Resources

Downloads

Letter inviting a business to join CDLF.

CDLF brochure.

CDLF Logo -  high-resolution version TIF file (approx 5 MB)

CDLF Logo - medium-resolution version JPG file (approx 65 kb)

Why Buy Local?

A strong, locally owned, independent business community is essential for building a "local, living economy," that is, an economy based on local, independent ownership that enhances the social fairness, community spirit, financial vitality, and environmental health of the region. Independent, locally owned and controlled businesses of the Capital District add choice to our lives. They add a “sense of place” and heart to the neighborhoods where they are located; they offer unique goods and personalized services; and they care about the region's environment, quality of life, and neighborhoods. They re-energize areas that may otherwise become blighted, and they purchase products from other local organizations, thereby multiplying the impact of our dollars on the Capital District's economy.

Capital District Local First views the locally owned, independent sector as the backbone of a local, living economy. Living economy organizations strive to improve their practices, and at their best they achieve the following goals:

1. Significantly more money re-circulates in the Capital District when purchases are made at locally owned businesses (including banks and credit unions).
2. Local businesses are key supporters of local nonprofits.
   
3. Our one-of-a-kind businesses and local non-profit organizations are an integral part of our distinctive character and contribute to the region's quality of life.
4. Independent businesses do not have to put profits before people and the environment in order to keep their stock prices high.
5. Most new jobs are provided by local businesses.
6. Local businesses and nonprofit organizations do not pick up and leave when offered more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.
   
7. Local business owners invest in all types of communities, regardless of socio-economic conditions.
8. Small businesses contribute proportionately more to the local tax base than non-local corporations.
9. The locally owned portion of the economy often offers quality goods and services not available elsewhere.
10. Small business owners and non-profit managers are community leaders.

11. Provide employees with a healthy workplace and meaningful, living-wage jobs.

12. Serve as mentors to others who wish to start new, locally owned, and independent businesses and nonprofit organizations, and especially to encourage socially responsible business and social enterprise development among lower income, women, and minority microenterprises.

13. Yield a "living return" to owners and investors that balances self-interest with one’s obligation to the community and future generations.

14. Contribute to efforts to build a more sustainable and just regional economy.

Learn about Local Living Economies

"Big Box Swindle" by Stacy Mitchell

"The Small-Mart Revolution" by Michael H. Shuman

"Deep Economy" by Bill McKibben

Civic Economics, "The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics," October 2004.  This study of a neighborhood in Chicago found that locally-owned businesses generate a substantial "local premium" in enhanced economic impact and that residents strongly prefer the neighborhood over common chain stores. 

Bibliography of research on Localism, created by CDLF Director Prof. David Hess.

In the Press

"Who Killed the Bookstore?"   A trade association commentary on a Washington Post column about a bookstore's blog entry about why the store is going out of business.  April 2009.

"These Dollars Stayed Home."  An article in Metroland announcing the winners of the Buy Local Holiday Pledge campaign.  February 12, 2009.

"Small but Growing."  An article about CDLF in Metroland.  February 5, 2009.

"Table For Six Billion, Please." An article about the BALLE founder Judy Wicks.  August 2008. 

"The era of Wall Street domination is over."  An article by former BALLE Executive Director Don Shaffer.  Fall 2008.