On July 15, the Seattle Office of Economic Development announced more than $160,000 in investments in neighborhood business. The Ballard Chamber of Commerce, Crown Hill Business Association and the In Ballard Merchants Association are three of the beneficiaries of those funds.

The 2010 Neighborhood Business District awards will be used for a variety of projects designed to help small businesses thrive in Seattle, including organizational development projects, beautification and branding with light pole banners and signal box art, and a new, multi-neighborhood buy local marketing effort that will increase shoppers’ awareness of local businesses across the city, according to a an Office of Economic Development press release.

“Small businesses employ 72 percent of Seattle’s workforce and contribute 35 percent of the city’s business tax revenues, totaling $55.4 million," Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith said in the press release. "Many of the small businesses in our city reside in our neighborhood business districts. We want to continue to help small businesses and these special neighborhood gathering places thrive, and we will continue to invest and partner with them.”

The department's 2010 funding awards equal $161,000 of investment in local business districts. The department is leveraging monies collaboratively for the buy local campaigns ($75,000), light pole banners for six districts ($28,000), and individual awards ($59,000), according to the press release.

The Ballard Chamber of Commerce, as well as four other neighborhood business organizations in Columbia City, MLK and Othello, the Rainier Valley and West Seattle, will participate in a collaborative buy local marketing campaign, which will enable each district to work with a professional marketing firm to develop and implement a buy local marketing campaign to increase shoppers’ awareness of great independent locally owned businesses within each district, according to the press release.

The Crown Hill Business Association received an individual award for signal box art, and the In Ballard Merchants Association received funding for light pole banners.