At the heart of a thriving Main Street economy, independent businesses look to their commercial district programs for resources and support to attract and retain customers. Orchestrating a successful “shop local” campaign requires a vision and plan, as well as a boots-on-the-ground mentality to bring people together around it. In Promoting the Local Economy, learn how you can orchestrate a thriving shop local environment every day. You will learn to:

• Champion the power of the local economy through national trends and utilize local-level data to bring the message home.
• Organize your district’s strategy for participating in national-level and grassroots shop local campaigns.
• Work with businesses and entrepreneurs in your community to implement initiatives and measure success.

Promoting the Local Economy is a three-part, on-demand course instructed by Elissa Sangalli Hillary, President of Local First, a Grand Rapids, Michigan – based leader in the movement to create and sustain local wealth.

MSAI is currently undergoing an intensive program assessment to ensure our curriculum meets the needs of our network and provides content that is reflective of everyone we serve. Therefore, our required coursework and credential offerings are evolving. We are not accepting new students currently, but encourage those who want to continue learning and/or are looking for PD opportunities to check out on-demand courses, just like this one, to meet those needs.