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Hounslow £20 vouchers bring new customers to Chiswick shops

Matt Smith

November 01, 2021 |

The Chiswick Calendar |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Hounslow

The Hounslow council sent £20 vouchers to every household to help the local economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Households had about two months to spend the voucher, which could purchase products or services at a range of businesses from cafes and cinemas to retailers and laundromats. Retailers can use an app to scan the vouchers and eventually redeem them for payments.

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Wight Gift Card helping local businesses emerge from the pandemic

Lori Little

July 30, 2021 |

Isle of Wight County Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Isle of Wight

For 50p a month, businesses can be part of the Wight Gift Card scheme which offers £50 gift cards to spend in participating shops. Residents purchase the gift cards to support local businesses and the data shows that for every £50 gift card, people actually spend £82.50. Similar gift card schemes have successfully helped businesses in other cities withstand COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. Initial data show that the Wight program has increased purchases at local businesses.

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Cities Are Boosting the Economy by Rewarding Those Who Shop Local

Sakshi Udavant

June 03, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio, is “creating a circular economy” in hopes of helping small businesses and encouraging residents to shop locally. A city-sponsored app, Akronite, is used by consumers to make purchases and earn reward points which can be redeemed for discounts and other perks. The app’s success is clear in the high return on investment, which shows $9 generated for every dollar invested by the local government. Other cities across the country are also adopting the initiative, tweaking it to their own communities.

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San Francisco's Filipino Cultural District Keeping Hope Alive After a Tough Year

Oscar Perry Abello

May 18, 2021 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

“UNDSCVRD SF," funded by the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and produced by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs, is a night market held once a month from July to November that features a range of Filipino vendors. There were over 35,000 attendees in 2019 and it generated $300,000 in sales. It also serves as a testing ground to select businesses for Kultivate Labs’ SEED Accelerator Program and grantees for the SOMA Fund. The former provides bootcamps and one-on-one support for Filipino-owned businesses that are located in, or would like to be located in, a permanent space within the SOMA cultural district.

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Will This Impact Fund Save America's Music Venues?

Rebecca Greenwald

April 30, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Kentucky

The Live Venue Recovery Fund offers a path for independent music operators to purchase their venue. The fund buys the properties, and collects rent, but are limited to a 12% return rate and the contract lays out a path and timeline of operator ownership. Any additional funds are donated to the National Independent Venue Association. Eligible venues must be seen as culturally significant to the community and vulnerable to redevelopment, as well as show strong financial statements from before COVID-19. The fund forgave a year of rent to some venues hurt by the pandemic, allowing them to get back on their feet.

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This Oakland Restaurant Was Developed in the Spirit of Mutual Aid

Emily Nonko

April 08, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The 8th Street Collective, a loose organization of Oakland food industry workers, and Oakland Bloom, a group that supports refugee and immigrant chefs, opened a new restaurant, bar, and community hub space. A team of four worker-leaders rotates operational roles of Understory, the restaurant, and are working with lawyers to become cooperatively owned. The restaurant serves a pop-up-style rotating menu four days a week, including dishes by Oakland Bloom chefs and the other days are dedicated to the nonprofit’s incubator and training program called Open Test Kitchen, as well as other programming.

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Avid Bookshop's New Book Club Promotes Literature About Race and Labor

Abir Saberi

March 17, 2021 |

Grady Newsource |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

Georgia’s Racial Justice Centering Committee, part of the University of Georgia’s United Campus Workers, runs the Racial Justice, Labor, and the South Book Club at the Avid Bookshop. The moderator-led discussions provide attendees with exposure to diverse literature and an opportunity to learn about the intersection between labor and race. While University of Georgia students are the target audience, the book club is open to the public. Meetings are currently held on zoom, but in-person meetings at the bookshop introduced a wider audience to the diverse books and increased support of the local business.

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The Bakery That's Owned by an Idea

Oscar Perry Abello

February 16, 2021 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Firebrand Artisan Breads hires people with high barriers to employment, such as people experiencing homelessness or who were formerly incarcerated. The higher-than-minimum-wage starting salary, paid time off, and insurance benefits provide sustainable and secure employment to people whose life circumstances make it harder to get a job. In order to raise capital while maintaining their employment model, the owner worked with lawyers to become a perpetual purpose trust, an alternative ownership model that allows the company to sell shares to private investors while ensuring their principles remain in place.

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Is a pandemic a good time to start a business? For some, the answer's yes.

Stan Finger

January 08, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wichita, Kansas

A handful of entrepreneurial individuals in Kansas have found success in starting businesses during the pandemic by leveraging customer needs and pandemic relief funding. Although this business plan isn't "foolproof," in Kansas and nationwide, the number of entrepreneurs who filed applications increased significantly compared to previous periods.

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When money is running short, print your own

Julia Hotz

December 24, 2020 |

The Boston Globe |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Berkshire County, Massachusetts

A community currency was introduced to boost the local economy in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts. $133,000 worth of BerkShares, as the currency is known, are in circulation and accepted by small businesses in town. The concept arose from the desire to support “a strong commitment to speak with buying choices.”

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