Amy Cortese is an author who wrote a book about investing in your local community.  She thinks people should still invest in the global market, but she thinks people should put a percentage of their investments into local options.  The basic idea is that you can make a profitable return while supporting your local community.

The problem with this movement is that investing in your local community is not an easy thing to do.  How do you approach a local business to see if you can make an investment?  What type fo contract needs to be drawn up?  How and when will you get your money back?

The author lists options such as working through a local bank, but I'm not sure how many banks offer local investing options.

Another idea I like is for someone to start a local stock exchange.  It would allow local businesses to raise money and show their results in a public way.  If that were available, I would do a lot more local investing.