This investment club, facilitated by Slow Food Maine, strengthens Maine's local food economy by making small loans to farms, fishermen, and the food businesses they supply to help them thrive. There are various sample documents - operating agreement, loan criteria, loan application, promissory note - to help other group's replicate this type of effort.

The Office of Securities protects Maine investors by investigating and prosecuting violations of the securities laws; licensing broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers, and investment adviser representatives; and reviewing registration statements and exemption filings for securities issuers that are seeking to sell in Maine.  The Office has worked with groups implementing revolving loan funds at the local level.

Slow Money Maine is building a network of individuals, philanthropists, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities who are focused on investing in farms and fisheries, and the ecosystems that sustain them as a means of growing local food systems, economies and community.  SMM is a chapter of Slow Money National.  Resources are available for groups interested in peer-to-peer lending, investment clubs and creative financing.

The Center for a New American Dream and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) have joined forces to publish this Guide to Going Local. It's full of ideas and advice on how to strengthen the local economy in your town: through buying local, highlighting new entrepreneurs, instilling local pride, investing locally, and more.