Making Ripples
Our Choose Indie Local program inspires and supports community members to boost the ripple effect of economic and community benefits we receive when we spend and invest dollars at locally owned businesses.
Our Vision
Led locally but aligned nationally; our movement transcends the word “shop.” Community members at all levels participate as investors, creators, and Indie Local champions — inspired by independent businesses’ impact on community health and wealth. Together, we build strong local, equitable, and sustainable economies.
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Our History
The roots of our Choose Indie Local program go back to 2004 when independent business alliances came together to launch a holiday campaign called America Unchained! Since then, the program has evolved into a national year-round program made up of community grassroots efforts that are aligned nationally through AMIBA.
Choose Indie Local News & Updates
Eat, Drink, and Be Local: Year-End Sales
How can we continue to promote Shop Indie Local during the last days of this year and into the new year?
Skip the Door-Busting Mobs and Chill Your Holiday with Plaid Friday or Cider Monday
Twelve years ago, she was one of the original supporters of the Plaid Friday initiative, which she said has now “taken on a life of its own.”
Panic Saturday: Keep Calm and Shop Indie Local On
December 23 is Super Saturday/Panic Saturday, the day when last-minute shoppers scurry furiously for a gift. Remind them to keep calm and Shop Indie Local on!
Shop Indie Local Holiday Inspiration: Noel Night
Celebrating Local Businesses at Local First’s Annual Noel Night Local First La Plata County (CO)...
Help Your Community Find Black-Owned Businesses
Shop Black-Owned Business Month is just around the corner. Looking for ideas on how to participate?
Give a Gift to Your Community this Holiday Season and Shop Indie Local
Starting with our Thanksgiving meal, we’re purchasing more of our holiday gifts and celebration needs from our friends and neighbors — locally owned business owners.
Gift Local: Holiday Gift Guides and Online Marketplaces
Make it easier to Gift Local and Shop Indie Local, create a simple online Gift Guide.
This Fall 🍁 Shop Small
Why promote Shop Indie Local early this holiday season? Because more of us are shopping early for holiday gifts.
Anti-Prime Days Campaigns: A Prime Time to Make Ripples
Amazon’s Prime Days (Tuesday, July 16 – Wednesday, July 17, 2024)are PRIME times to focus on the Local Multiplier and other ways our communities benefit when we Choose Indie Local.
This Halloween 🎃 Choose Indie Local
Halloween is a great time to Choose Indie Local. Total Halloween spending is expected to reach a record $12.2 billion, exceeding last year’s record of $10.6 billion.
GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday unleashes the power of radical generosity. Celebrated on the Tuesday following...
Why Cider Monday Matters
Celebrate Cider Monday to bring attention to the effects of online sales on your community.
Choose ALL Indie Locals: Independents Month
For the last days of Independents Month, we'll focus on a different business sector each weekday....
Community Wealth Building: Transforming Local Economies
“Amid the chaos and breakdown of our time, imagining such a thing as economic system change can...
2025 Choose Indie Local Campaigns
To give you a jump start on your marketing and outreach efforts, here are our 2025 Choose Indie Local Campaigns. Become a partner with us today!
Independents Month: A Celebration of Entrepreneurship
This July, let’s celebrate our independence and our independents together.
What’s Our Why? Eat Indie Local
What’s Our WHY? Help us shape our answer. As we prepare for our second Eat Indie Local campaign, we want to dive into our WHY.
Cars Don’t Spend Money — People Do
“After 50 years of framing work around the automobile, retail analysts in both the private and public sectors are shifting to a new consensus: cars don’t spend money — people do.”
Who’s Local? Find Community Banks and Credit Unions in Your Region
You may know some of the Community Banks and Credit Unions in your area. But do you know them all?
Call for Partners: Choose Indie Pride Month
Celebrate LGBTQ+ owned businesses, diversity, and equity. Partner with us during Pride Month this June. It’s free!
Call for Partners: Bicycling Means Business Month
We want to empower you to inspire your community to support locally owned and independent businesses and entrepreneurship.
How to Celebrate Independents Month in Style from Tarot to Trivia
Celebrate Your Independents Sitting in the home his grandparents bought in 1958, Tom Shay looks...
Valentine’s Day: Show the Local Love
This Valentine’s Day, show your “local love” — love for your sweetie and your whole community — by purchasing gifts (or gift-making supplies) and meals (or ingredients) at locally owned businesses.
How Organizations Can Celebrate Choose Black-Owned Month
Alliances, organizations, and other community groups will celebrate Shop Black-Owned Month with us in February. How will they mark this month?
2023 Thanksgiving Holiday Sees Record Sales
Starting with our Thanksgiving meal, we’re purchasing more of our holiday gifts and celebration needs from our friends and neighbors — locally owned business owners.
Choose Indie Sustainable Month: Call for Partners
Grow our Choose Indie Sustainable Month Campaign, part of the Choose Indie Local year-round movement. Become a partner!
How Locally Owned Businesses Can Celebrate Choose Black-Owned Month
Do you sell products and services from Black-Owned businesses? Give them a shout-out during Shop Black-Owned Month.
How Black-Owned Businesses Can Celebrate Choose Black-Owned Month
Here are some ideas and resources to help you promote your Black-owned business during Choose...
Cider Monday
Celebrate Cider Monday That’s not a typo! Instead of Cyber Monday, a day when online merchants...
Artists Sunday
We invite all artists to join Artists Sunday, a national marketing campaign and event encouraging...
Plaid Friday
Plaid Friday celebrates the diversity and creativity of local and independent businesses. It’s a...
Small Business Saturday: Shop Small and Indies First
Small Business Saturday Celebrate with us as part of Shop Indie Local Season. From Shop...
Our Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon
Actor Kevin Bacon supported our Shift Your Shopping for Good promotion in 2013. Thanks to the work of our core organizing team, we garnered amazing media attention through this hilarious video starring Melvin Macon.
Call for Partners: Choose Black-Owned Month
We invite you to partner with us to grow our Choose Black-Owned Campaign in February.
2024 Shop Indie Local Holiday Campaign Sponsored By … YOU?
Become a Shop Indie Local Holiday Campaign sponsor to help us raise awareness around the importance of supporting locally owned businesses.
Celebrate Your Independents and AMIBA
As we celebrate Independents Month, we also celebrate us. We are AMIBA! We build economic...
Choose Indie Local and Sustain Your Local Supply Chain
By Roman Mukendi, AMIBA Resilient Local Economies Intern When we Choose Indie Local, we contribute...
Take the Indie Challenge
This July, celebrate Independents Month by signing on to the Indie Challenge today! Pledge to buy only from locally owned businesses for a day, week, or more — you choose.
Choose Indie Local Provides Connections and Convenience
By Roman Mukendi, AMIBA Resilient Local Economies Intern After a long period of business...
Choose Indie Local – A Force for Social Impact
By Roman Mukendi, AMIBA Resilient Local Economies Intern Independent small businesses are...
