The NIL: A Local Investment Engine That Doesn’t Leak

Most neighborhoods are built for people.
The NIL is built with them. And by them.
It’s not a program. It’s a system.

The Neighborhood Investment Loop (NIL) is a neighborhood-scale investment framework designed to keep capital circulating locally by creating a repeatable loop between investment, community-prioritized development, and return.

It helps residents, local stakeholders, and values-aligned investors fund small, high-impact projects and share in the upside. Think of it as a micro-development fund with a circular engine.

What is The NIL?

The NIL is a neighborhood-scale micro-fund framework that follows a five-phase loop.

Originate
A community-led process identifies high-potential, low-risk micro-projects. These often include:

• Small-scale housing rehabs (1–4 unit buildings)
• Vacant storefront activation
• Community-serving small business spaces
• Streetscape improvements or cultural infrastructure
• Site prep or land banking for future phases

Projects must be visible, community-benefiting, and revenue-generating.

Loop Capital
Capital is raised from one or more of these sources:

• Community members (individual investors or residents)
• Philanthropic seed capital (low-interest, recoverable grants)
• Mission-aligned funds or social impact investors
• Local institutions (anchor partners, CDFIs, credit unions)

Typical loop size is between $25,000 and $2M, depending on scope and project stack.

Deploy
Funds are deployed into a stack of small bets. Usually 2 to 6 projects per loop, sized for quick execution. These are intentionally low-complexity, high-visibility, and led by local project operators builders, entrepreneurs, designers, nonprofits, or block leaders.

Each project is structured to return a portion of revenue to the NIL over time. This can happen through:

• Rent or revenue-share agreements
• Partial ownership or equity stake
• Resale profit-sharing
• Long-term lease value or licensing of space

Return
As the projects generate revenue or value, a portion returns to:

• Investors (if applicable)
• The Loop itself, which reserves capital for future rounds
• Neighborhood programming such as maintenance or activation

Targeted returns are modest but meaningful often between 3 and 7 percent annualized with added non-financial return like neighborhood vitality, property value stabilization, and social cohesion.

Re-loop
Part of the return is held as seed capital for the next round. Each loop strengthens the system. Over time, this creates:

• A community-owned reinvestment vehicle
• More capital efficiency
• More localized control
• A visible shift in power and ownership

Why a “Loop”?

Most development is a one-way transaction.
Outside capital flows in. Projects get built. Value is extracted.

The NIL inverts that model. It starts local. It shares upside. It reinvests again and again.

It’s not just development in a neighborhood.
It’s development by the neighborhood.
And the loop makes it possible.

What Makes It Work

Modularity
The NIL can operate at a corridor level, district level, or even on a single block. It scales with clarity, not complexity.

Right-sizing
Instead of one large, high-risk project, the loop supports multiple smaller efforts building momentum, visibility, and stakeholder trust.

Inclusive Ownership
Residents, organizers, and local institutions can become investors, contributors, or operators. You don't need a million dollars to participate. Just intent.

Flexible Return Structures
The NIL allows for mixed return models. This can include blended finance, philanthropic-first-loss capital, profit-share agreements with buyback clauses, or convertible community notes.

No Extraction
NIL loops don’t exist to enrich outsiders. They’re closed loops. Value stays on the block.

Who Runs It?

Each NIL loop is managed by a Local Loop Steward a trusted, locally embedded operator such as a nonprofit, community development corporation, or new civic org. They act as:

• Capital coordinator
• Project scout and evaluator
• Return manager
• Communications hub

Urban Spaceship is currently in the process of setting up our first NIL

What’s the Big Picture?

The NIL isn’t a silver bullet. But it’s a counter-framework to the extractive models that have dominated for decades.

Where old systems prioritized centralized control, large-scale displacement, and top-down ROI-only thinking, the NIL builds distributed capital flows, community-rooted ownership, and iterative, regenerative investment.

We don’t need another master plan.
We need better tools for collective agency.

Ready to Build a Loop?

Whether you're a city looking to pilot new models, a neighborhood with projects ready to move, or a funder tired of funding ideas that never return:

The NIL is open-source. Ready to install. Built to loop.

Let’s close the gap.
Let’s close the loop.