Niagara Share's legacy is anchored in the strategic positioning of renewable energy systems. A century ago, the Buffalo-Niagara region drew the attention of the world when it harnessed electricity from a natural wonder and delivered it directly to the community, demonstrating that larger-scale, place-based economic growth could flow from renewable energy. Building on the thought leadership and technology development by Nikola Tesla and others, Jacob Schoellkopf invested in the development of a hydropower plant on the banks of the Niagara River that became a major driver for economic development in the region.
In 1929, Niagara Share was formed to leverage, aggregate and strengthen the strategic position of hydropower. It transitioned into an investment fund that was independent until the mid 90's, at which it point it was acquired by a larger firm and dissolved. Alexandra McPherson, re-purposed Niagara Share in 2015 to build on her family's legacy of entrepreneurship and advance innovative solutions to regenerative capitalism.
Niagara Share believes in human ingenuity and pulls its inspiration from the regenerative beauty of the Niagara River, the Great Lakes, and the economies, ecologies, and cultures that have been fueled by their collective power. Sitting on the largest fresh watershed in the world with rich lands to grow food, the Buffalo-Niagara region has played host to many great cultural shifts. The Niagara Movement, a predecessor of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was born here. The great law of the Iroquois Confederacy, spoken throughout the region in honor of the future, directs our thinking today…
“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” – The Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy