Community Ventures is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that grew out of Michael Shuman's book, Going Local: Creating Self-reliant Communities in a Global Age (hardcover by Free Press, 1998; paperback by Routledge, 2000). The book elaborates principles and policies for community economic development through the support of locally owned small businesses that are rooted in and dedicated to the communities where they are located and that prevent leakage of local dollars.
Community Ventures was set up to put the principles of Going Local into practice on multiple fronts.
It helps states, counties, cities, towns, and neighborhoods achieve greater economic prosperity through self-reliance, ownership, and empowerment.