In less than 2 hours, an online marketplace we developed as an Economic Development project got $44,000 in the hands of small businesses to help them recover from the COVID-19 crisis. AND shoppers doubled their money due to the Gift Card Match Program, which helps them recover financially as well.
While big cities around the country are wringing their hands waiting for the federal government, rural Mecklenburg County, Virginia, is showing them how it’s done! Leveraging the regional online marketplace, ShopLocalVGA.com, that we developed for Virginia’s Growth Alliance several years ago, the County was able to launch and run the campaign at zero cost other than the matching funds.
Congratulations to Visit Mecklenburg County VA, South Hill Chamber of Commerce, Clarksville Lake Country Chamber, and Chase City Chamber of Commerce for being such trailblazers!
Tina Morgan, Director of Tourism for Mecklenburg County, was a member of our staff when we initially developed Shop Local VGA. That gave her the insight to immediately know the marketplace is an asset they could use to help in their recovery. I’m so proud to know that our small business helped her gain the experience to be able to identify a strategic opportunity and act on it!
The marketplace already had the capability for shoppers to buy from multiple vendors in a single transaction, with the payment automatically split between vendors. Tina worked with our Lead Developer to create the Gift Card capability on the site, including generation of a unique serial number for each certificate sold.
Each serial number was embedded in a digital gift certificate and delivered via email. We did the new development pro bono, which saved the county thousands of dollars.
Thanks to the Board of Supervisors of Mecklenburg County, Virginia for agreeing to put up the initial matching funds, making this great achievement possible.
And thanks to Virginia’s Growth Alliance, VGA’s Executive Director Jeff Reed, and Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for making the Shop Local VGA marketplace possible in the first place! Several years after initial development, their foresight and investment provided the foundation for an inspiring community movement.