Think Local First

Vicki Pozzebon in the News

2010-11-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

Our Executive Director has a nice quote in a Yes! Magazine article titled "Will the Real Voice of Small Business Please Stand Up?" Read it here.

2010-03-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

Our new website is coming soon!
It's gonna be good!

FRESH CONNECTIONS EVENT - FEB 8, 2010

2010-01-11T09:37:00.000-08:00

You're invited to

FRESH CONNECTIONS
Local Food Growers & Buyers Expo
Monday, FEBRUARY 8, 2010, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

REGISTER NOW! Click here.

A unique networking opportunity for food growers and food buyers to make connections with each other and others doing food and land-based work in order to strengthen our regional food economy.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Food Growers, Buyers, Restaurant Owners and Chefs, Land Owners, Aspiring Farmers, Youth Entrepreneurs, Volunteers interested in sustainable farming and food.

PLUS . . .MARKETING, INFORMATION AND ADVICE
Market your business! Display your wares through product samples, photos, list of items and promotional material. Bring your own tables, signs and ideas.

Luncheon with Keynote Speaker Cecilia Ciepiela,
an economic development specialist, addressing the "Value-Chain Approach to Business."

Curbside Consulting offering attendees private 20-minute sessions with seasoned consultants in order to walk away with advice and solutions to improve your business.

For Costs, Agenda, Contact Info and to Register, click here!

MUST REGISTER BY JANUARY 31!

Thank you for your work on behalf of our local and sustainable food economy. We look forward to seeing you at Fresh Connections!

SF Alliance Holiday Party is Wed Dec 9!

2009-11-30T15:48:00.000-08:00

Put on your festive party clothes and come out to the Santa Fe Alliance Holiday Party to meet, greet and celebrate with other local business owners and community members. It will be a merry evening of fun among the bookshelves (Collected Works is offering a 10% discount off any purchase by Alliance members).

When: Wed Dec 9, 6-8:30pm
Where: Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Galisteo Street

Delectable local food will be provided by our Farm to Restaurant participants, Atrisco Cafe & Bar, Joe's Diner and Marja Custom Catering. Enjoy beer and wine tasting and exciting raffle prizes. Come pick up your 2010 Local Guide to assist you in all your holiday shopping!

RSVP HERE:
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2mwtwn8957d960a

This party is FREE and OPEN to ALLIANCE MEMBER BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS. If you are NOT a member or community supporter, you can sign up at the door, donate NOW online or call (505 989-5362) to BECOME A MEMBER!

Local Bank Gets Local Bailout

2009-03-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

Now this is a recovery package with local impact. Great work, LANB!

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/03/23/daily63.html

Buy Into It! (Or How to Stimulate the Economy 101)

2009-03-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

This just in . . . Buying Local is the New Stimulus Package . . .

Bob Quick | The New Mexican

3/10/2009 - 3/11/09

What supporters hope will be Santa Fe's own economic-stimulus program kicked off on a windy Tuesday afternoon on the Plaza with a simple message: Buy local.

Backed by local media businesses, including Hutton Broadcasting, The Santa Fe New Mexican, the Santa Fe Reporter and Journal Santa Fe, as well as such commercial organizations as the Santa Fe Alliance and the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, the campaign is meant to bolster Santa Fe firms coping with a faltering economy.

..."Every purchase made locally means 45 percent of that amount stays in the community," she said, "while if you buy at a big-box store" based out of state, "only 13 percent of the purchase price stays in the community."

She concluded her remarks with the exhortation to "buy local, eat local, hire local."

A local purchase increases the number of times that dollars circulate in the local economy, multiplying their reach and impact and increasing overall demand, according to Kate Noble, of the city's Economic Development Division.
Read the whole article here: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SantaFeNorthernNM/Keeping-Santa-Fe-afloat

Leveling the Corporate Tax Playing Field

2009-03-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

The Santa Fe Alliance has joined a coalition in support of corporate tax reform and investing in New Mexico's economy now.

A coalition of small businesses, advocacy groups, labor unions, religious leaders, and physicians will join several legislators at the Roundhouse at 10am Wednesday March 11 to urge support for SB 648 (corporate tax reform) and HB 742 (increasing the tax on cigarettes). Together, the bills would raise $100 million in new revenue while cutting taxes for more than 7,000 small New Mexico businesses.

The new revenue could keep some budget cuts at bay, thus investing in the state's economy via spending on critical programs. The tax cuts would also help small New Mexico businesses that are struggling and make them more competitive with large, out-of-state corporations.

"When the budget is tight the automatic response is often to cut spending," said Senator Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), one of the bill's sponsors. "Cutting funding for programs like education, children's health care, and public safety hurts New Mexico's families in the best of times, but it's very detrimental in tough financial times."

Bill Jordan, Policy Director for New Mexico Voices for Children, concurred. "Budget cuts mean job cuts, and that's the last thing we should be doing in an economic downturn," he said. "We also need to support New Mexico businesses, which put hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans to work every day. Sen. Wirth's corporate tax reform bill would allow us to do both."

"This is not only going to level the playing field for our locally owned businesses in New Mexico, it's going to invest in our own economy and create the stimulus we need right now," said Vicki Pozzebon, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Alliance, the nonprofit business organization of over 600 locally owned businesses that has supported the tax reform bill for several years.

HB 742 will also accomplish multiple goals. "By raising the tax on cigarettes we can bring in some much-needed revenue while discouraging youngsters from taking up smoking," said Rep. Bobby Gonzales (D-Taos), the bill's sponsor. "The Surgeon General has said that this is the most effective way to keep kids from smoking, and that also saves us on public health costs in the long run," he added.

The legislators pointed to a poll conducted by Brian Sanderoff in January that showed strong public support among New Mexicans for increasing the tax on cigarettes. The vast majority of those polled did not favor budget cuts to public education.

The coalition of groups in support of both bills include NM Voices for Children, AFSCME, AFT New Mexico, NM Federation of Labor/AFL-CIO, Santa Fe Alliance, NM Conference of Catholic Bishops, NM Conference of Churches, Primary Care Association, and NM Pediatric Society.

Buy Local, Eat Local, Grow it Local, Sell it Local – A Community Discussion on Localizing our Food and Renewable Energy Econunity Forum Tomorrow Night

2009-03-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Santa Fe Alliance announces the launch of our Regional Food and Fuels Project

Where: SF Complex, 624 Agua Fria Street

Directions: www.sfcomplex.org

When: Tuesday, March 3

Time: 5:00 to 8pm (networking and refreshments from 5-5:45pm; discussion forum 5:45 – 8pm)

Join us for a community forum and discussion on the localization of our food and renewable energy systems in Northern New Mexico. Facilitated by leaders from Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (www.livingeconomies.org) and the Santa Fe Alliance. Refreshments generously provided by members of the Farm to Restaurant Project.

The Regional Food and Fuels Project will link rural and agricultural economic development to our urban economy in Santa Fe to localize our food system, increase food production by reducing costs through renewable energy projects, and connecting small rural areas to one another. This program also seeks to create green jobs, which will address Santa Fe Alliance's workforce development initiative needs as well.

Sponsored by: BALLE, Stokes Family Foundation, McCune Charitable Foundation, Santa Fe County

Indies Going Local

2009-02-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

I recently interviewed with John Tozzi at www.businessweek.com about Buy Local campaigns across the country and what we are doing right here in Santa Fe to keep money local.

Check out the article:
To Beat Recession, Indies Launch Buy Local Push
Read the whole article here: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2009/sb20090226_752622.htm

And check out your local SF Alliance in the slide show here: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/0227_buy_local/index.htm

2008 Holiday Party

2009-01-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Our holiday party was a great success! Thanks to all our party sponsors:

Simply Delicious: Paula Escudero,
Cowgirl BBQ and Western Grill,
La Montanita Coop,
Santa Fe Complex,
Santa Fe Brewing Company,
Amanda’s Flowers,
Ross Hamlin, Musician

Almost 200 Alliance members and friends celebrated the season with us, at Santa Fe Complex. We enjoyed live entertainment, great local food and beverages, and mingling with the community. Hope you can join us next year!

Food and Health Care Related? Who Knew, Right?

2009-01-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

I just got this posting from Roy on food, farming and affordable health care. It was posted on treehugger.com. Here's a quote from the article:

"The sustainable local-food system we are trying to build relies on an abundance of small, diverse, sustainable family farmers scattered all across the United States. For this kind of farm to exist, sustainable must mean more than environmental sustainability — it must also include economic viability. Farming is a dangerous and risky business, and it becomes a whole lot less attractive when a farmer knows that he or she is one fall from the hay loft away from losing their land."

Why should we be interested in these issues and how are they connected? The SFA is working on a food/fuels project that will help Northern New Mexico localize it's agricultural economy, reduce the cost of food production through renewable energy and sustain our regional farms. We are also involved in health care issues and the high costs associated with providing such benefits to employees. Read more on this here:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/affordable-health-care-farming.php

Any thoughts?

Happy New Blog!

2009-01-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Alliance Blog (- we really need a better name and we're working on it) where you'll get local, state and national news that we hope will be entertaining, informative, and above all, directly related to all things local.

2008 was a busy year for the SFA, with the launch of a green jobs program, expansion of the Farm to Restaurant Project, a family picnic event, and so much more. This year will be no exception as we move into more localization projects in food, renewable energy, green jobs, an expanded Buy Local Campaign with many community partners and most fun of all - Local First Radio, Sundays at 11am on KTRC 1260am.

Come back soon for all the info you need for your business, your community, your local connections.

Welcome to the Alliance Blog

2008-12-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Santa Fe Alliance is looking forward to a busy 2009. Santa Fe is well positioned to weather the current downturn in the national economy, and the Alliance is here to help local businesses adjust.

The mission of the Alliance is to build a healthy local economy which provides better work opportunities for the people of Santa Fe and the surrounding region while preserving a strong sense of community that nurtures individuals and families.

Founded in 2002, the Santa Fe Alliance has grown to about 600 members, with a dedicated board of directors drawn from all parts of the Santa Fe community.

Watch this space for regular updates from the Alliance. We will be adding more writers and features as the blog matures.