R.I. Foundation launches Buy Local campaign

JUST IN TIME for Small Business Saturday and the holiday shopping season, the Rhode Island Foundation and local business leaders are urging Rhode Islanders to shop at locally-owned businesses. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION
JUST IN TIME for Small Business Saturday and the holiday shopping season, the Rhode Island Foundation and local business leaders are urging Rhode Islanders to shop at locally-owned businesses. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Foundation is launching a statewide Buy Local campaign Nov. 24, four days ahead of Small Business Saturday.
“Buy Local RI” offers businesses and consumers a central website at www.buylocalri.org where merchants can market their products and services and shoppers can find locally sold products, view a calendar of holiday-related events and promotions, and sign up for email about discounts and special offers.
Only locally-owned, Rhode Island businesses can list their companies at no cost on the Buy Local RI website. Consumers are not charged to use the site, either.
Small Business Saturday focuses nationwide on local restaurants, retailers and businesses the day after Black Friday, which typically caters to holiday sales at big box retailers.
The foundation will kick off its campaign Tuesday by taking a busload of Rhode Islanders on a statewide shopping tour. The first stop will be at the Ocean State Job Lot store in Pawtucket at 10 a.m., where small business owners and shoppers will gather to celebrate the importance of shopping locally.
Other stops will include Hope and Main in Warren, the Mission restaurant in Newport, Schartner Farms in Exeter, Wickford Village and Foolproof Brewery in Pawtucket.
Buying locally “has the potential to pay off in a big way,” Neil D. Steinberg, foundation president and CEO, said.
“We are talking about money that each one of us is already spending, so no additional investment is required. The return can be spectacular as the cash circulates through our economy. As these companies prosper, they will grow and put people back to work,” he said.
The Rhode Island Foundation funds nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2014, the foundation awarded $34.8 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities.

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