Where you buy effects your local community!
Today is officially Small Business Saturday. We have such fantastic local shops – it is great to have a reminder of the importance that they hold for our local economy. I was struck by a recent article from USA Today talking about the importance of local businesses in our community. For example:
“More than 9 in 10 small-business owners nationally give back to their communities in some way, be it working with nonprofits, coaching youth sports teams or holding public office, said Ron Aldridge, Mississippi director of the nonprofit nonpartisan National Federation of Independent Business.” The article goes on to state,
“Before the recession, a small-scale study in the Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville found that more than two-thirds of the money customers spent with local companies remained in the Chicago economy; 57 cents of every dollar spent at chain stores left the Chicago area, according to Civic Economics, economic development consultants with offices in Chicago and Austin.”
Here is a link to the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/11/29/small-business-saturday/3785883/
We are so lucky to have community businesses who also support Forward Chicago. Please visit our local community business connections (click here for list of businesses) and flex your local muscle while also supporting organizations who support Forward Chicago. Have fun and shop local!
Forward Chicago 
