Mobilizing Local Purchasing Coalitions Across the U.S.

Summary

In 2025, Purchasing with Purpose committed to co-develop 10 local purchasing collaboratives across the United States by the end of 2027. By convening local enterprises that create measurable social and environmental benefits and networks of buyers and supporters like local governments, businesses, hospitals, and universities, the collaboratives work together to shift U.S. procurement spend in categories like food and beverage, facilities, logistics, and more toward People and Planet First Verified enterprises. These enterprises combine entrepreneurial business principles with social and environmental goals, create jobs and build inclusive workforces, promote community development, and reduce environmental degradation. Revenue from purchases enables them to sustain, innovate, and grow—reducing reliance on scarce grants and keeping funds circulating in the local economy for the benefit of all. These purchasing collaboratives will directly benefit more than 300 enterprises while investing $2 million in local economies to support and scale impact entrepreneurship and advance local economic development.

Approach

Purchasing with Purpose (PwP) exists to shift U.S. procurement spending toward People and Planet First Verified enterprises—local businesses that create measurable social and environmental benefits. These enterprises take many forms—social enterprises, cooperatives, nonprofit businesses, steward-owned companies, regenerative businesses, fair trade enterprises, benefit corporations, and more—but all share five standards: 1. A social and/or environmental purpose at their core, 2. People, purpose, and planet prioritized in operations, 3. A self-sustaining revenue model, 4. Reinvestment of most profits into social or environmental mission, and 5. A structure that protects mission and reinvestment long-term.
PwP supports local verification and sourcing, making it easier for buyers to identify and purchase from these trusted suppliers. To scale this work, PwP is co-developing 10 local purchasing collaboratives over the next two years, with local networks, enterprises, buyers, and supporters organizing around towns, cities, and regions to build resilient communities. Each collaborative convenes local governments, businesses, hospitals, universities, faith groups, and financial institutions to commit to purchasing from verified enterprises for at least 12 months across categories like food and beverage, facilities, logistics, HR, professional services, and more.
Alongside these place-based collaboratives, PwP also supports the growth of local and national purchasing coalitions that allow verified enterprises to buy collectively—reducing overhead costs, improving competitiveness on price, and making them stronger contenders in both private and public supply chains. Purchasers gain access to curated supplier connections, customized searches, networking, and peer learning opportunities. Together, these initiatives ensure that procurement dollars not only meet business and institutional needs but also strengthen local economies, reduce inequality, and deliver authentic social and environmental impact.

Action Plan

For each local project, Purchasing with Purpose (PwP) follows a clear implementation plan. First, PwP convenes local enterprises and networks within a city or region. Together, they secure funding from supporters to finance the initial phase and create a collective fund. This seed funding supports the verification of local impact suppliers, ensuring they meet the global People and Planet First Verification standard and helping mitigate risks of greenwashing or social washing. At the same time, PwP and local partners begin buyer recruitment, building demand alongside a verified supplier base.
Enterprises and networks can submit simple bids to the local collective fund for programming that either increases the number of verified enterprises or expands the pool of buyers and supporters. Funds are held in a transparent account, and active participants vote on allocation. Most funds flow back to participants to deliver programming, with recipients required to report results to the group. This approach keeps accountability and decision-making rooted locally.
Once a core group of suppliers is verified and a buyer network is established, PwP supports partners in achieving purchasing goals through personalized matchmaking and supplier recommendations. Buyers and sellers can collaborate with peers across local projects, while in-person expos and online events facilitate broader B2B, B2G, and B2C purchasing connections. Each project is evaluated, and lessons are shared nationally to strengthen other initiatives as they launch.
In parallel, PwP works to establish local and national purchasing collaboratives, helping verified enterprises buy collectively, reduce overheads, and compete more effectively on price.
Looking ahead, PwP is focusing on launching new local projects in Appalachia, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, Ohio, and San Diego, with additional regions to follow in 2026.

Background

In 2024, the United States donated about $8 billion to environmental causes and $16 billion to social causes. In the same year, USAFacts.org noted that individuals, businesses, and governments collectively purchased over $29.2 trillion in goods and services. Procurement spend is thousands of times greater than charitable giving. If even 1% of this spending shifted to enterprises that put people and planet first, it would mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars annually for social and environmental solutions.
Impact-driven enterprises—those combining entrepreneurial business principles with social and environmental goals—are already demonstrating what is possible. They create jobs and workforce inclusion, deliver community development, and reduce environmental degradation. Across the country, these enterprises are tackling homelessness, addiction, incarceration, abuse recovery, human trafficking, women’s empowerment, plastic waste, renewable energy, circular economy innovation, and ecosystem restoration. Revenue from purchases enables them to sustain, innovate, and grow—reducing reliance on scarce grants and keeping funds circulating in the local economy for the benefit of all.
As suppliers, these enterprises are proving to be reliable and innovative partners, especially amid global supply chain pressures. They offer a more sustainable pathway to local impact than models dependent solely on donations or government aid—models that often struggle to deliver lasting change.
By shifting even a portion of everyday spend to verified local enterprises that balance economic, social, and environmental goals, purchasers can strengthen communities, tackle inequality, expand employment, and build resilience. Verification ensures authenticity, reduces supply chain risk, and enhances satisfaction among employees, customers, shareholders, and communities alike.
Purchasing with Purpose demonstrates that every dollar spent can be a tool for building safer, stronger, and more equitable economies.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

To ensure operational sustainability and scale local purchasing projects, Purchasing with Purpose (PwP) seeks financial resources to strengthen program delivery, network growth, and supporter engagement. While PwP has strong international networks, they welcome additional partnerships with mentors, entrepreneurship networks, and market access experts to expand learning and collaboration opportunities.
PwP also engages a Business Advisory Group of corporate professionals who act as ambassadors and a sounding board for deepening corporate support. They are especially seeking new corporate and buyer partners to broaden geographic reach and ensure high-quality engagement across diverse sectors.
Finally, PwP welcomes media partners to help highlight stories of impact and elevate the movement for resilient local economies. With this support—whether financial, strategic, or promotional—they can scale a proven model that shifts procurement toward enterprises putting people and planet first, while creating stronger, more inclusive communities.,Purchasing with Purpose offers a tested model for building resilient local economies through place-based purchasing initiatives. They invite partners—locally and globally—to join them in shifting procurement toward enterprises that put people and planet first.
In the U.S., they collaborate with networks, enterprises, and supporters to co-create purchasing initiatives in cities and regions nationwide. Internationally, they share their proven framework with organizations eager to replicate this model in their own communities, ensuring local enterprises gain visibility, buyers access trusted suppliers, and dollars drive measurable impact.
Their Impact-Led Purchasing Framework provides a clear, practical pathway for buyers to align spending with their values, while their Buying for Impact Masterclass equips businesses and institutions to embed purpose-driven procurement strategies into daily operations.
Together with partners, they offer the opportunity to transform purchasing into a tool for stronger communities, fairer economies, and a healthier planet.