ABSTRACT
Among the most critically important community-supported enterprises (CSEs) are those providing finance to locally owned businesses. Financial CSEs provide communities with the ability to underwrite all kinds of businesses for local prosperity. In a community without strong financial CSEs, almost all business expansion – including the expansion of CSEs themselves – is difficult at best and impossible at worst. This chapter explores the evolution of financial CSEs in North America, mainly in the United States but also some noteworthy innovations in Canada. It makes four arguments: first, securities laws historically have kept finance away from CSEs. Second, recent reforms of securities laws, especially in crowdfunding, offer a glimpse of how those flows of capital can be altered and redirected toward local businesses and CSEs. Third, further reforms under consideration could substantially shift the flow of capital from Wall Street to Main Street. Finally, as CSE advocates in the United States contemplate possible reforms, they might study and replicate emerging models in Canada.
