I. We must bring money back down to earth.
II. There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down -- not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.
III. The 20th Century was the era of Buy Low/Sell High and Wealth Now/Philanthropy Later—what one venture capitalist called “the largest legal accumulation of wealth in history.” The 21st Century will be the era of nurture capital, built around principles of carrying capacity, care of the commons, sense of place and non-violence.
IV. We must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered. We must connect investors to the places where they live, creating vital relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.
V. Let us celebrate the new generation of entrepreneurs, consumers and investors who are showing the way from Making A Killing to Making a Living.
VI. Paul Newman said, "I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out." Recognizing the wisdom of these words, let us begin rebuilding our economy from the ground up, asking:
* What would the world be like if we invested 50% of our assets within 50 miles of where we live?
* What if there were a new generation of companies that gave away 50% of their profits?
* What if there were 50% more organic matter in our soil 50 years from now?
Slow Money: Community Economic Action
Many, if not most, social entrepreneurs empathize with the Occupy Wall St. (OWS or #occupy) movement. One difference between the two positions is that social entrepreneurs are creating solutions to the problems which the OWS crowd is actively calling out.
As this post's main image implies, the ability to take action -- positive action -- in alignment with the OWS values is embodied in the basic premise of Slow Money. The Slow Money principles (cool PDF poster here), written years before OWS grabbed headlines, include:
With that in mind, the slow money community came together for their third annual gathering this fall, and recognized successes including $4.25 million invested in small businesses that presented at previous Slow Money National Gatherings, and a slew of new local investment clubs -- including our home town of Boulder -- which are popping up around the country.
W1SDØM friends central to the Slow Money movement include founding board member Chris Lindstrom, special advisor Lopa Brunjes and Boulder chapter chair Christopher Dwyer. Get in touch with them if you want to get more involved in this movement.


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