There Is Power in a Debtors' Union

Too often socially useful businesses end up failing because they get ahead of themselves and end up not being profitable. Companies now can select from an 'opportunity map' of ventures that serve the poorest individuals, and are more likely to be profitable and sustainable.

Over two million baby boomers own their own companies, and with retirement looming, the government stepped in with a solution. A portion of a 2018 federal bill included language that will push the Small Business Administration to help baby boomers transition ownership of their companies to their employees if they wish. This will mitigate job loss often associated with a retiring business owner putting the company up for sale. Employee owners on average make a higher salary and have higher job stability, supporting the idea that employee ownership is beneficial for everyone involved, as well as for the econom

A collaborative funding organization called the Runway Project gives loans to primarily Black entrepreneurs in the Oakland area. The initiative aims to address racial disparities in startup capital by reducing the financial risk of starting a business. The program also includes personalized support as a "wrap around" approach to the lending process.

A growing number of states have started to require financial education in high schools. Studies have shown that in states that mandate financial literacy classes as part of the core curriculum, students have less credit card debt and less expensive student loans.

Black banks have been held up by leaders and celebrities in the community as a way to end Black poverty. Previous efforts have been made in the 1960s when Black banks gave loans to community members after being denied home loans from white banks. But those loans lost money when housing values declined as a result of redlining policies that damaged public schools. Black banking therefore was not the answer to ending Black poverty and bridging the gap between white and black wealth. One law professor believes the answer lies in public banking which is funded by tax revenue and acts as a public utility.

To protect the Mesoamerican Reef from the effects of climate change, key stakeholders in Mexico created the world’s first insurance policy to protect a natural asset. The policy provides an immediate infusion of cash in the event of a damaging storm, allowing hotel owners and local governments to quickly repair the reef and prevent further degradation. A volunteer corps of people called the Guardians of the Reef make those repairs. While the insurance policy doesn’t cover pollution or overfishing, this mechanism could work for reefs in other countries to restore and protect threatened ecosystems.

Rwanda has a unique program that allows farmers to insure their livestock, such as dairy cows, productive pork, and chickens, against Rift Valley Fever. When animals die of the disease, farmers are compensated at a rate of 5.5 percent of the animal's value.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust uses conservation easements to conserve agricultural land in the state. These agreements happen when a landowner sells or donates the development rights to their land to the trust forever. They are allowed to keep farming the land, but it must remain undeveloped.

The Chinese American Service League’s (CASL) Change InSight coalition surveys communities in more Asian languages to allow for more inclusive data collection, particularly among low-income AAPIs. Better data collection increases the visibility of the challenges under-resourced AAPIs face, allowing the CASL to launch social service programs to address challenges in the community, like food insecurity.

Following the success of New York City's divestment of pension funds from fossil fuels, a process that started in 2015, other cities around the US are exploring ways to achieve net-zero portfolio emissions. In most cases, the divested pension funds have performed at least as well financially as a city’s non-divested funds.