ILSR’s 2018 Annual Report: Building Local Power

Date: 29 Nov 2018 | posted in: Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Image: Donate ButtonOur mission remains steadfast and relevant. Your contribution at ilsr.org/donate will help us unleash the power that communities have to build a more democratic, equitable, and sustainable future.


ILSR has been busy, and our 2018 Annual Report: Building Local Power outlines some of the progress we’ve made this year.

We’ve helped journalists, policymakers, and activists understand the growing threat that corporate monopolies pose to democracy and economic equity and what should be done about it. Our analysis of Amazon, for example, has been cited in hundreds of news stories. More than two million people have viewed two videos we scripted about the consequences of Amazon’s tightening grip on the economy. Our advocacy has helped galvanize opposition to the $4.6 billion in subsidies New York and Virginia are offering for Amazon’s new offices. Perhaps most encouraging, our perspective is impacting federal lawmakers who are now calling for antitrust enforcement.

We’ve worked with citizens and coalitions to counter the political power of big companies and instead make sure that public policy serves the public interest. In Minnesota, for example, a bill to subsidize nuclear energy to the benefit of a monopoly utility’s shareholders seemed likely to pass. But, thanks to our clever parody videos labeling the proposal a “blank check,” and our clear vision of an energy system built on distributed solar power, the bill died in the waning hours of the session.

We’ve showed how local and state policy can be reconfigured to foster a more equitable, locally rooted economy.  Leaders in dozens of cities, for example, have taken ILSR’s advice to develop municipal and cooperatively owned broadband networks. These networks provide better service at a lower cost, and they enable communities to free themselves from the stranglehold of the big telecommunications monopolies. ILSR’s models have also inspired cities to adopt community composting and zero waste policies, which enable them to take back control of their waste streams, improve the environment, create new jobs, and thwart expensive corporate incineration and landfill enterprises.

Our resolve to decentralize economic power and reinvigorate democracy is stronger than ever, but we need your help.  Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today to sustain our work and support the movement for healthy, equitable, and self-reliant communities.

Contribute by mail, send checks to:
Institute for Local Self-Reliance,
2720 E. 22nd Street,
Minneapolis, MN 55406

Thank you from all of us at ILSR. Your support makes a difference. 

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