Good for Grand Rapids - WKTV Journal

Bringing together and celebrating the good that locally-owned businesses have done for the Greater Grand Rapids has been an initiative that LocalFirst has been focused on in the past year.

Recently, the organization celebrated its Good for Grand Rapids campaign by announcing the eight top-scoring businesses that received Good for Grand Rapids Awards. Two of which were from the Wyoming and Kentwood areas: Lindo Mexico received a Good For Employees and Celebration! Cinema received a Good for Community.

LocalFirst Marketing Manager Mieke Stroub was on the WKTV Journal to talk about the impact of the awards with host Donna Kidner-Smith.

“It is to bring together and celebrate companies that are using businesses for good,” Stroub said about the Good for Grand Rapids. “And what that means is that they are being good to their employees; they are giving back to the community; they are creating high quality and more jobs for the people that live here.”

Businesses that participated took a quick impact assessment that is available on the LocalFirst website. Stroub said a business owner or someone very familiar with the business could do the assessment which would take anywhere from a half hour to an hour to complete.

“The assessment is industry specific,” Stroub said. “A restaurant is going to have different questions than a PR company. So the business owners who go in and take it only have questions relevant to them.”

More than 70 different business participated in the program. From the Wyoming and Kentwood areas that includes Daddy’s Dough and JoJo’s House of Beauty along with Lindo Mexico and Celebration! Cinema.

Participating in the program not only gives business insight into what they are doing well and what they need to improve upon, but another tool to attract high, quality talent to the West Michigan area, Stroub said.

LocalFirst Marketing Manager Mieke Stroub

“A common challenge across industries is talent or acquiring talent,” she said. “As we are noticing, the work force that is entering, they want to work for a company that they are proud of. They want to work for a company that pays attention to social issues, that gives back to its community. We are giving businesses the tools that they need to facilitate that.”

Along with the assessment, LocalFirst is also offering a series of workshops focused on helping business with their sustainability efforts. Information on the first three Good for Grand Rapids workshops are now available on the LocalFirst website along with other events such as mixers to get to know those who are in LocalFirst and have taken the Good for Grand Rapids assessment.

The Good for Grand Rapids assessment tool is also available on the website. Stroub said it is a free resource that a business owner can complete on his/her own time.

For more about LocalFirst, visit localfirst.org.

By Local First

This is an installment in Local First’s Measure What Matters series where Local First Members who have taken the Quick Impact Assessment are interviewed and asked how the assessment has helped them use their business as a force for good and be Good for Grand Rapids.

Started by a group of Calvin College alumni back in the 1993, River City Improv has been making Grand Rapids residents laugh for over 20 years. Since its inception, River City Improv has evolved into a comedy group that’s passionate about making a positive difference in West Michigan through fun and witty humor.

“We love making people laugh – it’s how we give back to the community,” said Rick Treur, co-founder and business manager for River City Improv. “Many of our performers also make a positive difference by donating their time and talents to various nonprofits around Grand Rapids.”

River City Improv entertains audiences using comedic improvisation. Many of their shows weave together skits, games, and songs with audience suggestions to create a unique show every time. Hosting approximately 20 public shows and up to 40 private shows per year, River City Improv still makes time for volunteering. Some of the ways they give back are by performing volunteer shows or donating free passes to nonprofits for auctions. If a performer is involved with a nonprofit, they can also donate a performance to the organization of their choice.

River City Improv joined Local First in 2010 and Treur recently took Local First’s Quick Impact Assessment to identify more opportunities for River City Improv to make a positive impact.

“Getting involved with Local First seemed like a natural fit for River City Improv because of our commitment to giving back to the community,” said Treur. “We took the Quick Impact Assessment because we like supporting B Corp values and believe it’s important to be mindful of what we’re doing as a business.”

When taking the Quick Impact Assessment, Treur realized there were many practices that he could be tracking and measuring for River City Improv. One of Treur’s major takeaways from the assessment was learning about the significance of buying local and using sustainable products for their shows.

“Even though we are a small business, the Quick Impact Assessment made me realize that there are things we can do better,” said Treur. “You can make a positive impact in the community no matter the size of your business, field, industry or level of community involvement.”

Treur added that getting involved with Good for Grand Rapids has been a great way to strengthen the community by showing support for local businesses.

“Look around at our local businesses in Grand Rapids and you’ll notice that many of them have a global reach and can have a positive impact on the world,” said Treur. “By using our resources for good and being thoughtful about how we run our business, we can make a difference in our local community, West Michigan and beyond.”

Interested in learning how your business performs against best practices on employee, community and environmental impact? Take the Quick Impact Assessment today to learn how much good your business is doing for the local economy and community at localfirst.com/sustainability/measure-what-matters. Meet these and other values-aligned businesses at the Measure What Matters Workshop on June 21!