Oh, what a year it has been! Our board members reflect on 2024 and look toward 2025:
Raul Figueroa
I am thankful for those who inspired, encouraged, and supported us in 2024.
I am thankful to those who made Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative possible and continue to work daily to make what once seemed like a wild idea a reality.
I hope that in 2025, we will continue to find ways to invest in our communities, forge new relationships, and strengthen the local economies where the people we love live.
Josh Daly
I’m thankful for our first investors in the Local Return Diversified Community Investment Fund who helped us raise over $260k!
I’m thankful for our Investment Committee who have jumped right into learning together and thinking about how we’ll make smart, community-first investments!
I’m hopeful that momentum will continue to grow and we’ll raise our first million in 2025 and start putting that possibility capital to work strengthening our communities!
Lisa Raiola
In 2024 a thousand flowers bloomed for the community we serve. What, not long ago, felt far beyond our reach will be a reality by next year: Hope & Main West End Kitchens.
The support of many hundreds of Rhode Islanders means the world to me. A brighter future truly turns on our neighbors’ generosity.
This is not just about building kitchens; it’s about opening doors to dreams, driving generational wealth, and empowering our community to thrive. I am grateful for everyone who stands with us on this journey.
Jessica David
2024 was a big year for us, and I’m filled with both gratitude and anticipation. Thank you to our earliest Anchor Investors who have seeded the Local Return DCIF with $262,000. Thank you to Josh, Lisa, and Raul for giving so much of your time and talents to Local Return; you made the idea of community investment in Rhode Island a reality after 3+ long years of hard work. I can’t wait to continue to expand the network of Rhode Island community investment champions and put so many values-based ideas into action in 2025. I’m also mindful that our country has transitions ahead that make the future hard to predict. We’re hyper-focused on nurturing the kind of local social capital that helps us get through tough times together, and creating opportunities for wealth, ownership, and investment for Rhode Island’s neighborhoods and people.
