Brilliant. Thank you for putting this together. You've clearly spent a lot of time and energy on it. I'm definitely willing to do whatever I can to help you move forward.
I've sent the link to our non-profit board to see what they think.
Hello from the Redwood Coast of FarNorCal, People’s Republic of Arcata, Humboldt County, CA. I’m subscribed!
I love the connection engine idea and want to send you a few connections to explore.
I connected with your idea that the first big connection must be belief. Countless times since my ecstatic counter-culture freak years of the 60s 70s, putting our back-to-the-Earth bodies on the wheels of the murder machine, I have encountered defensive anger on the part of friends, former idealists, when I described my still-positive visions-in-stories about the future. People who have lost hope seem to cling fiercely to their despair. I believe hope—the absolute prerequisite, sine qua non of effective, energetic positive action—has to be smuggled in through life-injured, fearful, hopeless people’s protective shells to the hope-hungry consciousness inside by telling them stories of truth so powerful that the better angels of their emotional selves are brought along to realizations and visions of a positive future—and of how their lives and actions can still be a valuable part of realizing it. Kim Stanley Robinson’s book, The Ministry of the Future is such a powerful story. If you haven’t already done so, please read it!
Here in our own little town we have a model for hope I thought would have been taken up more elsewhere. It needs some PR, me thinks. Since it was established in 1969, The Arcata Marsh has been a beacon of hope for important progress in an area of our future that is less than glamorous but nonetheless vital: the disposal of human waste. Read about this model for the future here, cuz, shit happens. Even in a glorious future! It must be dealt with in a glorious way! That’s what is happening here in Arcata.
Lastly, here is a non-profit that is dedicated to connecting small business entrepreneurs with funding sources and local government. SF New Deal, inspired by FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, is a model that could be adopted in other cities, like Liverpool, a city nearly as large as San Francisco, or any city struggling to transition to a sustainable, slow-growth, eco-friendly economy while maintaining its vibrant role as a rallying point in reversing the cancer of urban sprawl. Contact them!
Okay! Keep up the amazing work. Now that I’m subscribed, perhaps we’ll be in touch again. Hope so. We’re a world away here at the western edge of North America, but there’s just One World! So Connect! Connect! ✌🏽❤️🎶🏳️🌈🌍
Ah, the shuffle! No worries! It’s also the holidays. I know I’m not getting as much work done—but I’m loving hanging out with my kids. Thanks for the sub. You have a pretty clear goal in your substackery. A good one, too. Nice. I’m still unclear where/how my little newsletter fits into my writing life. I’ll chip away at it until something emerges—or not! It feels good to have a more immediate outlet—even if it’s just an occasional reader or two—but the excitement of sharing a new poem or idea makes me put stuff out before it’s been properly edited. Maybe that’s okay though.
Okay, I’m gonna a check to be sure I’ve subbed you back! Have a great day. Happy Harmonica!
The internet is indeed grand! Thank you so much for all the connections and so happy to connect here (sorry it took me a moment, your note got lost in the shuffle!)
Thanks for putting together the video. It’s a very interesting idea which I can see is at a fairly early stage. I’m going to give some honest feedback for which I apologise in advance if it’s too honest or brutal.
I worked in activist (mostly self-organising or anarchist) spaces and communities for over a decade here in Spain. Now I’m working much more adjacent to the world of impact investing.
I can see the mindset here is ‘let’s do this for the least amount of money possible’. Also your comment about being ‘housing insecure’, to be brutally honest, sets off some red flags such as ‘if she knows so much about being an entrepreneur, how has she not made enough money to have stable housing?’.
Obviously I have no idea of your story, your challenges, your context, and so on, I know the housing system is totally unfair and broken, and I’m totally not judging you for being in that situation, I have briefly been there myself too. But this is what people, especially potential investors, will probably think. So they might decide not to give you any money because they will believe you don’t know how to make money from money. That may well be totally unfair, I’m just saying that’s what they will likely think.
Watching the video brings back memories of my activist days, and this is only applicable to me, I have no idea if it applies to you: trying to do everything on a shoestring means that everyone is burnt out, nobody has time for self-care, everything is urgent, everyone is self-sacrificing, there is a pervasive feeling of guilt, that I should be doing more to help others but I just don’t have the energy because everything is so precarious, and so on.
And as you say with the driver cooperative, despite all their hard work and self-sacrifice, the big companies can pretty easily destroy them if the little guy becomes too powerful.
Now I live in Spain, as I said, and I am powering my computer right now with electricity that is sold to me by a large cooperative, Som Energia. My mobile phone plan is also from a cooperative, Som Conexió, and in both those cases, they are better, cheaper, and more ecologically aware than the big companies they compete with. So I know cooperatives can thrive in a marketplace alongside extractive multinationals. I’m not sure on the details of how they are successful, just that they are, and that it can be done. Both of those coops have existed for at least a decade.
The contrast I’ve noticed with the impact investing world is that one asks for lots of money, unashamedly. You don’t try to say ‘we can do this so cheaply’. They will immediately dismiss you. What you say is ‘this will have a massive impact, so we need a LOT of money’. Then you can pay everyone properly, compete for top graduates who will have great ideas, people with connections to wealthy individuals who want to invest in impactful projects, and so on. I know of an NGO which is getting $400k per month. Four hundred thousand dollars. Every month. Because the investors think they will have a big impact. A lot of these investors are from very wealthy families and want to do something with their money that helps the maximum number of people. You have a really good case for being able to do that, because as you point out, there’s a bottleneck, and you’ve worked out a way to unblock it.
You have hopefully read a bit of our Position Paper for The Elevator, and the idea is to have a massive impact by working at the highest leverage point, that of paradigms. So we are going to these wealthy investors and telling them that there is nowhere they could put their money which will have more impact, and this is why. It’s a challenge to distill it down into something which very busy people can understand quickly, and we’re still working on that part. But we have managed to receive some fairly large donations already with that approach.
I know it’s a chicken and egg situation, and it’s probably been blind luck which has taken me out of the precarious activist world and put me into the impacting investing milieu. But it was also a change of my own inner paradigm which did it. I realised the activist model of trying to do everything on the cheap doesn’t work. Of course we’re not just spraying money around for no reason, if we can do something well and cheaply, we don’t favour the expensive option for the sake of it.
But it’s a vital change of attitude, which involves saying ‘I am here, I matter, what I’m doing matters, and I need large amounts of investment to do it properly’. In my experience, people in activist communities are not good at saying things like that, other than angrily, which also will alienate potential investors.
So if I can give you some completely unsolicited advice, and of course you are free to ignore this and tell me to go to hell, I would suggest you focus on making the message incredibly simple to understand, like one or two sentences (I’m sure you are doing this already). Also put it down in depth in a position paper or similar where everything is reasoned out and backed up, in case people want to get into the details.
Then with the first bit of funding you get, make everything look as streamlined, classy, and professional as possible (we’re still working on this too). If you can get some wealthy and/or connected people to agree to put their faces on the website as advisers, even better. What you need to be saying is ‘I am one of you, and like you, I deserve investment in my super-impactful project, this is a great opportunity for you, don’t miss out’.
We registered our NGO as a non-profit in Switzerland, which cost around $400. That says to those people that you get it, you’re in the same world as they are, you’re one of them. They look for these signifiers, which is why it’s worth doing. ‘Fake it ‘til you make it’ gets you out of the chicken and egg situation. And you’re not even faking it, really. Once you get some investment you are in that world.
There are many government and non-governmental orgs making small grants and interest-free loans, as I’m sure you know. I have a list of several which I can share with you. That might be a way to get started with funding it, and what do I know, maybe you’ve done that already.
So those are my thoughts, based on my initial impressions, which may be wrong, and obviously feel free to correct me. But I think I can detect some of the same ways of thinking that I was used to in the activist world, and which may end up excluding you from the world which I believe you really need to be in, in order to make this project happen in a sustainable and successful way. I’m happy to chat on here or have a zoom call if you want to talk more about this.
Guy, you are such a gem. Thank you for taking the time and totally agree with your advisement, on some level it’s just not overnight you break from old patterns and mindsets, but I see exactly what you’re saying and want to kick myself a bit for engaging in it, but will just move on with this in mind instead.
You’re right, this (or any) project deserves a few talented folks who don’t have to be in survival mode to pull it off. The setup may only take a few dedicated weeks, but having talent that can nurture the community and network full time to grow it exponentially — that’s where we need a tonne of investment, and not people too burnt out to do it properly.
“‘if she knows so much about being an entrepreneur, how has she not made enough money to have stable housing?’.” < — this is especially true, I see this turning people away. For context, I’ve built two mid six figure companies with a partner. I’m just shit at doing anything alone, have never lived without a carer or partner for support and to rein in my autistic hyperfocus, which is why I’m trying to bring people in now that I’m a little less in fight or flight and can start to think clearly.
The situation keeps getting more stable and I know things can change overnight.
If you have the time, would love to hop on a Zoom call. If you have a booking link feel free to send it or DM with a time that works for you
Btw, do you know James Seriph or any of the folks at Frequency?
Thank you for sharing your perspective and the thoughtful advice you’ve offered. I’d like to add my voice to this conversation, as someone who is deeply committed to the community wealth movement. I am part of this movement, along with thousands of neurodivergent people across the country who are building cooperative models that center equity and inclusion.
I do believe in the potential of cooperative models to create transformative change. However, when it comes to impact investing in these models, it is critical that the benefits and power favor the community, not the investors. Moreover, it’s important to acknowledge that the community wealth movement is not owned or led by any one person—it is a collective effort, grounded in relational engagement and mutual care.
1. Community Wealth and Impact Investing Serve Different Purposes.
Impact investing operates within a capitalist framework, often prioritizing financial returns alongside social outcomes. Community wealth, by contrast, seeks to disrupt these systems by centering shared ownership, local governance, and collective well-being. When impact investing becomes the primary focus, it risks shifting the balance of power away from the community and toward external funders.
2. Connection Over Commodification.
A “connection engine” approach—designed to scale and streamline interactions—risks depleting the very relational engagement that is at the heart of the community wealth movement. Neurodivergent individuals and other marginalized groups who initiated this movement did so because of a shared value for authentic, meaningful relationships. These connections are vital to the movement’s success and cannot be replaced by mechanized or transactional systems.
3. The Risk of Alienating Those Most Impacted by Capitalism.
Adopting strategies that cater to investor expectations risks alienating the very communities most harmed by capitalism. For these communities, wealth isn’t about financial returns; it’s about creating access, belonging, and sustainability. Assimilation into capitalist frameworks would fundamentally undermine the purpose of community wealth.
4. Authenticity Is the Movement’s Strength.
The power of community wealth lies in its authenticity—its alignment with the lived experiences and values of those it serves. Assimilating into ableist or capitalist norms, even temporarily, risks eroding this authenticity and turning a movement rooted in justice into another tool for incremental reform.
5. Prioritizing Community-Centered Investment.
Investment in community wealth should align with its principles: participatory governance, shared decision-making, and long-term sustainability. It’s not about profit for investors—it’s about building trust and collaboration that uplift the community. Models like cooperative lending circles and mutual aid networks show that it’s possible to build resilient systems without compromising core values.
6. Impact That Resists Co-Optation.
While there’s value in leveraging resources, it’s crucial to avoid co-optation. The goal shouldn’t be to replicate investor-centric strategies but to redefine what investment means—centering relationships, accountability, and collective growth.
In Closing:
I respect the experiences you’ve shared and the lessons you’ve learned. However, I feel strongly that for the community wealth movement to succeed, it must remain rooted in its values and resist the pressure to conform to systems that perpetuate inequity. The relational engagement that is central to this movement—particularly among the neurodivergent individuals who helped shape it—is a strength, not a weakness. Scaling models or prioritizing external validation at the expense of these connections would dilute the movement’s transformative potential.
I hope these thoughts add to the conversation and encourage us to find ways to grow this movement in alignment with justice and equity.
Totally agree — thank you x100000 for sharing this — would you be willing to look over the one pager, etc to ensure these values hold true and there isn’t mixed messaging? Or even hop on a call soon? Xoxo
Thanks for taking all that on board, some was maybe hard to hear. I totally agree it’s hard to switch mindsets.
I’m actually a bit under the weather at the moment, just a cold and hopefully recovered tomorrow, but then it will be Christmas, so maybe we could have a zoom call around the 28th-29th, something like that if that’s convenient?
I don’t know James Seriph but I looked up Frequency and it looks great, he almost certainly knows some of the people I know, and their website is a good template I think, very clear narrative and how to get involved etc.
It was actually not at all hard to hear. I’ve been hungry for honest feedback from wiser people for SO long. People withholding this type of wisdom have actually gotten me going down dangerous paths that could have been avoided.
It is a gift I am very happy to receive. Thank you <3
Either day would be convenient. I’m on EST time zone. I’ve cleared my calendar for those days, so any time works
Ok great. That’s a good basis for success, I think, being willing to listen to honest opinions, one I’ve struggled with myself, in the past. I’ll let you know for sure, but probably the 28th will be the better day, and it’ll be your late morning and my early evening, or around then.
I think you have identified a real need for a connection “engine” that gathers AND empowers regeneratively minded individuals and groups. It is what we really want our social media to be.
I have been looking at this need myself, and been adjacent to a number of attempts trying to solve it. I actually think it needs a load of money, great interface design, and a good tech team under a very very strong ethical leadership.
I agree with Guy that the activist mindset can be very limiting when trying to build and be businesslike.
Multinationals and big business do so much harm because of the faulty systems design problem that arises from money as we know it, and from extractive profit measured in money, instead adding value.
Instead of the current fear driven competitive survival of the fittest, we need to OUTCOMPETE with imagination driven collaborative thriving of the best fitted.
The power of story is important, I agree. We need beliefs to shift from fear/scarcity to abundance and creativity, but we need to do it realistically, not Pollyanna style or with magical thinking.
I would be happy to connect in the New Year.
I run a regenerative smallholding as part of Lammas Eco Village for which I am Co-director. I am looking for ways to connect all the regenerative communities, businesses and individuals thoughout Wales.
Ooh... so I definitely need more clarity when I talk about this. This isn't just for already regeneratively minded groups. Though it is in many ways a marketing campaign for them.
"Instead of the current fear driven competitive survival of the fittest, we need to OUTOMPETE with imagination driven collaborative thriving of the best fitted!" Absolutely! Like Bucky fuller said, new model that makes the old one obsolete. I haven't written about it here, but my pinned Tiktok illustrates this a bit.
This isn't just wishful thinking btw, these are practical, proven steps and systems. Are you aware of the work done in Preston, Democracy Collab, etc? We're creating economic ecosystems that are a bit like imaginal cells in caterpillars.
I'd love to connect as well! If I don't get to it first, please DM me or email jess@jfriday.com to set something up xoxo
I should clarify again, that ultimate it's a pathway to being regeneratively minded for anyone who isn't already, without forcing ideology. Hope that makes sense. I've done a couple thousand words today and it's all starting to mush together 😂
J Friday, I watched your introduction presentation. I am a story teller, published author, experienced business banker, and climate risk & sustainability consultant with a formal education in applied economics and the law. I am very interested in participating your network collaboration. You can contact me at my email: kevinh@climatechangeseverything.net. My website is www.onwardatlast.com.
Brilliant. Thank you for putting this together. You've clearly spent a lot of time and energy on it. I'm definitely willing to do whatever I can to help you move forward.
I've sent the link to our non-profit board to see what they think.
Let's stay in communication.
Well done. 🙏
Thank you. 🙏 Definitely let’s stay in touch, I’ll keep you high on my contacts list xoxo
Great job on the video. Your ideas are parallel to my own. Really exciting.
Hello from the Redwood Coast of FarNorCal, People’s Republic of Arcata, Humboldt County, CA. I’m subscribed!
I love the connection engine idea and want to send you a few connections to explore.
I connected with your idea that the first big connection must be belief. Countless times since my ecstatic counter-culture freak years of the 60s 70s, putting our back-to-the-Earth bodies on the wheels of the murder machine, I have encountered defensive anger on the part of friends, former idealists, when I described my still-positive visions-in-stories about the future. People who have lost hope seem to cling fiercely to their despair. I believe hope—the absolute prerequisite, sine qua non of effective, energetic positive action—has to be smuggled in through life-injured, fearful, hopeless people’s protective shells to the hope-hungry consciousness inside by telling them stories of truth so powerful that the better angels of their emotional selves are brought along to realizations and visions of a positive future—and of how their lives and actions can still be a valuable part of realizing it. Kim Stanley Robinson’s book, The Ministry of the Future is such a powerful story. If you haven’t already done so, please read it!
Here in our own little town we have a model for hope I thought would have been taken up more elsewhere. It needs some PR, me thinks. Since it was established in 1969, The Arcata Marsh has been a beacon of hope for important progress in an area of our future that is less than glamorous but nonetheless vital: the disposal of human waste. Read about this model for the future here, cuz, shit happens. Even in a glorious future! It must be dealt with in a glorious way! That’s what is happening here in Arcata.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcata_Wastewater_Treatment_Plant_and_Wildlife_Sanctuary
Lastly, here is a non-profit that is dedicated to connecting small business entrepreneurs with funding sources and local government. SF New Deal, inspired by FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, is a model that could be adopted in other cities, like Liverpool, a city nearly as large as San Francisco, or any city struggling to transition to a sustainable, slow-growth, eco-friendly economy while maintaining its vibrant role as a rallying point in reversing the cancer of urban sprawl. Contact them!
https://sfnewdeal.org/ (Ain’t the internet grand?!)
Okay! Keep up the amazing work. Now that I’m subscribed, perhaps we’ll be in touch again. Hope so. We’re a world away here at the western edge of North America, but there’s just One World! So Connect! Connect! ✌🏽❤️🎶🏳️🌈🌍
Ah, the shuffle! No worries! It’s also the holidays. I know I’m not getting as much work done—but I’m loving hanging out with my kids. Thanks for the sub. You have a pretty clear goal in your substackery. A good one, too. Nice. I’m still unclear where/how my little newsletter fits into my writing life. I’ll chip away at it until something emerges—or not! It feels good to have a more immediate outlet—even if it’s just an occasional reader or two—but the excitement of sharing a new poem or idea makes me put stuff out before it’s been properly edited. Maybe that’s okay though.
Okay, I’m gonna a check to be sure I’ve subbed you back! Have a great day. Happy Harmonica!
I prefer messy over perceived perfectionism myself :)
Happy harmonia!
The internet is indeed grand! Thank you so much for all the connections and so happy to connect here (sorry it took me a moment, your note got lost in the shuffle!)
Thanks for putting together the video. It’s a very interesting idea which I can see is at a fairly early stage. I’m going to give some honest feedback for which I apologise in advance if it’s too honest or brutal.
I worked in activist (mostly self-organising or anarchist) spaces and communities for over a decade here in Spain. Now I’m working much more adjacent to the world of impact investing.
I can see the mindset here is ‘let’s do this for the least amount of money possible’. Also your comment about being ‘housing insecure’, to be brutally honest, sets off some red flags such as ‘if she knows so much about being an entrepreneur, how has she not made enough money to have stable housing?’.
Obviously I have no idea of your story, your challenges, your context, and so on, I know the housing system is totally unfair and broken, and I’m totally not judging you for being in that situation, I have briefly been there myself too. But this is what people, especially potential investors, will probably think. So they might decide not to give you any money because they will believe you don’t know how to make money from money. That may well be totally unfair, I’m just saying that’s what they will likely think.
Watching the video brings back memories of my activist days, and this is only applicable to me, I have no idea if it applies to you: trying to do everything on a shoestring means that everyone is burnt out, nobody has time for self-care, everything is urgent, everyone is self-sacrificing, there is a pervasive feeling of guilt, that I should be doing more to help others but I just don’t have the energy because everything is so precarious, and so on.
And as you say with the driver cooperative, despite all their hard work and self-sacrifice, the big companies can pretty easily destroy them if the little guy becomes too powerful.
Now I live in Spain, as I said, and I am powering my computer right now with electricity that is sold to me by a large cooperative, Som Energia. My mobile phone plan is also from a cooperative, Som Conexió, and in both those cases, they are better, cheaper, and more ecologically aware than the big companies they compete with. So I know cooperatives can thrive in a marketplace alongside extractive multinationals. I’m not sure on the details of how they are successful, just that they are, and that it can be done. Both of those coops have existed for at least a decade.
The contrast I’ve noticed with the impact investing world is that one asks for lots of money, unashamedly. You don’t try to say ‘we can do this so cheaply’. They will immediately dismiss you. What you say is ‘this will have a massive impact, so we need a LOT of money’. Then you can pay everyone properly, compete for top graduates who will have great ideas, people with connections to wealthy individuals who want to invest in impactful projects, and so on. I know of an NGO which is getting $400k per month. Four hundred thousand dollars. Every month. Because the investors think they will have a big impact. A lot of these investors are from very wealthy families and want to do something with their money that helps the maximum number of people. You have a really good case for being able to do that, because as you point out, there’s a bottleneck, and you’ve worked out a way to unblock it.
You have hopefully read a bit of our Position Paper for The Elevator, and the idea is to have a massive impact by working at the highest leverage point, that of paradigms. So we are going to these wealthy investors and telling them that there is nowhere they could put their money which will have more impact, and this is why. It’s a challenge to distill it down into something which very busy people can understand quickly, and we’re still working on that part. But we have managed to receive some fairly large donations already with that approach.
I know it’s a chicken and egg situation, and it’s probably been blind luck which has taken me out of the precarious activist world and put me into the impacting investing milieu. But it was also a change of my own inner paradigm which did it. I realised the activist model of trying to do everything on the cheap doesn’t work. Of course we’re not just spraying money around for no reason, if we can do something well and cheaply, we don’t favour the expensive option for the sake of it.
But it’s a vital change of attitude, which involves saying ‘I am here, I matter, what I’m doing matters, and I need large amounts of investment to do it properly’. In my experience, people in activist communities are not good at saying things like that, other than angrily, which also will alienate potential investors.
So if I can give you some completely unsolicited advice, and of course you are free to ignore this and tell me to go to hell, I would suggest you focus on making the message incredibly simple to understand, like one or two sentences (I’m sure you are doing this already). Also put it down in depth in a position paper or similar where everything is reasoned out and backed up, in case people want to get into the details.
Then with the first bit of funding you get, make everything look as streamlined, classy, and professional as possible (we’re still working on this too). If you can get some wealthy and/or connected people to agree to put their faces on the website as advisers, even better. What you need to be saying is ‘I am one of you, and like you, I deserve investment in my super-impactful project, this is a great opportunity for you, don’t miss out’.
We registered our NGO as a non-profit in Switzerland, which cost around $400. That says to those people that you get it, you’re in the same world as they are, you’re one of them. They look for these signifiers, which is why it’s worth doing. ‘Fake it ‘til you make it’ gets you out of the chicken and egg situation. And you’re not even faking it, really. Once you get some investment you are in that world.
There are many government and non-governmental orgs making small grants and interest-free loans, as I’m sure you know. I have a list of several which I can share with you. That might be a way to get started with funding it, and what do I know, maybe you’ve done that already.
So those are my thoughts, based on my initial impressions, which may be wrong, and obviously feel free to correct me. But I think I can detect some of the same ways of thinking that I was used to in the activist world, and which may end up excluding you from the world which I believe you really need to be in, in order to make this project happen in a sustainable and successful way. I’m happy to chat on here or have a zoom call if you want to talk more about this.
Guy, you are such a gem. Thank you for taking the time and totally agree with your advisement, on some level it’s just not overnight you break from old patterns and mindsets, but I see exactly what you’re saying and want to kick myself a bit for engaging in it, but will just move on with this in mind instead.
You’re right, this (or any) project deserves a few talented folks who don’t have to be in survival mode to pull it off. The setup may only take a few dedicated weeks, but having talent that can nurture the community and network full time to grow it exponentially — that’s where we need a tonne of investment, and not people too burnt out to do it properly.
“‘if she knows so much about being an entrepreneur, how has she not made enough money to have stable housing?’.” < — this is especially true, I see this turning people away. For context, I’ve built two mid six figure companies with a partner. I’m just shit at doing anything alone, have never lived without a carer or partner for support and to rein in my autistic hyperfocus, which is why I’m trying to bring people in now that I’m a little less in fight or flight and can start to think clearly.
The situation keeps getting more stable and I know things can change overnight.
If you have the time, would love to hop on a Zoom call. If you have a booking link feel free to send it or DM with a time that works for you
Btw, do you know James Seriph or any of the folks at Frequency?
Thank you for sharing your perspective and the thoughtful advice you’ve offered. I’d like to add my voice to this conversation, as someone who is deeply committed to the community wealth movement. I am part of this movement, along with thousands of neurodivergent people across the country who are building cooperative models that center equity and inclusion.
I do believe in the potential of cooperative models to create transformative change. However, when it comes to impact investing in these models, it is critical that the benefits and power favor the community, not the investors. Moreover, it’s important to acknowledge that the community wealth movement is not owned or led by any one person—it is a collective effort, grounded in relational engagement and mutual care.
1. Community Wealth and Impact Investing Serve Different Purposes.
Impact investing operates within a capitalist framework, often prioritizing financial returns alongside social outcomes. Community wealth, by contrast, seeks to disrupt these systems by centering shared ownership, local governance, and collective well-being. When impact investing becomes the primary focus, it risks shifting the balance of power away from the community and toward external funders.
2. Connection Over Commodification.
A “connection engine” approach—designed to scale and streamline interactions—risks depleting the very relational engagement that is at the heart of the community wealth movement. Neurodivergent individuals and other marginalized groups who initiated this movement did so because of a shared value for authentic, meaningful relationships. These connections are vital to the movement’s success and cannot be replaced by mechanized or transactional systems.
3. The Risk of Alienating Those Most Impacted by Capitalism.
Adopting strategies that cater to investor expectations risks alienating the very communities most harmed by capitalism. For these communities, wealth isn’t about financial returns; it’s about creating access, belonging, and sustainability. Assimilation into capitalist frameworks would fundamentally undermine the purpose of community wealth.
4. Authenticity Is the Movement’s Strength.
The power of community wealth lies in its authenticity—its alignment with the lived experiences and values of those it serves. Assimilating into ableist or capitalist norms, even temporarily, risks eroding this authenticity and turning a movement rooted in justice into another tool for incremental reform.
5. Prioritizing Community-Centered Investment.
Investment in community wealth should align with its principles: participatory governance, shared decision-making, and long-term sustainability. It’s not about profit for investors—it’s about building trust and collaboration that uplift the community. Models like cooperative lending circles and mutual aid networks show that it’s possible to build resilient systems without compromising core values.
6. Impact That Resists Co-Optation.
While there’s value in leveraging resources, it’s crucial to avoid co-optation. The goal shouldn’t be to replicate investor-centric strategies but to redefine what investment means—centering relationships, accountability, and collective growth.
In Closing:
I respect the experiences you’ve shared and the lessons you’ve learned. However, I feel strongly that for the community wealth movement to succeed, it must remain rooted in its values and resist the pressure to conform to systems that perpetuate inequity. The relational engagement that is central to this movement—particularly among the neurodivergent individuals who helped shape it—is a strength, not a weakness. Scaling models or prioritizing external validation at the expense of these connections would dilute the movement’s transformative potential.
I hope these thoughts add to the conversation and encourage us to find ways to grow this movement in alignment with justice and equity.
Totally agree — thank you x100000 for sharing this — would you be willing to look over the one pager, etc to ensure these values hold true and there isn’t mixed messaging? Or even hop on a call soon? Xoxo
Yes of course!!! I’m open the rest of the day or you can pick a time. I’m almost always in my office.
Thanks for taking all that on board, some was maybe hard to hear. I totally agree it’s hard to switch mindsets.
I’m actually a bit under the weather at the moment, just a cold and hopefully recovered tomorrow, but then it will be Christmas, so maybe we could have a zoom call around the 28th-29th, something like that if that’s convenient?
I don’t know James Seriph but I looked up Frequency and it looks great, he almost certainly knows some of the people I know, and their website is a good template I think, very clear narrative and how to get involved etc.
It was actually not at all hard to hear. I’ve been hungry for honest feedback from wiser people for SO long. People withholding this type of wisdom have actually gotten me going down dangerous paths that could have been avoided.
It is a gift I am very happy to receive. Thank you <3
Either day would be convenient. I’m on EST time zone. I’ve cleared my calendar for those days, so any time works
Ok great. That’s a good basis for success, I think, being willing to listen to honest opinions, one I’ve struggled with myself, in the past. I’ll let you know for sure, but probably the 28th will be the better day, and it’ll be your late morning and my early evening, or around then.
Brilliant. See you then and have a lovely holiday time xoxo
shall we say tomorrow 28th at 11am EST then?
you too!
Perfect! DM me a Zoom link or I’ll send a Google Meet?
yes if you send a GM link that’s fine
I think you have identified a real need for a connection “engine” that gathers AND empowers regeneratively minded individuals and groups. It is what we really want our social media to be.
I have been looking at this need myself, and been adjacent to a number of attempts trying to solve it. I actually think it needs a load of money, great interface design, and a good tech team under a very very strong ethical leadership.
I agree with Guy that the activist mindset can be very limiting when trying to build and be businesslike.
Multinationals and big business do so much harm because of the faulty systems design problem that arises from money as we know it, and from extractive profit measured in money, instead adding value.
Instead of the current fear driven competitive survival of the fittest, we need to OUTCOMPETE with imagination driven collaborative thriving of the best fitted.
The power of story is important, I agree. We need beliefs to shift from fear/scarcity to abundance and creativity, but we need to do it realistically, not Pollyanna style or with magical thinking.
I would be happy to connect in the New Year.
I run a regenerative smallholding as part of Lammas Eco Village for which I am Co-director. I am looking for ways to connect all the regenerative communities, businesses and individuals thoughout Wales.
Ooh... so I definitely need more clarity when I talk about this. This isn't just for already regeneratively minded groups. Though it is in many ways a marketing campaign for them.
"Instead of the current fear driven competitive survival of the fittest, we need to OUTOMPETE with imagination driven collaborative thriving of the best fitted!" Absolutely! Like Bucky fuller said, new model that makes the old one obsolete. I haven't written about it here, but my pinned Tiktok illustrates this a bit.
This isn't just wishful thinking btw, these are practical, proven steps and systems. Are you aware of the work done in Preston, Democracy Collab, etc? We're creating economic ecosystems that are a bit like imaginal cells in caterpillars.
I'd love to connect as well! If I don't get to it first, please DM me or email jess@jfriday.com to set something up xoxo
Cool! Feedback is so useful I find, clarifies our thinking and our message. Look forward to connecting.
I should clarify again, that ultimate it's a pathway to being regeneratively minded for anyone who isn't already, without forcing ideology. Hope that makes sense. I've done a couple thousand words today and it's all starting to mush together 😂
Love that, mush together!!!
J Friday, I watched your introduction presentation. I am a story teller, published author, experienced business banker, and climate risk & sustainability consultant with a formal education in applied economics and the law. I am very interested in participating your network collaboration. You can contact me at my email: kevinh@climatechangeseverything.net. My website is www.onwardatlast.com.
Thanks so much Kevin, pleased to connect here and I will reach out shortly!
Yes ! Exactly the kind of initiative needed to Heal Our World, you can count me in
Yay! Happy to have you!
What’s the best way to contact you?