Ryan Streeter

Bottom-Up Growth: Little is the New Big | Finance Forum 2025

Dan Carol, Evan Feinberg, Michelle Moore, Lynn Overmann, Ryan Streeter

The 2025 Milken Institute Finance Forum, themed "Building Resilient Communities," convened leaders from the Civitas Institute, Groundswell, and Stand Together to launch the "Pathways to Capital" platform and debate bottom-up growth strategies for underserved areas amid declining federal funding. Panelists including Michelle Moore and Evan Feinberg highlighted successful models such as rural clean energy hubs and social service matchmaking tools that utilize data-driven capital stacking to reduce poverty and disaster costs. The event concluded with a consensus on adopting a "scout and scale" methodology and reforming top-down policies to better align with and fund local innovation for 10,000 communities.