Calculate Your Own Local Economic Impact

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The national small business movement Independent We Stand today unveiled a new online calculator to show U.S. consumers the economic impact they create in their communities when they spend their dollars at locally owned businesses.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101007/PH77812LOGO )

The calculator, found at IndependentWeStand.org/spend_local, shows the direct impact on the local economy possible if each family spent just $10 each month with a locally owned business instead of at a national chain.

As an example, shifting just $10 each month to an independently owned store by every family in the Birmingham, Ala. area would deliver $36,352,718 back to the Birmingham economy by way of payroll taxes and local expenditures. This leads to better schools, better roads and more support for other civic necessities such as police departments.    

The metro area impact figures are based on the Civic Economics Andersonville Study of Retail Economics, which found that when you spend $100 at an independent business, $68 returns to the local economy versus $43 when spent with a national chain.

Find out what kind of economic impact each city can have by visiting www.IndependentWeStand.org/spend_local.

Independent We Stand's website also offers free advertising and promotional materials for locally owned businesses to promote their community impact, as well as a business database for consumers to find local, independent businesses in their area. Visit www.IndependentWeStand.org to learn more.

About Independent We Stand

Independent We Stand is a movement of independent business owners across the country to inform their communities about the importance of "Buying Local" and how these efforts bolster their local economy. This movement supports all local and national causes committed to boosting local economic development projects. The Independent We Stand movement is sponsored by STIHL Inc. www.IndependentWeStand.org                            

SOURCE Independent We Stand