What started as a simple blog post in March 2009 has turned into a national campaign to support local stores. The 3/50 Project encourages consumers and businesses to spend $50 of their monthly budget in three small retail stores they don't want to disappear.
"It's called saving the economy three stores at a time," Cinda
Baxter, the blogger and founder of the 3/50 Project, told the Brooklyn Eagle.
The 3/50 Project website notes that if only half of all employed people spent $50 at three small businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 million in revenue. It also claims that for every $100 that is spent at a locally-owned independent business, $68 comes back to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, as compared with $43 from a national chain and zero from an online order.
Ms. Baxter, who is a retail consultant and formerly an owner of an upscale stationery and gift boutique in Minneapolis, also noted that when a national chain needs supplies -- like toilet paper, paper towels, etc. -- it doesn't buy it locally. "The small retailer usually does," she said.
Beyond consumers, the movement goes an extra step by encouraging businesses, including retailers, to shop local for supplies.
"It's remembering we wear multiple hats," she said.
The project is offering small businesses free flyers, window banners, counter signs and window clings, help with web sites and links to support the cause. The website also includes numerous ways small businesses can promote themselves and capitalize on their advantages. Said Ms. Baxter, "They can spin on a dime, think out of the box, reverse trends without going through corporate and getting board approval."
The 3/50 Project is said to be resonating with consumers. Noting that she is receiving between 300 and 400 emails a day, Ms. Baxter told the Brooklyn Eagle, "People are realizing that where they hand over the dollar is important."
The New York City borough's "Shop Brooklyn" program will be marketed alongside the 3/50 Project.
Discussion Question: What do you think of the 3/50 Project and other programs supporting local businesses and retailers?