UNCHAINING FOR ONE DAY MEANS MILLIONS FOR COMMUNITIES

BOZEMAN, MT —Independent Business Alliances, community groups and individual locally-owned businesses nationwide are urging citizens of their communities to “unchain” themselves on November 20—to do all their business on that day only at locally-owned independent establishments. The efforts are part of America Unchained!, a national campaign of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA).

These community-level efforts aim to get citizens excited about, yes, micro-economics. Each local organizing group or business, using last year’s retail sales figure, is calculating how much money will enter the local economy if every community member shops or dines with only locally-owned independent businesses that day.

In Austin, Texas that figure is $14 million dollars above what the community would gain if everyone shopped at chains. In the Tampa, Florida area, it’s $17.5 million, and in Colorado Springs, it’s $9 million.

“We think people will want to participate in their community’s America Unchained! event once they discover the positive community impact of spending their hard-earned money with their home town businesses,” said Jennifer Rockne, director of AMIBA. AMIBA is a national non-profit organization that helps communities start their own IBAs--local coalitions uniting independent businesses, non-profits, and local citizens to help entrepreneurism flourish and prevent chain businesses from driving out home town businesses.

“Studies from small towns in Maine to sizeable cities like Austin and the Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago found that locally-owned independent businesses create 3 - 3 ½ times the local economic activity as chains do. Home town businesses use the goods and services of other local independent businesses and give back to community institutions far more than chains,” said Rockne.

At least 12 local Independent Business Alliances and numerous businesses are participating around the country in communities like Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Tampa, Albuquerque, Raleigh, Mystic (CT) and many more. And in Cleveland, independent restaurateurs are incorporating America Unchained into a weeklong Dine Originals promotion. AMIBA and collaborating organizations plan “America Unchained” to be an annual event.

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See AMIBA.net/unchained.html for general information on America Unchained, list of participating communities and endorsing organizations:

Contact Jennifer Rockne, AMIBA director, for contact information for organizers in participating communities.