We follow several great national organizations who are all committed to working on behalf of small local business. Each of these organizations contribute substantially to the health and well-being of small business in America. We thought you might like to know who some of our heroes are. Outside of every small local business in the country that is! While all organizations take a team to succeed, we feel these leaders stand out as inspirations to all. While you’re hard at work building a successful business, there are organizations working on your behalf every day. Here are just a few.
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a national research and advocacy organization that partners with allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities, accountable to people and the planet.
ILSR has been an unparalleled champion of local business. They are a serious powerhouse of studies, research, policy and a powerful voice at the national level.
Over the past 50 years, the growth of ILSR and its mission to build local power and fight corporate control has become a story worth telling. From taking on corporate giants like Amazon and Walmart to leading the charge against utility and waste monopolies, ILSR’s research, advocacy, and community assistance continue to break new ground for advancing vibrant, sustainable, and just cities and towns.
Leader:
Stacy Mitchell is Co-Executive Director of ILSR and directs its Independent Business Initiative. Her reports and articles about monopoly power have shaped the thinking of policymakers, journalists, and advocates. As a strategist, she has helped build coalitions and win campaigns for policies that dismantle corporate power, level the playing field for independent businesses, and strengthen communities.
The Main Street Journal aims to catalyze the movement of $50 trillion from Wall Street to Main Street to facilitate economic development and economic justice. It’s sponsored by the National Coalition for Community Capital, with grants from the Heron Foundation, Wallace Global Foundation, and the Bondi Foundation.
Michael Shuman has led the country in new thinking about local investing. Our local economies need local investing to fuel the engine that drives our economy. Communities can invest in their local businesses and keep their money local while earning substantial dividends.
While Michael has written many books, The Main Street Journal keeps us informed about the news, opportunities and players on the localvesting front.
Leader:
Michael H. Shuman is an economist, attorney, author, entrepreneur, and a leading visionary on community economics. He is an Adjunct Professor at Bard Business School in New York City. He is credited with being one of the architects of the 2012 JOBS Act and dozens of state laws overhauling securities regulation of crowdfunding. He has authored, coauthored, or edited ten books. A prolific speaker, Shuman has given an average of more than one invited talk per week, mostly to local governments and universities, for the past 30 years in nearly every U.S. state and more than a dozen countries.
Small Business Rising is a coalition of independent business organizations representing more than 250,000 small businesses and standing up for a level playing field. They are urging elected leaders to break the power of monopolies and safeguard our right to compete and serve the needs of our communities. SBR is a program of ILSR.
It’s time for entrepreneurs from every corner of the country, every background and industry, to stand up for a level playing field. We’re building a united voice of businesses to speak directly to lawmakers.
They’re calling for policymakers to:
• Stop monopolies from cornering the online market by breaking them up and regulating them.
• Block dominant corporations from engaging in abusive tactics by making our antitrust laws stronger and easier to enforce.
• Adopt clear or “bright-line” rules outlawing mega-mergers and setting a higher bar for allowing other mergers, including vertical acquisitions.
• Establish rules to create a level playing field, promote competition, and spur innovation.
Leader:
Lauren Gellatly is the Senior Advocacy and Campaigns Manager for ILSR’s Independent Business team where she brings her background in advocacy, economic development, and independent business support. Lauren executes campaign strategies and manages relationships with allied organizations and coalition partners, including a coalition of nearly 30 independent business groups and alliances – Small Business Rising – advocating for antimonopoly reforms.
Small Business Majority is a national small business organization that empowers America’s diverse entrepreneurs to build a thriving and equitable economy. They engage their network of more than 85,000 small businesses and 1,500 business and community organizations to deliver resources to entrepreneurs and advocate for public policy solutions that promote inclusive small business growth. Their work is bolstered by extensive research and deep connections with the small business community that enable them to educate stakeholders about key issues impacting America’s entrepreneurs, with a special focus on the smallest businesses and those facing systemic inequities.
Small Business Majority hosts numerous webinars connecting government officials and polliticians withh small businesses to facilitate information exchange and understanding of the national policies effecting small business.
Leader:
John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO, has used his long experience as a small business owner to build Small Business Majority into a nationally recognized organization focused on empowering America’s entrepreneurs to build a thriving and equitable economy. Small Business Majority is the leading advocate for critical public policy issues facing America’s small businesses—particularly access to capital, healthcare, taxes, fair competition, childcare, retirement/asset building and numerous workforce issues.
