Take note trend watchers: Small businesses are creating more new jobs, greater per capita income growth and give back more to their communities than their larger counterparts. This June, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and local host Sustainable Connections are bringing together a national community of socially responsible, small business owners and thought leaders to create meaningful economic change at the grassroots level. Hundreds of entrepreneurs, business network leaders, economic developers, sustainability experts, and local government and community leaders will gather at the 9th Annual BALLE Business Conference to explore new practices in growing community health and wealth and share tested models for social entrepreneurship and local economic development. The conference website is: http://www.livingeconomies.org/conference-2011.

The conference, themed "Place Matters," will include more than 80 speakers, 10 plenaries, 24 interactive sessions, 3 intensive pre-workshops, 4 'living economy' tours, and a variety of networking and social events. It runs Tuesday, June 14 to Friday, June 17 in Bellingham, WA, chosen as the conference site because it showcases how local, sustainable businesses can build economic vitality.

The underlying message to attendees is "Place Matters in Building Vibrant Economies," because businesses rooted in 'place' help build local self-reliance, mobilize local resources for local jobs, and operate with a triple bottom line that includes profitability as well as community and environment. The conference program will give participants the inspiration, guidance and tools needed to address issues facing communities and to encourage local economic development. "BALLE showcases and connects leading entrepreneurs, investors and local innovators - whatever their field - who are trailblazing a new economy that is sustainable and locally based, and this conference will harness and focus those efforts," said executive director Michelle Long. "The conference is led by businesses - the entrepreneurs and innovators that are building our homes, growing and distributing our food, and powering our lives."

"The evidence is clear: The most cost-effective ways to create jobs is to nurture local small business. These are also the best businesses for communities interested in creating walk-able communities, reducing their carbon footprints, addressing inequality, and revitalizing civic life. Fortunately, a growing number of policymakers - national, state, and local - understand that the new cornerstone for economic development should be local living economies," said Michael Shuman, research and economic development director at BALLE and author of The Small-Mart Revolution and Going Local.

Plenary speakers include:
Naomi Klein, Author, Jason McLennan, International Living Building Institute; Will Raap, Gardener's Supply, Niaz Dorry, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance; Louise Hemstead, Organic Valley; Michael Peck, Mondragon; Erika Allen, Growing Power; David Berg, Vancity, Amanda Edmonds, Growing Hope; Marion Kalb, National Farm to School Network; Jamila Payne, National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers; Merrian Fuller, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Michelle Long, BALLE; Bruce Seifer, Burlington Office of Economic Development

ABOUT BALLE
The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) is North America's fastest growing network of socially responsible businesses, comprised of over 80 community networks representing 22,000 independent business members across 30 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. BALLE networks create local living economies through the building blocks of independent retail, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, green building, local zero-waste manufacturing, community capital, independent media, and local arts and culture. Founded in 2001, BALLE works to foster vibrant communities, a healthy natural environment, and prosperity for all.

MEDIA NOTES
Conference presenters and BALLE leaders are available for pre-conference interviews by phone. Conference passes are available for credentialed media.

CONFERENCE SPONSORS
RSF Social Finance, Western Washington University, Organic Valley, Sustainable Connections, 1% for the Planet, CSR Wire, Main Street Resources, Zingerman's Community of Businesses, Bainbridge Graduate Institute, Capital Institute, Chelsea Green Publishing, Northwest Business Monthly, Porfolio 21 Investment, City of Bellingham, Whatcom Transportation Authority, Sustainable Industries, Yes! Magazine.

Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)

Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)

The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, better known as BALLE (pronounced bolly), equips entrepreneurs with tools and strategies for local success and provides a national forum for the most visionary local economy leaders and funders to connect, build their capacity, and innovate. Among the transformative communities of practice that BALLE hosts are a Local Economy Funders Circle, the Community Foundation Circle, and the nation’s only Fellowship program dedicated to cultivating the emergence of a new economy. Within a generation, we envision a global system of human-scale, interconnected local economies that function in harmony with local ecosystems to meet the basic needs of all people, support just and democratic societies, and foster joyful community life.

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