The Cayuga LION is back in action and we are delighted to let you know that we will be hosting the founder of the country’s first Local Investment Opportunity Network at our next gathering on Monday, September 24 from 5:30-7:30 in the Borg Warner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca.

James Frazier will be in Ithaca to share the process they developed for facilitating investment by residents in local business ventures in East Jefferson County, Washington.  Since their start in 2008, their LION has connected investors and entrepreneurs and generated over $2 million in new local investment, providing a significant boost to the mainly rural and tourism-based economy of the Port Townsend area.

Frazier has over 18 years experience in the investment industry.  After finishing his undergraduate degree at Wharton in finance, he spent time trading stock options in NYC before co-founding a hedge fund in Seattle.  As his interest in sustainable living expanded, Frazier decided it was time to leave the world of the single-minded pursuit of profit and focus on helping grow the investment pool for local, green, and sustainable investing with Natural Investments, LLC.  He has been instrumental in the success of the LION in Jefferson County, and has advised other groups across the country in setting up their own LION groups.

This is our chance to ask lots of questions of somebody who is familiar with all the details of operating a local LION and helping entrepreneurs connect with local investors.  Please rsvp by September 21 to Fred Schoeps at kmtalk@earthlink.net.  There is an entry fee of $7 to cover refreshments and room rental.

In addition to Monday evening’s public talk by Jim, he has agreed to participate in a brown-bag lunch with Cayuga LION advocates at the Sustainable Tompkins office the next day, Tuesday, September 25, from 12-2 pm.  In a smaller group, we can dig deeper into the details and try to get a better sense of day-to-day operations at their LION.  If you plan to join us for lunch, email Gay Nicholson at gay@sustainabletompkins.org so we know how many to expect.  We’ll provide kitchen utensils and dishes if you need them.

You can learn more about the Cayuga LION at www.cayugaLION.net.