Adults

Small Business Saturday® - Shop Small®

Sep 20, 2017

$1-50

Byline

Michele Nelon, Reference Librarian, Crowley (Texas) Public Library

The Crowley Public Library participated in Small Business Saturday® as a Neighborhood Champion, rallying the local community to support small businesses.

Patrons were invited to drop off receipts for items purchased locally during the month of November. People who did received a prize and were entered into a drawing for a gift card.

Advanced Planning

Our goal was to participate with American Express® in their continuing work to help communities grow. We started planning a month prior to the event.

We signed up for the event online and ordered promotional materials, posters, paper crowns, bags and balloons at ShopSmall.com/ALA. We visited local small businesses and gave them a Small Business Saturday poster to post in their window and a doormat to encourage the local community to Shop Small.

Marketing

We promoted the event to our targeted community through Facebook and on-site advertisement in our library. Our promotions contained the following message:

The library and recreation center are proud to be Neighborhood Champions for Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26. We want to support our small business owners and encourage our patrons to shop local and show love to our community!

Beginning on Nov. 4, bring any receipt from purchases made from a local (Crowley city limits or 76036 zip code) business within the last 30 days and receive a special gift (while supplies last). You will also be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card to a local business. Drop receipts off at the library or recreation center. Please make sure to write your name and phone number on the back of the receipt so we can contact you if you win a prize!

Join us as we work together to build strong families, strong businesses and a strong community!

Budgeting

The only cost for the program was the $25 gift card to a local business.

Day-of-event Activity

Set-up for this program was minimal. We posted a large Shop Small sign outside the building, set up the jar to collect the names and receipts of those who participated, and promoted the program.

Program Execution

The program played itself out by people shopping locally and bringing their receipts into the library. Yes, we achieved our goals.

Advice

We would encourage others interested in holding a similar program to do so. It requires librarians to reach out to local businesses, putting faces to names, and builds a sense of community.