At I Support we believe in the power of local businesses to transform communities for the better by working cooperatively toward a shared vision. We imagine cities and towns of every size and political stripe engaged in shared learning to build community assets like sustainable agriculture, green building, renewable energy, community capital, zero-waste manufacturing and independent retail – what we call the building blocks of living economies. We envision a time when local economies not only generate community wealth, but also are catalysts for civic action, social diversity and ecological health — for sustainable communities.
Our goal is to modify the way business is done by recycling revenues from the commercial sector to the nonprofit sector. The program depends on a model where commercial, nonprofit, municipal, and consumer interests converge to produce:
- More commerce for local businesses, professionals, retailers, and service providers,
- More revenues for local nonprofits and essential municipal services,
- Relief for municipal budgets, and
- Lower prices for consumers.
As each constituency unites around their common needs, and as the value of collaboration and partnering become demonstrated within those needs, the community will coalesce around other ways of achieving the common good. Our strategy is to establish an affiliated chapter in communities and then use that as a base to introduce new initiatives that help realize each community’s common good.
