Spark Local Blog | by Giverrang

What is ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act)? Also referred to as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, this $1.9 trillion government sponsored package was meant to buoy the economy in 2021 in the face of economic upheaval and tens of thousands of small business closures across the US. It was also used to curb the uncertainty that faced many more small businesses and households across the US as the Coronavirus continued to pose an unpredictable threat to public health and local economies across the country.  What are ARPA funds being spent on?  Much of the ARPA money went to funding a diverse set of initiatives to encourage rapid recovery such as household stimulus checks, emergency paid leave, expansion of food stamp benefits, rental assistance programs, funding for COVID testing and vaccine sites, agriculture support, grants for small businesses, and more .  Also in the wash of the diversely sprayed funds, a significant purse (~ $350 billion) was trickled do...

  Every economic developer wants their community to be vibrant and their small businesses to thrive. But why is it easier in some locations than others? The main reason is culture. That elusive little word is often the difference between the local business environment succeeding and failing.  In places that are born and bred off the back of local products like Portland, ME, a shop local culture is ubiquitous in the fabric of every food or retail shop you walk into. But that foundation was laid from somewhere - decades of emphasis on local sourcing and production. Generations now inherently understand its importance to the way of living in the area. If your community does not have as fortunate a starting point, the best way to create a public understanding of why it is good to shop local, and to set a perpetual flywheel of support in motion for it, is to kindly assault the public with programs that adjust the psychological tenor in favor of a shop local culture.  It's in t...