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10% Shift

Posted on April 26, 2012

10% ShiftDo you want to rebuild our South Portland economy and revitalize your community? The 10% Shift wants to help you do just that. We are a group of local entrepreneurs and citizens and we invite you to join us in growing a movement that will transform our economy. The 10% Shift began in New England and has spread to communities across North America–together we can build strong local economies and improve our environment by making a modest shift in the way we spend our dollars. As the well-known Grand Rapids study by Civic Economics has proved, if all of the households in our community shifted 10% of our existing purchases from non-local businesses to Local Independents (locally owned and independent businesses) we would see thousands of new jobs created and millions of dollars of new economic activity. And all this can begin to happen as soon as people start shifting and without the use of one taxpayer dollar.

A 10% Shift will make a huge difference in our local economies, and it can happen this year. A study was recently completed in Western Michigan, detailing the effects of a 10% Shift, of annual purchases to Local Independents, by the 600,000 residents studied. The results are staggering. In one year, this modest behavior change would:

  • Create 1600 jobs, reducing unemployment by .5%
  • Create $137 Million in new economic activity for the area.
  • Create over $53 Million in new wages.

South Portland Buy Local invites you to shift our economy!
Source: http://www.civiceconomics.com/

The “Move Your Money” Project

Posted on April 26, 2012

Move Your MoneyThe Move Your Money project is a nonprofit campaign that encourages individuals and institutions to divest from the nation’s largest Wall Street banks and move to local financial institutions.

We have already seen the disastrous effects of a bloated, unstable financial system run by big banks. When community members move their money out of these larger conglomerate banks – banks that are “Too Big to Fail” – and into local community banks and credit unions, they help lay a more stable foundation for our financial future.

Why do local banks and credit unions help our economy? These institutions are generally more linked to the community because they are more conservative about how they manage their money; they are closer to the people and businesses in their community and they’re more inclined to make loans to these places that they trust. Better values, better results.

Plus, local financial institutions often have fewer fees, better customer service, and offer greater returns for consumers. So why not make the Move? Already two million people have left their big banks in the first three months of 2010, and the movement is growing.

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