Vermonters Bought Local!
#BuyLocalVermont sold out in one day and $425,000 is on its way to over 950 locally owned businesses. The program was funded using CARES Act dollars. Over 20,000 Vermonters activated verification codes and almost 12,000 received discount offers to local businesses in their communities. Over 90% of participating businesses received money from the program.
How It Worked: Vermonters who registered on Tuesday, September 8th starting at 11 a.m. were sent codes in the order in which they were requested. Once the codes were received, they could select local businesses on a first-come, first-served basis.
Making Sure It’s Fair: To make sure businesses in every Vermont county could benefit, funding was allocated to different regions of the state. Ensuring equity slowed down the issuing of the codes, as so many people signed up to participate at once.
Focusing on Hardest-Hit Businesses: #BuyLocalVermont was also designed to encourage consumer spending in the hardest-hit sectors of the economy. Discount offers ranged from $10 at fast-casual eateries to up to $150 at lodging establishments.
Your Participation Made a Difference: Participating businesses received an average of $436 each through the program. Customers have until October 31st to redeem their offers. It’s anticipated that Vermonters will spend twice the amount of their offer when they redeem them, putting at least another $425,000 into the registers of cash-strapped businesses.
What’s Next: ACCD has proposed expanding #BuyLocalVermont with additional funding, which is currently being debated in the Legislature.