Living Economies

inspiring behavior change towards conscious and ecological living.

Community Stories

Letter From the New Co-Director

Faye Christoforo (They/She) joined the Grassroots Fund team as the new Co-Director in January. They have written an introduction letter to the community. Please join us in welcoming Faye!

Meet Mary Jones

Mary Jones joined the Grassroots Fund in July 2023 as the Program Manager for the Grow Grants Program. We asked Mary three questions to get to know her a bit more.

Resourcing Community Work

We know that communities resist injustice and create lasting change when they are able to access the necessary resources So the idea of Resourcing Community Work should be simple, right?

Exploring the Grassroots Fund Guiding Practices

The Guiding Practices - Shifting Power in Decision Making, Rooted Innovation, Equity in Participation, and Centering a Just Transition - serve as the grounding the Grassroots Fund's work.

PEP Talks

CROs Take Flight

Community Resilience Organizations (CROs) are local teams that engage residents and town leaders in climate adaptation, disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation, while strengthening local collaboration and social cohesion.

Portland (ME) Permablitzing

Grassroots Fund grantee group The Resilience Hub organizes a permablitz on the Eastern Promenade in Portland (ME).  Lisa Fernandes & Heather Foran share more about the work/impact of permablitzing.

Great Bay Time Bank

Stephanie Beck is part of the all-volunteer community group behind the Great Bay Time Bank. Stephanie has worked with several non-profits professionally and as a board member/volunteer.

Resources

Resilient Vermont

The Resilient Vermont Network is a new collaboration of organizations and agencies in Vermont that are working to advance climate resilience. The Network is working to improve alignment, coordination, communication and strategic impact across a range of issues related to climate resilience.

Community Resilience Self-Assessment Tool

This self-assessment was designed to help community members, local leaders and volunteers to think and talk deeply about their community’s resilience strengths, challenges and priorities. It is also designed to help communities learn about different aspects of resilience and track their progress over time. 

Community Resilience Organizations (CROs)

Community Resilience Organizations (CROs) are local teams that engage residents and town leaders in climate adaptation, disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation, while strengthening local collaboration and social cohesion.

Repair Cafe

Repair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re all about repairing things (together). The website offers tools and tips as well as a world map of communities who have started their own repair cafes

Community Resilience 101

On Thursday, October 16, 2014 the Grassroots Fund co-produced a webinar with New England New Economy Transition about “community resilience.” We discussed how we can all live well now and into the future, given the challenges of a hurting economy, climate change, resource shortages, and political paralysis.

No Small Potatoes

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.

Slow Money Maine

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.

Guide to Sharing

The Center for a New American Dream's Guide to Sharing covers everything from starting a tool library to organizing a solar cooperative, from holding a clothing swap to launching a time bank.

Guide to Going Local

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.

Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance

NAMA is a fishermen-led organization working at the intersection of marine conservation and social, economic, and environmental justice.
Subscribe to RSS - Living Economies