The At-A-Glance: How Public Banks Excel infographic launched today is the latest illustration of how your financial support is put to work for the growth and empowerment of the entire public banking movement.
Our matching challenge fund drive begins today. Your contribution now toward our goal of $15,000 will be amplified through the matching grants we will soon request from larger funders and foundations.
It has been deeply gratifying to watch grass roots efforts take hold across the country. Just as at the turn of the 20th century, today’s small businesses and farmers can’t get credit. While community banks disappear, mega banks don’t see the profit in small loans. In 1919, a populist party called the Nonpartisan League managed to face down the banking lobby and create the state-owned Bank of North Dakota, which leveraged the state’s funds for the benefit of the people and acted as a mini-Fed for the state’s local banks.
Today the BND has been called the nation’s safest bank. It cannot go bankrupt, and it protects the state’s local banks from the bank runs now threatening the rest of the country.
Local organizers determined to replicate such a beneficial institution in the 21st century are using various sophisticated strategies to face down Wall Street and are breaking ground across the country. PBI-led national meetings share unique comprehensive insights into their progress.
- San Francisco has approved its plans for a public bank.
- Nearby in East Bay, CA, organizers chose not to leave it up to local governments to get their public bank started, and instead took on the initial planning, the raising of funds, and the hiring of a CEO, who will now complete the work and apply for a public bank charter.
- In New Mexico, organizers have focused their legislative work on economic development pilot projects in targeted rural regions with identified gaps in lending.
We pour all the insight gained through such invaluable meetings into our programs and tools, which can clear challenges and cross-pollinate success.
PBI’s unique national, nonpartisan perspective informs our extensive library of resources. Our knowledgable advisory board provides access to a wealth of expertise. Our legislation tracking updates and newsletters keep the whole movement informed of progress.
Money donated today is crucial to demonstrate to larger funders the breadth of support for PBI’s work. Your contribution’s effect will then multiply, making possible the resources needed to create the high-caliber tools, videos, meetings, and podcasts that will help advocates succeed.
We ask you to give as generously as you can within your means to increase the support.