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CSLE BUY LOCAL PROGRAM 2012 <br />Think Cabarrus First <br />The Council for a Sustainable Local Economy (CSLE) would like to implement a buy local <br />campaign for Cabarrus County beginning in late January of 2012. The goal of the program is to <br />bring awareness of the importance of choosing local businesses for purchases and services <br />ultimately increasing the volume of transactions with local businesses. <br />The program will require memberships from local businesses to participate. This membership <br />will require a $20.00 reprint and advertising recoup cost. The business will receive printed <br />materials, stickers, and a listing on the Think Cabarrus First directory online. There will also be <br />awareness items for sale to the public such as bumper stickers and t- shirts. <br />The success of buy local programs lies in developing community awareness. Many of the <br />activities and costs associated with the program are to increase that awareness. The outreach <br />component of this program will begin to bridge divides within the community and bring about <br />awareness of how to shift dollars to local businesses and where there are geographical and <br />industry specific gaps within pockets of Cabarrus County. This information should prove useful <br />in furthering access to products and services for as much of the local population as possible. <br />There are many similar programs across over 100 communities within North America. The <br />Sustainable Local Economy Project Manager and the CSLE have developed this program after <br />the model made available by the largest network of local economy programs, the Business <br />Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE www.livingeconomies.org) <br />The attached budget outlines the expenditures and cost recapturing through the end of the <br />current Cabarrus County government fiscal year. The revenue generated by then (with 200 <br />memberships) should fund the activities through the rest of 2012. The membership fee will be <br />prorated later in the calendar year and the marketing and advertising activities will be more <br />intense towards the November /December holiday season. <br />Attachment number 1 <br />G -7 Page 395 <br />