CivicSpend

CivicSpend helps towns and neighborhoods measure how money actually circulates locally—without pretending it’s easy. Residents and small businesses opt in to connect payment data (or upload monthly exports) and tag purchases as local vs. non-local. The app aggregates anonymized insights into a “Local Retention Score” for a community, plus category breakdowns (groceries, dining, services) and trend lines over time. Businesses get lightweight tools to run “local-first” campaigns (e.g., 10% back as store credit) and see whether those campaigns shift repeat visits. Local governments and chambers can publish dashboards to support grant applications and economic development decisions with real numbers, not anecdotes. It’s not a magic bullet: adoption is the hardest part, so the product is designed around small, high-trust pilots (one main street, one neighborhood association) and expands only when the data is credible.