Investors have the power to use their money for good. Real wealth comes from supporting your community, building connections, and creating opportunities to make direct improvements for those around you.

Why Invest In Local Projects?

We’ve begun to see a shift in investments from Wall Street to Main Street, but there is still a long way to go. Supporting local and state projects over the public markets gives investors a chance to make specific, notable innovations and improvements while preserving the local character and strength of cities, states, and towns. 

Choosing to support local investment opportunities means:

• More control to direct your funds to a product or service right in your community. 
• Money is used to impact a company’s bottom line, not just to take the place of another shareholder on Wall Street.
• Local funding takes the specific needs and concerns of a demographic into consideration and tailors the solution accordingly. 

The financing needs of local Montana businesses and other expansive rural areas are often overlooked, leading to failing resources and infrastructure ill-equipped to keep up with the rapidly changing needs of the community.

The Growing Internet Problem in Montana’s Rural Communities

Over the past several decades, we have begun to rely more and more on the internet for nearly all aspects of life. By now, everything from shopping and banking to education and healthcare is taking advantage of the possibilities the internet has to offer.

While technological advancement often leads to positive change, we can see many situations where internet reliance has the potential to cause a major crisis in areas with large rural communities. Montana is already struggling with a lack of access to reliable internet and the problem has become more apparent as we navigate the changes brought from COVID 19.

Children and families without reliable internet access are at a notable disadvantage when it comes to both education and employment opportunities. Many schools have made major improvements to virtual learning in the event that students cannot physically be present in schools for extended periods of time. Employers have moved entire portions of their workforce online and continue to increase the ability for their employees to work from home. The lack of reliable broadband services causes a major setback for families in these situations. 

As Montanans are further disadvantaged from education and employment opportunities, the local economy will sink deeper into a financial crisis.

What Is The Pacific Northwest Rural Broadband Alliance?

The Pacific Northwest Rural Broadband Alliance (PNWRBA) is on a mission to build fast and affordable locally-owned and operated broadband networks for rural under-served and unconnected communities.

There are two primary reasons rural communities find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to reliable internet access.

First – affordability. Users in rural areas are often already at an economic disadvantage but still find themselves subjected to higher fees for poorer quality service. 

Second, many of these areas don’t even have access to modern broadband. And those that do often deal with inadequate infrastructure to support the growing needs of its users. This means that even if a family can afford broadband internet services, the service is likely to be poor, slow, and unreliable.

PNWRBA was established to provide these communities with the tools and resources necessary to solve this increasing problem. Their cost-conscious solution involves building locally-based high-speed broadband networks that pay customers for hosting wireless relays that grow their network’s size, speed, and reliability. PNWRBA uses cutting-edge technology to scale broadband networks to support millions of customers quickly and easily.

PNWRBA plans to use funding from their crowdfunding campaign to meet and exceed the growing demand for reliable internet, while also setting Montana up for the long-term ability to support advancing technology.

How Can I Get Involved?

Organizations like PNWRBA are committed to making positive change and directly impacting communities from the ground up.

Visit their campaign page to learn more about how PNWRBA technology is making a long-term impact on rural economic development by supporting communities where they need the help the most.

When choosing your investment projects, consider opportunities that make a specific and notable change in your community. Crowdfund Montana is making it easy to educate yourself on offerings that allow your money to directly improve the livelihood and economy for all of Montana. Focusing on local needs now will have a lasting impact on the state and the country as a whole.