Local First Arizona
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We are here to strengthen local economies. We believe in championing diversity and inclusion💪 The result is that they live here but don’t feel connected.
Kimber Lanning founded Local First Arizona in 2003 for two reasons: First, she saw too many bright young people leaving Arizona for more vibrant cities like Austin and Portland. She wanted to inspire others to stay in Arizona to help build a world class city. Secondly, Kimber thought the massive subsidies being given to chain stores were a raw deal for local businesses, and wanted to see Phoenix r
There’s a lot of opportunity in grant funding and it starts with being ready.
Organizations that are successful often have strong foundations in place: Simple system, strong leadership and the ability to manage funding with confidence.
That’s what the Local First Arizona Economic Resource Center’s Grant Basics Workshop Series is all about; helping nonprofits, Tribal organizations and community groups across Arizona build the skills and structure needed to pursue funding and grow.
If your organization is thinking about applying for grants or strengthening your approach, this is a great place to start.
👉 Learn more and register: https://hubs.li/Q04jSr460
06/05/2026
Access is an issue for many Black entrepreneurs in Arizona.
Access to capital. Access to networks. Access to rooms where their business plans get taken seriously instead of screened out before they ever reach a decision-maker.
We Rise exists to change that math.
The six-week accelerator gives Black business owners the tools, community and credibility to grow on their own terms and Demo Day is where that work goes public.
On June 17, this year's cohort pitches their businesses for a chance at $10,000 in funding at Venture Café Phoenix.
Come to witness what happens when barriers come down and people get the chance they were always capable of using.
📅 Wednesday, June 17
⏰ 6:00 – 8:30 PM
📍 Venture Café Phoenix | 850 N 5th St, Phoenix
Free. Register using the link ⬇️
https://hubs.li/Q04jw9nJ0
Economic resilience isn’t luck. It’s liberation.
Too many Arizonans are one crisis away from losing everything. Economic resilience isn’t just about
recovery — it’s about being prepared for the future 💪
At Local First Arizona, we’re helping build systems that protect people, not just profits. That means investing
in local businesses, keeping dollars circulating close to home and creating opportunities that last!
This is how we build an economy that works for everyone❤️
05/31/2026
Grant readiness is often an organizational capacity issue and not just a writing problem.
Rural municipalities, Tribal governments and nonprofits across Arizona often have strong programs and real community need. Where things break down is in the infrastructure. This can look like board governance, financial systems, compliance frameworks or budget documentation.
The Arizona Economic Resource Center's Grant Basics Workshop Series addresses each of these directly.
Eleven free online sessions running through July, led by grant professionals and financial experts with deep experience in these funding environments.
Sessions are recorded and added to the Local First Learning Lab for ongoing access.
If your organization is building toward its first grant or trying to improve its track record, the schedule and registration are at: https://hubs.li/Q04jdyVr0
05/29/2026
Need some inspiration for your next getaway? Sometimes the best vacations are closer than you think. 🏜️🚗
Our state is full of destinations that feel completely different from your everyday, with incredible scenery, local cultures, history and unique adventures. In-state travel can be a great way to make memories while supporting local communities along the way.
Comment your favorite Arizona destinations⬇️
05/28/2026
Most rural and Tribal organizations in Arizona have exactly what it takes to compete for grant funding. What they often don't have is time to piece together the process on their own.
The Arizona Economic Resource Center built this free, online workshop series for that reason. Eleven sessions covering everything from writing a competitive narrative to understanding federal compliance — led by people who have worked inside these systems.
If your organization is getting grant-ready or trying to figure out where you even stand, this is worth your morning.
Sessions run through July 15. Online, free and recorded for later access.
Find the full schedule and register: https://hubs.li/Q04jdBfw0
05/19/2026
You know the feeling — when someone finally names the thing you've been living.
That's this report.
It's not a list of programs. It's proof that when local businesses get the tools, capital and voice they've been denied, they build the economy everyone said was impossible.
Here's what we all made possible in 2025:
💰 Local businesses that couldn't get bank loans? They got $1M+ through character-based lending and are still operating.
🌾 Rural communities told they're 'too small to matter'? They pulled $148.8M in economic development funding.
🍽️ Food entrepreneurs priced out of commercial kitchens? 204 of them built businesses in our community spaces - and 75% are still thriving.
This report doesn't ask you to care. It shows you what changes when people already do.
🔗 to the report: https://hubs.li/Q04h16GN0
05/18/2026
You've watched corporate chains swallow Main Street for years.
Watched wealth leave local communities.
Watched rural Arizona get written off.
Watched communities get told they're “not viable” while resources flow somewhere else.
$148.8 million says otherwise.
That’s how much Local First Arizona’s Economic Resource Center has helped bring into communities across the state through infrastructure, workforce development, small business support and local ownership.
If you're tired of hearing that local can't compete, check out our Annual Report below⬇️
https://hubs.li/Q04h0_Dn0
Behind every “successful” local business…there’s a story most people never see.
Failure. Restarts. Hard decisions.And moments where things could have gone either way.
This piece highlights what that journey really looks like for Arizona entrepreneurs building something from the ground up.
It’s honest, it’s real and it might change how you see small businesses.
🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04gHFsg0
05/13/2026
Most business owners get turned down because the system wasn't built for them. Not because their idea isn't good enough.
Lenders have criteria, thresholds and expectations most don't hear until after they receive a denial letter.
The Loan Readiness Boot Camp changes that.
In partnership with the Coalition of Arizona's Credit Unions, this program pulls back the curtain on how business lending actually works so you can walk into any conversation with a lender knowing exactly where you stand.
You'll leave knowing whether a loan is even the right move for your business right now.
That clarity alone is worth it.
Next session starts May 19. Registration closes May 18.
🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04gvD790
Bravo Computers
Small town events might seem simple… but they’re doing more for your community than you think.
Every dollar spent here doesn’t just support a business: it stays local, circulates, and helps build something bigger.
It’s easy to overlook, but where you spend matters more than people realize.
We break this down in the blog, why it matters and what’s actually happening behind the scenes.
🔗https://hubs.li/Q04g0nb70
05/11/2026
Agnes Adams spent two decades watching healthcare workers go understaffed and women of color get locked out of a field they were built for.
She built Yond Institute anyway, a West Valley CNA training program designed around the reality of working families.
She went through We Rise, won Demo Day and got $10,000 to fund state accreditation and Arizona is better for it.
We Rise Cohort 12 is coming🔥
🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04fmTpW0
05/08/2026
Agnes Adams spent two decades watching healthcare workers go understaffed and women of color get locked out of a field they were built for.
She built Yond Institute anyway — a West Valley CNA training program designed around the reality of working families.
She went through We Rise. She won Demo Day. She got $10,000 to fund state accreditation and Arizona is better for it🔥
Twelve cohorts. Over 100 graduated businesses and counting.
We Rise Cohort 12 is coming.
Check out the link below to apply:
🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04fT2MP0
05/08/2026
Most people celebrate the ribbon cutting but nobody talks about what comes after.
The loan denials.
The 70-hour weeks.
The pivot you didn't plan for.
The moment you realize the business has outgrown your family room and you still don't know how to hire your first employee.
Five Arizona business owners let us into that part of the story - the stretch between starting and sustaining, where most businesses quietly disappear.
This is what small business ownership looks like in Arizona. Not some highlight reel but actual WORK.
Read their stories below:
🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04fSBWj0
There are people in Arizona right now who know how to grow food. They just don't know yet that it can become a business💰
We've hit the year running and have launched two programs worth your attention; The Ag Business Boot Camp and The Loan Readiness Boot Camp!
Check out Kimber's full update ⬇️
05/06/2026
Nearly 80% of flowers sold in the U.S. are imported. They're picked weeks before they reach your hands, treated with chemicals to survive the journey, and grown by farmers you'll never know. The money you spend on them doesn't stay here.
Arizona has florists who built something different. People who know which desert varieties are in season right now and whose livelihoods actually live inside your community's economy.
This Mother's Day, your dollars can do two things at once — honor someone you love and put money back into the place you call home.
Swipe for local flower shops across Arizona💐
05/05/2026
Black entrepreneurs in Arizona are nearly three times as likely as their white counterparts to have their profits hurt by lack of access to capital.
We're helping fix that.
We Rise is a six-month, no-fee business accelerator that gives Black business owners in Arizona the tools, mentorship and community to build on their own terms.
Cohort 12 applications are open all month.
🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04fmKjN0
Arizona has over 700,000 local businesses. Most of them will never walk into a traditional bank and walk out with what they need. That's simply how the system was built.
Local ownership is the backbone of a resilient economy but ownership without access to capital is just potential sitting on the sideline.
So we work to change the conditions.
🤝🏻 Relationship-based lending.
💰 Loan funds designed around how Indigenous and rural businesses actually hold wealth.
📚 Accelerators that connect entrepreneurs to capital pathways before they hit a wall.
💵 More than $1 million in microloans deployed.
❤️ A Rooted Relative Fund offering 3% interest loans to Indigenous business owners that conventional systems have historically ignored.
🎓 Business graduates reporting expanded operations and deeper community roots.
The financial system wasn't designed with every Arizonan in mind. That's the problem we're working on.
A "don't spend" day feels like resistance but resistance only works when it lands on the right target.
Big corporations are built to absorb a slow day. Their models are designed around exactly that kind of volatility. A quiet Friday barely registers.
Your neighborhood restaurant owner, your local boutique, your corner shop. They're not built the same way. One slow day means a server goes home with fewer tips. It means a cash flow gap that carries into next week. It means the math on staying open gets harder.
If the goal is to challenge corporate consolidation and redirect economic power back into communities, the strategy has to match the scale of that goal.
Blanket boycotts aren't always the sharpest tool.
Redirecting your dollars and choosing the local business over the chain, is. That's targeted.
Let us know where you're shopping💬
05/01/2026
Community banks have the apps, direct deposit and mobile check deposits.
What they don't have is a board of shareholders deciding your neighborhood isn't worth the investment.
The myth that local banks can't keep up is exactly what keeps billions of Arizona dollars flowing out of Arizona communities.
Every $100 you deposit at a big bank? $86 of it leaves.
Your money is already doing something. The question is whether it's doing it for you🧐
04/28/2026
Summer in Phoenix is brutal for local restaurants.
Tourists leave to beat the heat and travel throughout the state slows but the chains keep their lights on because they can absorb it.
Your favorite local spots — the ones where a chef has been perfecting a dish for 20 years — they feel every empty table.
Five of Arizona’s most celebrated chefs decided to do something about it.
Starting May 26, they’re partnering up each month to create one-night-only, four-course menus at five different Valley restaurants🔥
The Devour Summer Chefs Series is what happens when the people who built this food community decide to show up for each other and invite you in.
Seats are extremely limited.
🎟️: https://hubs.li/Q04dP2Dk0
"The process was super simple because it's relationship based."
That's on securing a green loan through Local First and to go hybrid — cutting gas stops from 3 or 4 times a week down to once.
$15,000 saved annually and 40 hours of drive time freed up every week.
Relationship-based lending means someone actually understands your business before they decide if it's worth backing.
That's on securing a green loan through Local First and go hybrid — cutting gas stops from 3 or 4 times a week down to once.
Community Banking Month. Move your money.
https://hubs.li/Q0498TyS0
🎥:
04/20/2026
Bigger isn't always better.
Community banks and credit unions offer strong rates, smart tech and real community impact.
Time to rethink what you thought you knew about banking locally.
https://hubs.li/Q04cPm930
Social Spin runs 300 miles a day connecting people to laundry services, medical care, food and haircuts.
Their customers are low-income families, people experiencing homelessness and anyone in between who needs a hand.
Rising costs were threatening that mission. They didn't want to raise prices on the people they serve.
Our Green Loan Fund helped them go electric, redesign their routes and save $15,000 a year in gas.
Forty hours of drive time freed up every week.
More contracts. More community impact. That's what happens when capital stays local.
It's Community Banking Month. Global banks collected $88.5 billion in Arizona deposits and sent the money elsewhere.
Community banks and credit unions put it back to work — for businesses like this one.
Your deposits are a decision. Make them count⬇️
https://hubs.li/Q04crxnM0
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Address
1505 E. Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, AZ
85014
Opening Hours
| Monday | 9am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5pm |