in their own communities and build individual and local wealth. Local investments and private market investments were restricted to the already wealthy, limiting economic opportunity for the majority of the country.
A handful of firms who had been using the few existing legal strategies available to aggregate and invest local capital, including and especially from non-accredited investors, now found themselves with colleagues from a variety of fields and geographies. NC3 was born out of this synergy and determination to build the community capital movement.
This work began in earnest in 2016, when one of the founding board members of NC3 worked to set up a conference (ComCap 16) in Portland, Oregon. At the conclusion of the conference the team that became NC3’s founders met together and agreed to work on a second conference and explore other ways to share what we were learning. NC3 was officially formed during ComCap 17 in Monte Ray, California, followed by ComCap 19 in Detroit, Michigan, and roundtables in Washington DC, California and Vermont.
For many, these conferences and roundtables were the first opportunity to learn about community capital. They convened the few national figures in what was then a nascent movement, with a handful of examples of what was possible to do differently and better than the systems and infrastructure that existed. This was seed planting on a national level, for a paradigm that provided for the democratization of capital using tools that didn’t exist less than a decade ago.
Since its founding, NC3 has contributed to the community capital movement through accessible educational content, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and cross-discipline partnership building. In 2021, NC3 was able to secure operational funding in order to hire our first full-time director. NC3 remains committed and energized as we see the challenges our communities face socially, politically, and economically. Our work has brought us together in partnership with many local, regional and national organizations and movements that are equally committed to building and maintaining vibrant, resilient, and equitable communities where all share the opportunity to live healthy, fulfilling lives.
Read more about our work here:
Local Investing Resource Center
Community Investment Funds
Practitioner's Directory
Events & Webinars
Annual Reports