Now more than ever: Shop local
Do you really understand the round trip your dollar makes when you spend it locally?
Shopping local is a statement that is frequently said, but in 2020, the phrase SHOP LOCAL went from a casual statement of something we should be doing to a desperate cry for help from local business owners across our community. We all know it’s important to shop local, but do you really understand the round trip your dollar makes when you spend it locally?
When you spend a dollar locally, it is said that the majority of your dollar stays local, and when dollars remain local everyone benefits. Our local businesses pay local taxes, they employ the majority of our community members, they sponsor the local youth sports teams, and they attract tourists and make our community beautiful. Our business owners are folks who took a financial risk to bring a service to our community, and when we spend our dollars with them we are helping ensure their business and the services they provide stay in Humboldt.
In 2020, COVID-19 rocked our community, and our local businesses spent most of the year trying to figure out how to survive another day. Every dollar spent in their establishments kept their hope alive. Relief was on the way when the Small Business Administration (SBA) started taking applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which was a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers employed, and if spent correctly was 100% forgivable. Our local financial institutions went to work deploying these loans — and this is where that dollar you spent locally comes round trip.
When a local business takes the dollar you spent with them and deposits it at a local financial institution, that local financial institution uses the dollar to fund a loan to your neighbor who wants to buy a home, or the business down the street that is looking to expand. That one dollar you spent has now positively impacted your local store, contributed to a local employee’s paycheck, and finally
the bank uses that dollar to fund a loan that will help someone fulfill their dream. Our local financial institutions played an important role in funding PPP loans for hundreds of local business’ in our community, totaling well beyond $100 million dollars being pumped into our local economy to save local jobs and provide much needed relief to business owners. Funding these
loans were made possible by deposit dollars — the same dollars you spent locally.
As we head into 2021, although we are optimistic for a better year than 2020, the reality is that some of our local businesses are still struggling, and fortunately, a second round of PPP loans has been approved by Congress and once again our local financial institutions will be here to help. The next time you have a dollar to spend, I hope you smile and feel pride knowing
and understanding the trip your dollar is about to embark on. Let’s all do our part to continue shopping locally this year, and keep your eyes open for the benefits you will receive.