A Little of Everything

Crowdfunding Investment Websites. If you want to know more about what is new in alternatives, check out this site, which lists over 114 crowdfunding investment platforms. Real estate, agriculture, venture fundings, cryptocurrency, and even art and collectibles are listed here. Find opportunities for both non-accredited and accredited investors. While most of these sites are not focused on socially responsible investing, we did find some of the organizations mentioned in Activate Your Money oor the companion website. Examples include AgFunder, CNote, Crowdfund Mainstreet, and Milk Money.

Agriculture

California FarmLink Investment Notes. California residents, regardless of wealth or income, can invest between $1,000 to $150,000 in farmland and farmers. Lock-ups range from 2 to 7 years, and interest rates are between 0.75% to 2.5%.

Building the Agriculture and Food Investor Eco-System. Lisa Frusztajer, a contributor to Activate Your Money, who describes herself in this article as a “small-scale technology investor interested in what for me is the new arena of agriculture and food.” She reflects on what she has learned and points to investment opportunities in sustainable food and ag that she uncovered in her research.

Community Investing

Both non-accredited and accredited investors can use cash, fixed income, private investments, and other alternative strategies to support local community members, infrastructure, and small businesses. Though there was no space available in Activate Your Money to delve into this topic, we list some good resources here to help you learn more about investing with a local lens.

BOOKS

Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It by Amy Cortese. This book introduces the concepts and pioneers behind what the author terms “locavesting” and tells stories of individuals and communities working together to invest in their own backyards.

Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity by Michael Shuman. Michael Shuman explains how to put money to work building local businesses and resilient local economies. (Michael also wrote Put Your Money Where Your Life Is, which explains how to use your retirement accounts to invest locally, in private investments and other alternatives. We go into the ideas in this book in Chapter 13.)

EXAMPLES

LION, Port Townsend, WA. The Local Investment Opportunities Network was started by a group of local citizens who wanted to build a more prosperous and resilient community by investing their money locally.

Milk Money Vermont. Started by two women, Milk Money is a Vermont-based enterprise that helps anyone 18 or older living in the state invest in local businesses.

Cryptocurrency

Caterina Rindi is an international consultant specializing in blockchain and collaborative economies.  She has a very engaging TEDx talk titled “Blockchain, Burning Man, and Bravery” that explains how she first got involved in this alternative currency and how it changed her life. Caterina wrote several pages for Activate Your Money about crypto-currency that did not fit into the book. You can download her original piece here.

Caterina recommends these additional resources for anyone interested in learning more about bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain.

A Beginner’s Guide to Blockchain. This guide from she256, a group of (primarily) young women who are working to increase diversity and break down barriers to entry into the blockchain space. The downloadable document gives insight into blockchain and cryptocurrency as well as bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Introduction to Bitcoin. This site has 43 short videos that answers many of the frequently asked questions about bitcoin, starting with “What is bitcoin and why does it matter?”

Water

Fidelity Water Sustainability Fund (FLOWX). This fund was launched in April 2020, thus has a limited track record. The funds invests at least 80% of its securities in publicly-traded companies that are working to deliver safe, reliable, and easily accessible water.

Water Equity. Water Equity grew out of Water.org, a non-profit organization that has been working for over 30 years to gather and disseminate knowledge and best practices to provide clean water and sanitation to some of the poorest people in the world. Water Equity works with partners on the ground to provide affordable loans that underwrite the construction of toilets, infrastructure, and water access. Investors need to be accredited.

WaterWorks Fund. Still in development, WaterWorksFund.com will be a crowdfunding platform that allows any adult to make private investments in companies focused on solving problems related to clean water or ensuring access to clean water and sanitation around in the world.