PFE Blog

If you haven’t attended Fork Fest before, you’re missing out on a great fall kickoff event! This year’s event, presented by Brewery Vivant, showcased over 30 local food and beverage vendors – all highlighting staple…

The holiday season is just around the corner – and, if you’re a business owner, you may be considering whether to send holiday cards. Many businesses have given up the tradition. Some regard it as…

Whether you're planning a big meal for family and friends or a small gathering for one or two, here are some great ways to shift your Thanksgiving dollars to local and small businesses. Don't see…

Tired of the same meeting locations around Grand Rapids? Are you thinking there has to be a different space? This is venue fatigue and if you have it, we’re here to help. (more…)

The first step to becoming Good For Michigan is taking the Quick Impact Assessment, a free online tool that helps businesses measure their social, environmental, and economic impact. We encourage businesses to retake the assessment…

We here at Local First believe that relationships matter. We talk a lot about a human-scale, people first economy, which is based on relationships between a business, its employees, and its community. It takes a…

Local First announced the addition of Alice Jasper as its new sustainable business program manager. Jasper will lead Local First’s “Good For Michigan” programming and sustainability efforts in West Michigan and the Lakeshore. “With the…

Businesses and nonprofits need to keep a lot of records: Sales, donations, addresses, historical data, and engagement benchmarks. When these records are off or unorganized, it can create a lot of extra work and soak…

Michigan's Great Southwest Sustainable Business Forum works to educate, engage and empower our community to more equally value environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic growth. MGSSBF is a satellite program of West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum. Resource…

Local First today launched its statewide “Good For Michigan” programming that recognizes businesses for making a positive impact on employees, local communities and the environment. “We’ve heard from businesses across Michigan that they want to…