Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • The dining shed—soon to be banned in NYC—awakened a sense of what's possible with the city street

    At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, many restaurants in New York City introduced “dining and drinking sheds,” ad-hoc sidewalk structures that allowed patrons to gather outside, where it was generally considered safer. Cities across the country followed suit, reimagining public spaces and their shared use. The spaces also brought customers to businesses that struggled to stay afloat during pandemic fears and shutdowns.

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  • Chiswick Flower market attracts 60,000 visitors

    The Community Interest Company, run by volunteers, organized the Chiswick Flower Market to revitalize the local economy. The eight flower markets that were held increased foot-traffic to local businesses by about 70% compared to non-market Sundays. Of the over 60 vendors, 65% were based locally. The market made a £12,000 profit, which is being reinvested in community sustainability projects. Sustainability and reducing the market’s carbon footprint are priority initiatives.

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  • Hounslow £20 vouchers bring new customers to Chiswick shops

    The Hounslow council sent £20 vouchers to every household to help the local economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Households had about two months to spend the voucher, which could purchase products or services at a range of businesses from cafes and cinemas to retailers and laundromats. Retailers can use an app to scan the vouchers and eventually redeem them for payments.

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  • Wight Gift Card helping local businesses emerge from the pandemic

    For 50p a month, businesses can be part of the Wight Gift Card scheme which offers £50 gift cards to spend in participating shops. Residents purchase the gift cards to support local businesses and the data shows that for every £50 gift card, people actually spend £82.50. Similar gift card schemes have successfully helped businesses in other cities withstand COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. Initial data show that the Wight program has increased purchases at local businesses.

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  • Cities Are Boosting the Economy by Rewarding Those Who Shop Local

    Akron, Ohio, is “creating a circular economy” in hopes of helping small businesses and encouraging residents to shop locally. A city-sponsored app, Akronite, is used by consumers to make purchases and earn reward points which can be redeemed for discounts and other perks. The app’s success is clear in the high return on investment, which shows $9 generated for every dollar invested by the local government. Other cities across the country are also adopting the initiative, tweaking it to their own communities.

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  • San Francisco's Filipino Cultural District Keeping Hope Alive After a Tough Year

    “UNDSCVRD SF," funded by the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and produced by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs, is a night market held once a month from July to November that features a range of Filipino vendors. There were over 35,000 attendees in 2019 and it generated $300,000 in sales. It also serves as a testing ground to select businesses for Kultivate Labs’ SEED Accelerator Program and grantees for the SOMA Fund. The former provides bootcamps and one-on-one support for Filipino-owned businesses that are located in, or would like to be located in, a permanent space within the SOMA cultural district.

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  • This Oakland Restaurant Was Developed in the Spirit of Mutual Aid

    The 8th Street Collective, a loose organization of Oakland food industry workers, and Oakland Bloom, a group that supports refugee and immigrant chefs, opened a new restaurant, bar, and community hub space. A team of four worker-leaders rotates operational roles of Understory, the restaurant, and are working with lawyers to become cooperatively owned. The restaurant serves a pop-up-style rotating menu four days a week, including dishes by Oakland Bloom chefs and the other days are dedicated to the nonprofit’s incubator and training program called Open Test Kitchen, as well as other programming.

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  • Avid Bookshop's New Book Club Promotes Literature About Race and Labor

    Georgia’s Racial Justice Centering Committee, part of the University of Georgia’s United Campus Workers, runs the Racial Justice, Labor, and the South Book Club at the Avid Bookshop. The moderator-led discussions provide attendees with exposure to diverse literature and an opportunity to learn about the intersection between labor and race. While University of Georgia students are the target audience, the book club is open to the public. Meetings are currently held on zoom, but in-person meetings at the bookshop introduced a wider audience to the diverse books and increased support of the local business.

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  • The Bakery That's Owned by an Idea

    Firebrand Artisan Breads hires people with high barriers to employment, such as people experiencing homelessness or who were formerly incarcerated. The higher-than-minimum-wage starting salary, paid time off, and insurance benefits provide sustainable and secure employment to people whose life circumstances make it harder to get a job. In order to raise capital while maintaining their employment model, the owner worked with lawyers to become a perpetual purpose trust, an alternative ownership model that allows the company to sell shares to private investors while ensuring their principles remain in place.

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  • Is a pandemic a good time to start a business? For some, the answer's yes.

    A handful of entrepreneurial individuals in Kansas have found success in starting businesses during the pandemic by leveraging customer needs and pandemic relief funding. Although this business plan isn't "foolproof," in Kansas and nationwide, the number of entrepreneurs who filed applications increased significantly compared to previous periods.

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