Locals Care, an organization formed to encourage Santa Fe residents to shop in town and support local merchants, has shut down.

The group put out a letter attributing the closure to "a really tough economy," said Kate Noble, the city's economic development specialist.

Colt Brown, a contract employee of the organization, couldn't be reached for comment, nor could Lillian Montoya-Rael, interim chief operating officer.

The program was initiated in August 2006 in cooperation with the Santa Fe Business Alliance, a group that championed shopping at local businesses.

Participating consumers presented a card at local businesses after buying any of a variety of goods and services, such as tires, flowers, restaurant meals or massages. The salesperson would then swipe the Locals Care card through a point-of-sale terminal provided by the organization.

The business had to pledge to contribute between 4 percent and 8 percent of each Locals Care transaction to the program. Part of that amount would be returned to the cardholder as "community points" to be used for purchases at local businesses. Another part of the purchase amount went to a nonprofit designated by the cardholder.

Dale Whittleton, owner of a Medicap Pharmacy on Rodeo Road, said he was sorry to see Locals Care close down.

"It was a shame," he said. "They just called us a few weeks ago and said, if I remember correctly, that some type of grant they had had not been renewed. They said they were hoping to restart at some point, but they needed to have some additional funding."

Middleton said it was difficult to determine if Locals Care increased his business, but he added: "It was definitely a good thing. I just had a lady come in who used her card religiously. She was quite disappointed they closed."

At the time of the kickoff, Mayor David Coss called Locals Care "an innovative and exciting idea." And David Kaseman, founder of the Santa Fe Business Alliance and a founding partner of Locals Care, said the program's goal was to become the biggest fundraiser for nonprofits in Santa Fe.

Whittleton said at the time that the program made sure money spent in Santa Fe "doesn't go to a corporate office in Los Angeles or Arkansas or New York."

Locals Care was sponsored by Century Bank, Los Alamos National Bank, the city of Santa Fe and The Santa Fe New Mexican.

Meanwhile, another buy-local program, the Santa Fe Buy Into It initiative, is still active, Noble said.

After kicking off last March and running into July, "we agreed to pause and reconvene in the fall," Noble said.

The campaign has placed ads in local media urging Santa Feans to buy locally. The program is sponsored by the city of Santa Fe, The Santa Fe Reporter, Hutton Broadcasting, The Albuquerque Journal North and The Santa Fe New Mexican.

Free parking in city-owned garages and on downtown streets around the holidays is part of the buy-local initiative, Noble said.

She added that there is only anecdotal evidence as to whether more people are actually buying locally. "We haven't been able to measure it quantitatively," she said.

But the plan is to continue with the program because many people have said that it has made them consider where they spend their money, Noble said. "It feels right."

Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.


A previous version of this story misidentified Locals Care's for-profit status. It also misidentified contract-worker Colt Brown's employment status. The corrections were added at 10:07 a.m. Dec. 3.