The Fix-It Shop Where Neighbors Repair Your Clothes and Electronics
Three years ago, they started a program to keep salvageable goods from landfills by harnessing the community’s collective skills to fix them.
Local economies
For Those Who Don’t Want to Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils
Ranked-choice voting is catching on, and Maine might become the first state to help citizens vote for candidates they actually want.
The Other Housing Crisis: Finding a Home in Rural America
Thirty percent of rural Americans have substandard housing—and it’s expensive. But these communities are finding ways to give low-income residents homes of their own.
6 Ways We’re Already Leading an Economic Revolution
From the “buy local” movement to public banking, we’re well on our way to a more democratic, cooperative, and people-centered economy.
As #BankBlack Moves Money, Black Credit Unions Are Ready
While the number of Black-owned banks is down to only 22, there are 318 Black credit unions uniquely positioned to invest in their communities.
Can Industrial Hemp Save Kentucky’s Small Farms?
As tobacco declines, some hope that hemp can be a “gateway crop” to financial sustainability for the state’s small farms.
Meet the Jeans-Wearing, Nature-Loving Nuns Who Helped Stop a Kentucky Pipeline
As fewer women enter the convent, what will become of Kentucky’s tradition of socially and environmentally engaged religious women?
I Was a Fourth-Generation Coal Miner. Here’s Why I Quit
“I quit the mines, not entirely sure what I was going to do. I just knew that I could do something different.”
Craft Beer vs. Budweiser: How Small Brewers Are Winning Back the Neighborhood
Good beer comes from collaboration, not competition. By working together, small brewers everywhere are giving corporations a run for their money.
Berkeley Votes to Boost Co-op Economy In the Face of Gentrification
A growing number of cities are investing in co-ops to keep money local and neighborhoods affordable.
What Legalizing Street Vending Could Do for L.A.’s Local Economy
Los Angeles is one of few U.S. cities where street trade isn’t widely permitted. But for immigrants and low-income people, it’s often the only way to earn a living.
A West Virginia Family Leaves Coal for Local Food—And Wants to Help Others Do the Same
In a place where coal’s legacy has left residents struggling, one family has a vision of a healthier future.
Why Slower Money Is the Key to a Real Economic Recovery
An exciting crop of organizations are financing businesses in a way that creates real wealth. Here are a few ways to scale them up so that they can truly challenge Wall Street.
1.5 Million American Families Live on $2 a Day—These Authors Spent Years Finding Out Why
For their new book, H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn J. Edin followed the lives of America’s poorest families to find out what they need to break out of poverty, and how to make it happen.
Land Trusts Offer Houses That People With Lower Incomes Can Afford—And a Stepping Stone to Lasting Wealth
More than 200 land trusts around the country help struggling families buy their first homes, often in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Do Interest-Free Loans Make Sense? No, But They Do Make a Difference
Neighbors are helping crowdfund the dreams of local entrepreneurs, giving community businesses the chance to expand with interest-free loans.
These Neighbors Got Together to Buy Vacant Buildings. Now They’re Renting to Bakers and Brewers
Though the model is new and small, it holds outsize potential for the many neighborhoods whose downtowns are controlled by faraway landlords or retail chains.
After 20 Years Reporting on Solutions, I’m Going on a Journey to Find Where Hope Lies Now
YES! co-founder Sarah van Gelder sets out on a road trip to find the edge of change.
This NYC Real Estate Co-Op Helps Small Businesses Stay Put
A New York City co-op raises $1.2 million in pledges to fight gentrification and provide affordable rent for local business owners.
Seattle Led the Country’s Minimum Wage Revolution. Can It Do the Same With Rent Control?
New York and San Francisco both suffer from soaring rents and gentrification, despite decades of regulation. How Seattle socialist Kshama Sawant plans to do affordable housing right.
How Buying the Local Post Office Will Help My Family Farm and Small Town Survive
I never thought farming would mean owning a post office. But looking at my community and our need to define ourselves as a place, that seems to be our family farm's next job.
How This Library Paid $1 to Install Its Solar Panels
In West Virginia, Solar Holler helps nonprofits install solar panels for less than the price of a cup of coffee.
These Friends from High School Bought an Abandoned Factory. Now They’re Distilling Artisanal Whiskeys
Much as blight can be contagious, so can renewal. How grassroots community groups are saving neighborhoods and building new businesses.
Where Do “Rednecks” Really Come From? A New Museum Has the Surprising Answer
Tourists spend $400 more per trip on average when their trips focus on history and culture. That could be a big opportunity for West Virginia's changing economy.
Even in a Drought, California Farms Have a Future—But They’ll Need Local Control to Succeed
Some California farmers have discovered ways to farm that use very little water, yet thirstier methods still dominate. What gives?
Help Fund Powerful Stories to Light the Way Forward
Donate to YES! today.