For Better Project highlights small businesses committed to safety and connection

The For Better Project has launched a new tool to highlight businesses committed to improving safety in their communities.

On Nov. 12, For Better Project launched its For Better map, an interactive tool that showcases small businesses that invest in strategies to improve safety and connection within their communities.

The map allows users to see and shop from businesses that have signed the pledge across Wisconsin, as well as Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

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“Shopping the map supports and improves local economies,” For Better Project Executive Director, Hudson Munoz, said. “That’s the first step toward our larger goal of creating tangible, localized, and sustained progress in partnership with these small business leaders.”

Businesses can be added to the map by signing a research-backed pledge that includes community-safety strategies, ranging from deterring harassment and reducing weapon carrying to supporting civic groups and neighborhood connection efforts.

Released just before Small Business Saturday, the map allows consumers to shop at businesses that reinvest in their communities.

“Local businesses have immense untapped power to connect, unite, and improve the communities they serve,” Munoz, said. “In a time where it feels like progress is impossible, the For Better Project helps businesses make simple, research-backed changes that drive real community connection and prosperity—things we know reduce violence and support community safety outcomes.”

The pledge encourages businesses to adopt strategies that improve their communities and reduce crime in proven ways, while also helping them grow through national visibility.

Research behind the pledge shows connected communities experience lower levels of theft and violent crime, supporting local businesses creates jobs and keeps money within the community, and that greater economic prosperity leads to improved public-safety.

The For Better Project’s goal is to create safer and connected communities through “locally imagined public-private-nonprofit partnerships rooted in proven strategies for improving people’s lives.”

Shoppers can find small businesses in their neighborhoods through the For Better map. Businesses can join the initiative, or community members can nominate businesses to be added to the map. Community organizations interested in partnering with the project can reach out at [email protected].