Benefits and Prices
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Benefits of Becoming a Member of Local First Indiana
Marketing and Promotion
- Window decal (pictured, identifies your business as local and independent)
- Cooperative Marketing campaigns, such as poster campaigns, press releases, coupon promotions, interviews with local media on your behalf. Our Think Local First Holiday Guide was picked up and viewed by over 1,000 people this year. Members get listings for free.
- New members get a listing in the newsletter with an ad that displays their logo, address, description of their business, and links to their websites and Facebook pages.
- Twitter and Facebook postings about specials or special events happening in your business. We have over 800 followers on Facebook who will instantly see the postings.
- Free listing in our online Directory. Community members want to shop locally. Join us and let them know that your business is local and independent!
- FREE LISTING in the Think Local First Holiday Guide
Consumer Education
- Benefit from the consumer education work we do, writing blog posts, sharing on social media sites, Guest Columns and Op-Ed pieces for the Herald Times, and talking to groups about why shopping locally matters. These people will see your decal and know that you are indeed local and independent. See our Economic Studies page for a glimpse of what we do!
- Receive our monthly e-newsletter and read the latest news about fellow members, new members, and issues affecting independent business both in Bloomington and across the country!
Networking Opportunities
- Access to network of local businesses. We have Mixers or events roughly once a month, where you can meet and work with other business owners to build relationships and discuss common solutions.
- Access to network of over 22,000 local independent businesses across the U.S. through our affiliation with the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).
- We encourage business to business relationships and local procurement. Please tell us about the other businesses you work with, and we will promote this! See our Business to Business brochure!
Healthy Economy
- Economies bolstered by a strong local business network are often much stronger and more isolated from general economic downturns. A recent survey by the Institute for Self Reliance found that independent businesses in places with active “Buy Local” organizations had over twice the revenue gain of businesses without such organizations.
- When businesses, governmental offices, schools, and hospitals buy locally too, the impact can be powerful. See what one business does in Arizona to utilize it’s position as an economic generator for Pheonix. Another Arizona study looks into the impact of a city’s decision to purchase local office products.
- Living in a community with a large percentage of locally owned businesses who are supported by a caring populace makes a big difference in quality of life. Three times the amount of money stays in the community when people shop in local, independent businesses.
- See our Resources Page for more information on this subject!
Ready to sign up? Click here!
Prices for Membership
Business Members
$10 a year per full time employee (including owners). $5 a year per part time employee (including owners).
Minimum $35, Maximum $350. Volunteers do not count in the total.
Sustaining Members
Gold: $2,000
Silver: $1,000
Bronze: $500
Sustaining Member Benefits:
Sustaining Members will get all the same benefits of regular members, plus:
- Logos placed in prominent places on first page of website and in the newsletter, size of logo or business name will correspond to size of contribution.
- Coming Soon!! Special page on website with photo of your business, a description of the history of your business, links to videos and your directory page, as well as a direct link to your website.
- Your logos will be displayed at all Local First Indiana events and in future Local First Indiana publications, such as the Think Local First Holiday Guide.
- Sustaining Members receive a 10% discount on Sponsorship for the Think Local First Holiday Guide.
Individual Members
When you become a member of Local First Indiana, you join a unique group of people who are interested in helping to grow a new economy in our city, one that that starts with local, independent business, with a focus on the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. We work in a celebratory manner, towards a future prosperity that respects the owner, the worker, the environment, and that upholds a sense of community.
Your membership is important not only because it supports our efforts, but also because it shows local, independent business owners that the community they are working so hard to serve understands their contribution to our city.
Individual Memberships $15
Family Memberships $25 (these are for couples or families living together under one roof in a committed relationship. Same sex couples are welcome!)
Members of Local First Indiana receive a monthly e-newsletter with information about the organization and news about local, independent business in Bloomington and beyond. You will also receive our new bumper sticker!
If you would like to become a member, please send an email to una@localfirstindiana.org with “Individual Membership” or “Family Membership” in the subject line, along with your name and address.
Payment Info:
Please sign up first here, but for those of you who would like to review the payment options, they are below. You are also welcome to bring cash or a check to one of our Monthly Mixers and get paid up in person.
Checks can be made out to Local First Indiana and mailed to:
Local First Indiana
1100 S. Rogers St.
Bloomington, IN 47403
You can also pay through paypal on our homepage by clicking on the “donate” button. If you pay this way, please add $2.00 to cover the fees.
