ACTION KIT: Guide to Going Local – tips for building stronger, healthier, and more vibrant communities

Resources   |   August 13, 2013

The Guide to Going Local is 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.

Book Recommendation: Vermont Dollars, Vermont Sense

Blog   |   by New Dream   |   October 28, 2015

This new book presents 28 tools for promoting investing locally, with examples of people and initiatives in Vermont.

VIDEO: Local Entrepreneur Showcase – helping local entrepreneurs connect with funders in their community (5 min.)

Videos   |   June 17, 2013

In this video, New Dream highlights an Entrepreneur Showcase hosted by Seacoast Local in Portsmouth, NH.

VIDEO: Organizing a Cash Mob – a fun way to bring people together to support local businesses (5 min.)

Videos   |   June 17, 2013

Join New Dream as we visit a cash mob for a local shop in Roanoke, VA.

VIDEO: From Pop-up to Permanent — using pop-up retail to revitalize local neighborhoods (5 min.)

Videos   |   July 17, 2013

New Dream profiles popuphood in Oakland, CA, which uses pop-up retail to revitalize local neighborhoods.

VIDEO: Instilling Local Pride – using video to instill pride in the unique people and places in your community (5 min.)

Videos   |   June 5, 2013

Video can be a powerful way to instill pride in your city. Check out New Dream's compilation of local pride videos from around the country.

Can Investing Locally Give Us a Better Return on Our Money?

Blog   |   by Lisa Mastny   |   June 21, 2012

Is it possible to invest our money directly in our communities while also seeing a healthy monetary return? A new book says yes.

Community Building

Topics   |   June 26, 2017

Maryland Librarians Say "Yes!" to More Sharing

Blog   |   by Mary Murphy   |   July 16, 2014

New Dream's CommunityShare Workshop is helping lead the way for the Sharing Economy in Maryland.

Strategies for a New Economy: 10 Takeaways for All Americans

Blog   |   by Lisa Mastny   |   June 21, 2012

Is it possible to create an economy that prioritizes both human well-being and Earth’s natural systems? The movement has already begun.

Can the Rewards of Travel Outweigh the Planetary Costs?

Blog   |   by Amy Curtis   |   January 17, 2012

Despite the environmental repercussions, traveling also makes one appreciate the Earth.

ACTION KIT: Guide to Sharing – tips for exchanging stuff, time, skills, and space

Resources   |   by New Dream   |   July 26, 2012

The first guide in New Dream's Community Action Kit is all about sharing: everything from starting a tool library to organizing a solar cooperative, from holding a clothing swap to launching a time bank.

VIDEO: America the Possible – how we can start building the place we truly want for our children and ourselves (5 min.)

Videos   |   September 12, 2013

Gus Speth shows us "America the Possible"—the place we truly want for our children and ourselves—and how we can start building it today.

To Succeed, the New Economy Needs the Left, Right, Center—and God

Blog   |   by Emilie Dubois   |   July 24, 2012

Who wouldn’t want to live in a place where warmer, gentler versions of economic exchange are the norm? But it's still a hard sell for America.

Weaving a Sustainable Future: An Interview with Gay Nicholson

Blog   |   by Lisa Mastny   |   October 13, 2011

The founder of Sustainable Tompkins in New York State talks about how she's helped her community lay the groundwork for sustainability.