In July, I blogged
here about the
"crowdfunding exemption" petition, File No. 4-605,
which the SEC had just posted to their website. The petition seeks to
allow people to solicit investment of up to $100,000 in amounts capped
at $100 without having to register with either the SEC or their state's
department of corporations (a process which can cost $50,000 and up).
Many people, myself included, believe that this simple exemption, which
the SEC has the authority to allow, presents minimal risk to investors
and would have many positive effects on innovation, culture,
opportunity, the economy, etc.
The fun news is, the proposal seems to be gaining traction! It turns out
that others have been advocating similar exemptions, including Michael Shuman,
author of
Going Local and
The Small-Mart Revolution. And now,
the American Sustainable Business Council,
a lobbying and advocacy group with many right-on members, has decided to
support SEC rulemaking petition 4-605 as part of a new "Sustainable
Economic Development" campaign, which will also encourage the SBA (Small
Business Administration) to promote "TBL" accounting (Triple Bottom
Line: financial, labor, and environmental). But note that the ASBC's
new campaign will be on their back burner (and won't appear on their
website) until January or so, because they're currently focused on
other efforts, which require the current Congress during its remaining
time in session.