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Binghamton Rising™ is a grassroots movement to empower our people and improve the quality of life through a regional approach conceived and organized by the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition (BRSC), a non-profit formed in 2008. Initially, the campaign focus will be on economic revitalization and extending the benefits of these efforts to traditionally under-served and excluded segments of the community. Key features of the regional movement involve building a network of locally-owned businesses and encouraging residents to Think Local. The aim is to achieve a Ten Percent Shift in consumer spending patterns, maximizing the Local Multiplier Effect while minimizing leakages. Binghamton Rising™ will be seeking financial support to commission a study similar to the Grand Rapids Michigan analysis (population 600,000), which projected that a mere 10% shift in market share to independent businesses from chain stores would result in the creation of 1600 jobs, $53 million in new wages and $137 million in new economic activity. As a member of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), Binghamton Rising™ joins North America’s fastest growing network of socially responsible businesses, comprised of over 80 community networks representing 22,000 independent business members across 30 U.S. States and Canadian provinces. BALLE networks create local living economies through the building blocks of independent retail, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, green building, local zero-waste manufacturing, community capital, independent media, and local arts and culture. Binghamton Rising™ promotes the triple bottom line of Profits, People, Planet. The decisions to a launch a BALLE network and begin a 10% Shift Campaign address the “Profits” component. The “People”, or social equity, part of this campaign to improve the quality of life in the Binghamton region seeks to address issues surrounding the vast disparity in median wealth as evidenced in a recent report by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development that compared the wealth of different populations. During the prime earning years of 36 to 49, while single white men achieve a median wealth of $70,000 and single men of color only $11,000, single women of color had a median wealth of only $5! Accordingly, as a community we must “Lift as We Climb”. The Binghamton Housing Authority (BHA) Federal Credit Union, the only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the Binghamton Region, and Alternatives Federal Credit Union, a larger CDFI in Ithaca, are working in collaboration to foster equitable development, expanding services and building a flourishing CDFI movement in the Binghamton Region . CDFIs are mission-driven to provide financial products and services to people and communities under-served by traditional financial institutions. Typically they focus on building wealth and stakeholders in low-income communities. CDFIs may make loans and investments to support the development of affordable housing, finance businesses, and provide micro-loans, financial literacy and training, and mortgages. “Modest Changes by Many People Can Quickly Add Up to Significant Shifts in the Entire Economy” |
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