There are many ways you can get involved and support independent businesses in your community. IndieBound is a really unique movement founded by independent booksellers of the American Booksellers Organization. Geared toward bringing together readers and indie retailers, Indiebound supports local, indie businesses to create strong communities. Anyone can sign up on Indiebound.org and become a part of the Indiebound community. I signed up on the website to see what it is all about, and they provide a ton of different opportunities to find locally owned companies I never even realized existed. Users can create book lists, add new indie retailers to the website, post comments on stores in the community, and use the online map to find local bookstores in the area. There is also a search device where users can locate genres like “Southern literature” or “Harry Potter” to easily find what stores carry what they are looking for. Users can even leave notes for each other, with suggestions about bookstores in the area. Although Indiebound does not sell books, it does provide a list of local bookstores. Both free and accessible for all ages, Indiebound.org primarily supports independent booksellers, while also supporting other independent business alliances. Indiebound is powerful for consumers because it helps them feel a part of a larger community, while working with others to support independent businesses.

Another organization with a similar goal is the 3/50 project. Founded by Minneapolis consultant Cinda Baxter, The 3/50 project encourages consumers to spend fifty dollars once a month at three different local stores. The number 50 comes from the fact that if half the U.S. population dedicated $ 50 of their monthly spending to three locally owned businesses more than $42.6 billion of revenue would be produced every year. The numbers 3/50 are easy to remember, and create an accessible mechanism to help local businesses in our area. The 3/50 project encourages balance and strives to encourage consumers to shop at both independently owned businesses and corporations. There is nothing stopping us from shopping at corporations-we just need to find a healthy balance while including independently owned businesses in our community.