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Use your food and economic choices to make our community more sustainable. 50% of CO2 emissions in the entire U.S. are due to the provision of food and goods, and 20% of these emissions are due to transportation (not including driving to the store or storing food in your refrigerator).
The North Olympic Exchange (NOE), a chapter of Bellingham-based Fourth Corner Exchange (FCE), is a barter and trade system utilizing the concept of “life dollars”. Life dollars can be thought of as a kind of “community currency”, a facilitated barter system that serves to complement our federal monetary system.
The goal of NOE is to connect unused resources with unmet needs, helping to build a stronger and more sustainable community. It is a system based on human capital – our own skills, goods and energies. While the monetary system is in large part based on scarcity and debt, community currency is based on abundance. We all have something to share.
Local Investing Opportunity Network (LION)
LION creates opportunities for local individuals and businesses to connect with local investors to build prosperous local businesses, keep investing money in our community, and help build a stronger and more sustainable economy in Jefferson County.
LION is not a loan or investment fund, and it does not make collective investment decisions. The membership consists of local citizens who support local businesses and invest their money locally, putting their investing money to work within our community. Keeping funds local facilitates greater economic self-sufficiency, job growth, economic development, and a dollar-multiplier effect whereby a dollar kept within the community can be spent many times over for a far greater benefit than a dollar invested away from our community.
EDC Team Jefferson is the state-designated economic development council (EDC) for Jefferson County. Team Jefferson provides one-on-one, confidential consulting and technical assistance to existing businesses in our local community and assist businesses in relocating to Jefferson County. Their team of volunteer professionals includes business owners, retired executives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.
Mission: To foster a business-friendly environment that fuels economic sustainability, drives innovation, and inspires collaborative community leadership.
Vision: Localized economic, ecologic, and social prosperity for generations to come.
WSU Small Business Development Center
Washington SBDC’s promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to entrepreneurs and existing businesses statewide. The local office in Port Townsend offers a host of services designed to help you grow your business, achieve higher profits, and improve operations.
Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship
Currently serving people in Clallam, Jefferson, Skagit and Island Counties, all of their programs are FREE to all participants. They especially welcome people who are low income and from historically underserved communities.
Their programs provide training, one-on-one advising, and other support to help entrepreneurs with the first steps of building a business, from idea generation to solidly established and ready to generate revenue and maximize profits. CIE believes in the triple bottom line: we work with you to create a business that generates profit by providing value to your customers, your community and your planet.
When entrepreneurs succeed, our communities become stronger, more resilient, and self-sufficient. As part of a collaborative community of homegrown grassroots entrepreneurs, together we have the power to create thriving, equitable local economies.