Hundreds of thousands of small businesses shuttered by COVID-19 are at risk of closing for good in the coming weeks. To protect Main Street jobs, workers, and businesses while they hibernate and adapt to save lives during the pandemic, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has joined a range of allies in demanding a federal small business aid program that meets this moment.… Read More
Cities and states must help support businesses and working families, especially until the federal response meets the scope of the COVID-19 crisis. In some places, that’s already happening. Here are the steps local and state governments have taken so far to shelter small businesses from the virus’s vast economic turmoil.… Read More
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance — together with more than a dozen national and local small business organizations — have put forward a proposal for how the federal government should help small businesses survive this crisis. We expect to refine this plan as things develop. … Read More
Small businesses are finding creative ways to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, from curbside pickups to online cooking lessons. Here are additional resources they can tap into to cover their expenses and pay their staff during this crisis.… Read More
A growing body of evidence suggests that public enthusiasm for all things local and independent is on the rise, providing locally owned businesses with a measure of insulation from the worst effects of the recession, even as some of their biggest competitors teeter and collapse.… Read More
The City Council of Santa Maria, California, voted unanimously to deny Wal-Mart’s request to rezone land for a supercenter. … Read More
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has presented its 2005 Main Street Civic Leadership Award to the New Rules Project, a program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the commercial district revitalization movement by an organization or individual working in the public policy arena.… Read More
Published in 2000, The Hometown Advantage examines the impacts of chain retailers and provides a guide to reviving your community’s local economy. … Read More
