Opening for an Events Manager

Posted Fri, 01/22/2010 - 12:11

BALLE is searching for a motivated, passionate changemaker to serve as our Events Manager!

This will be a full-time, salaried position with healthcare benefits and paid time off, and will be based in our Bellingham, WA headquarters. Additional benefits include a great office space, a flexible working schedule, and the opportunity to contribute to an organization that is having a transformative societal impact.

For the full description and to apply, please see our online position announcement. Applications will be accepted through February 12, 2010.

Please help us spread the word! BALLE is an equal opportunity employer and seeks applicants who will contribute to the diversity of its staff.

BALLE Announces New Executive Director

Posted Fri, 08/28/2009 - 16:16

Board Chair Judy Wicks announced today that Michelle Long will become BALLE's new executive director effective September 1.

Michelle has almost a decade of experience serving BALLE as our first national co-coordinator, as a board member and foarmer board chair, and as the co-founder and executive director of one of BALLE's largest and oldest networks, Sustainable Connections in Bellingham, Washington.

"Michelle is a successful BALLE network leader and national spokesperson," said Wicks. "She has achieved long-term shifts in Bellingham consumer behavior and community support for independent business, social entrepreneurship, and environmental sustainability. As BALLE moves into our next decade of programming and growth, we will greatly benefit from Michelle's expertise at the helm."

BALLE is Live on Twitter

Posted Thu, 07/02/2009 - 16:22

Follow BALLE on Twitter @BALLE_Network.  Get to know the BALLE community and share your thoughts on effective ways to build Local Living Economies.  For additional ways to plug in, please also join us on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

BALLE Conference in real time!

Posted Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:34

BALLE conference attendees were very busy posting microblogs from Denver last week. Go to http://www.twitter.com and search for "#BALLE" to learn more!

Also, we'll be posting speaker powerpoints, photos, and videos soon at http://www.livingeconomies.org/conference. Thank you for an incredible event!

Local Clusters of Self-Reliance: The Key to Rural Prosperity

Posted Sun, 03/15/2009 - 15:43

By Michael Shuman

At a time when daily headlines bring worse and worse news about the plight of rural economies, it's worth reminding ourselves that success is possible.

Last autumn, Marian Burros of the New York Times wrote a piece about how the 3,000-person community of Hardwick, Vermont, has prospered by creating a new "economic cluster" around local food. Cutting-edge restaurants, artisan cheese makers, and organic orchardists turning fruit into exquisite pies are just some of the new businesses that have added an estimated 75-100 jobs to the area in recent years. A new Vermont Food Venture Center hopes to accelerate this creation of enterprises.

Fifteen years ago, Güssing was a dying rural community of 4,000 in Austria. — read more

We've moved to the Presidio!

Posted Thu, 03/12/2009 - 11:36

Our new office address is 1002B O'Reilly Avenue, San Francisco, California 92149 - in the same building as RSF Social Finance. Our phone number is the same - 415-255-1108 - and so is our e-mail. Come by and say hi!

Conservatives Have a Point

Posted Mon, 02/16/2009 - 17:05

By Michael Shuman

I'm afraid I agree with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and nearly all the congressional Republicans that the pork in the approved "stimulus bill" is nauseating. It takes the worst ideas in economic development – massive payouts to government white elephant projects and gigantic incentives to attract, retain, or otherwise bribe global corporations – and puts them on steroids. I'm not condemning every line in the package, but the careless and thoughtless way this bill was assembled, packaged, and shoved through Congress ought to give small-mart advocates pause about the priorities of the new administration. – read more

Additions to the BALLE staff and board

Posted Sun, 02/15/2009 - 20:11

As our organization continues on its critical path of building local living economies, I am thrilled to announce several important and exciting additions to the BALLE team.

Michael Shuman, one of the most respected economists and talented contributors in our movement, has accepted the position of Director of Research and Public Policy effective March 31st. Yes, you read that right. Michael and BALLE officially together at last! His new role allows BALLE to confidently move forward on additional strategic priorities that the Board established at our recent annual retreat. Alissa Barron, Michael's talented associate, will also be joining our staff as Program Manager and with these outstanding additions comes the opening of BALLE's new Washington DC office.

Read more!

An urgent call to 'Buy Local'

Posted Mon, 02/09/2009 - 16:20

Job developer Michael Shuman seeks to rebuild struggling communities with home-grown businesses.

By Tim Holt | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
from the February 9, 2009 edition

For Michael Shuman it was the equivalent of an earthquake. Seeking cheaper labor in Canada, Toronto-based Branscan Corp. threw 1,400 people out of work by closing two paper mills in Millinocket, Maine, in 2002. The unemployment rate in this region of central Maine skyrocketed to Depression era levels of nearly 40 percent.

Read more.

Independent Retailers Outperform Chains Over Holidays, National Survey Finds

Posted Thu, 01/15/2009 - 16:36

Minneapolis, MN, Jan. 15, 2009 - In an extremely challenging economic climate, independent retailers are outperforming many chains, a national survey has found.

The survey of 1,142 independent retailers in a wide range of categories (books, toys, clothing, etc.) and across all 50 states found that holiday sales at independent stores declined an average of 5.0% from the same time period in 2007. That compares favorably to most competing chains, including Barnes & Noble (- 7.7%), Best Buy (-6.5%), Borders (-14.0%), JC Penney (-8.1%), Macy's (-7.5%), The Gap (-14.0%), and Williams-Sonoma (-24.2%).

Download the full press release here.

Read more. (Note the graph at the bottom of the page.)