The second year of the ‘Holding Our Own’ Shop Soldotna Program has proven to be very successful so far. Utilizing $310,000 in CARES Act funding from the City of Soldotna, this initiative was launched on November 15th and runs through December 15th, motivating over $1 million in local spending through incentivizing dollars spent. As of December 14th, the Soldotna Chamber announced that they had distributed $260,000 to area shoppers with about $50,000 remaining to be distributed.
Shanon Davis with the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce said the end date is Wednesday, December 15th:
“We still have about $50,000 to process through the Shop Local program. If you have been here yesterday, you would be shocked at what was happening in this office. It was a mad house, but we were thrilled to have everybody coming through. We do ask for a little patience if you’re coming in. There were some lines that were happening yesterday, and we do have several of the really popular businesses that have already kind of capped out in the program. Some of the most popular ones have been like Beemuns and Sweeney’s and we would just ask that people have some understanding that those vouchers went very quickly, but we still have over 60 businesses on the list and the whole point of this program is to encourage people to get out and visit some businesses that they might not normally. It’s just been wonderful for our community. If you want to participate in the program, you have today and tomorrow.”
For $200 spent shopping in Soldotna, participants receive a $100 voucher of their choice to spend at local participating businesses by the end of 2021. 60 Soldotna businesses are currently signed up to accept vouchers. Receipts to reach the $200 threshold to receive the $100 voucher can be from any business in the city limits, but only discretionary spending counts toward the total. For this program, discretionary spending is defined as non-essential, such as clothing, gifts, furniture, recreation, and entertainment. Non-discretionary spending, such as money spent on groceries, gas, rent, and utilities, does not qualify.
In order to spread the shop local love, each household is limited to one submission. Shoppers and area businesses who would like to learn more about the program can go to www.SoldotnaChamber.com, or call the Chamber at 262-9814.