When you spend money, it travels. Where you spend it determines how far.

That is the basic message of Think Boise First, a fledgling network of community and business leaders who want consumers to think before they shop. But that doesn't mean you're in for a lecture.

"This is anything but trying to say that national retailers, corporate chains or franchises are bad. Often, they fill a need and a void that local businesses can't," said Russ Stoddard, steering committee member and founder/president of Boise advertising agency Oliver Russell. "Just think about where you're spending your money because it has huge ramifications."

"It's not exclusive. It's thinking about shopping locally first," said Beth Geagan, owner of Boise-based Balance Business and coordinator of Think Boise First. "The idea is that it's a locally owned and operated business that is selling products locally and putting money back into the local economy. Ideally, everything would be made in Idaho, but we don't live that way right now."

As technology and industry have exploded, particularly over the last 50 years, American economies have been affected on macro and micro scales. Water cooler talk has turned to the environmental impacts and energy costs of transporting goods, the job cuts that result from corporate outsourcing and downsizing and the general disconnect between consumers and producers.

Think Boise First, part of a national movement facilitated by the San Francisco-based Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, addresses these issues by accentuating the positives of supporting independents owned by local people.

"People who live here and own businesses here are more involved in the community," Stoddard said, asserting that from volunteering in the non-profit sector to donating to educational programs and arts organizations, most local business people reinvest more than money. They give their time and energy to causes they believe will enrich the place we live.

Think Boise First is one of those causes. Its mission is not only to connect and promote local independent businesses but also to inform and educate consumers on how to build a sustainable community.

"By sustainable, we mean in terms of what will endure and impact the quality of life here," Geagan said, insisting that choices consumers make can either chip away at or conserve a city's cultural character and socio-economic stability.

"A lot of times it's not obvious to people that a business is locally owned, so just providing that information is important," said steering committee member Janie Burns.

Burns sells organic produce from her Nampa farm directly to Capital City Public Market shoppers in Boise and is encouraged by their growing interest in connecting to what they buy and where it comes from.

"You just have to go Downtown on a Saturday to see how interest has grown," she said, adding that increased awareness is motivating people to rethink purchasing decisions and examine products beyond their pricetags.

The nuts and bolts of Think Boise First are being refined, but membership (which opens Sept. 1) will be split into three categories with a variety of costs and benefits.

Event participant membership will cost $50 annually and allow businesses to participate in up to three promotional events a year and share in basic point-of-sale materials.

The business member level will cost $100 annually and include more point-of-sale products, access to the Think Boise First logo, events and listings in print and online.

Sustaining business partners (only 20 spots will be available) will pay $600 annually for all such benefits plus added visibility on Think Boise First's Web site, posters and more.

"What differentiates us from the Chamber of Commerce or Buy Idaho or the Downtown Business Association is that our focus is local first," Geagan said. "We're not trying to compete with anyone. This is a special niche we're trying to fill."

Part of that niche already is being filled by the natural alliances forming among local independent businesses. Geagan said they are sharing best practices, innovative ideas and survival tips on weathering the economic downturn. The goal of think Boise First is to channel these connections into something tangible.

"I liken it to a rising tide lifting all boats," Burns said.

"The economic piece of it is important to independent business people, but most of them have their hearts on their sleeves," Stoddard said. "It's a bunch of folks who really care, first and foremost, about Boise."

Erin Ryan: 672-6732