Shop Locally to Support Your Community
There are several movements nationally to promote locally owned, independent businesses. These are the businesses that support the vast majority of community activities. Consumer dollars spent with these small businesses stay in the communities and in turn support nonprofit agencies and other activities. The taxes these business pay support local schools, libraries, and municipalities.
One of the movements is the 3/50 Project. Its website states that for every $100 spent at locally owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. By contrast, if you spend that with a national chain, only $43 will return. Even worse, if you spend that money by buying from a nontaxed online vendor; then there is absolutely no benefit to the local economy. The idea of the 3/50 Project is to encourage people and entities to commit to switching at least $50 of expenditures from three nonlocal vendors to three locally owned businesses each month.
