There’s more to benefit from shopping in Fort Collins than

purchasing the latest pair of jeans.

“When shoppers choose to shop in Fort Collins they protect their

way of life,” said Kelly DiMartino, communication and public

involvement coordinator for the city of Fort Collins. “When you

make a purchase here, there is 6.7 percent sales tax, 3 percent of

that goes directly to the city for things from the library to

police services.”

From city leaders, like Mayor Ray Martinez, to the General

Manager of Foothills Fashion Mall, Cynthia Eichler, many are doing

their part to show how far money spent in Fort Collins goes to

benefit everyone who lives here.

“It supports the very infrastructure of the city that you live

in,” Mayor Martinez said. “I think when people stop and think about

it they realize the impact, but it’s not an automatic

sometimes.”

Shopping in Fort Collins helps many merchants selling a wide

variety of products.

“We have 120 shops here and there is absolutely a lot of good

variety and value to be had,” Eichler said. “All of our merchants

would say they do close to 20 and 30 percent of their annual

business in the month of December. It’s a pretty amazing

amount.”

Students are a consumer market that merchants may not take for

granted.

“The CSU community is obviously a key element to our town,”

DiMartino said. “We recognize the students, many of them at least,

have a lot of spending power.”

Eichler agrees that students need to know the impact they

have.

“In essence we (Fort Collins) are your adopted community for at

least nine months of the year,” Eichler said. “This impacts the

streets you drive on and can control whether you or your neighbor

has a job or not.”

Special campaigns are even in works to let consumers know how

much their business matters. Shop Fort Collins First is one such

campaign. It combines the Chamber of Commerce, Foothills Mall, Fort

Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Business

Association to let consumers know how what they spend can add

up.

“Shop Fort Collins First is a campaign whose goal is to make

people understand their shopping choices matter,” DiMartino said.

“If a person spends $500 holiday shopping it gives $15 back to the

city, while that doesn’t sound like a lot but for 120,000 people

that live in Fort Collins that adds up to $8.1 million. It’s a very

significant impact.”

Although it may be more time-consuming, most Fort Collins

merchants are confident they have everything a shopper could

need.

“We have a really good mix of specialty stores and chain

businesses,” Eichler said. “There’s a lot of variety here, people

just need to take some time to look around.”

There’s more to benefit from shopping in Fort Collins than

purchasing the latest pair of jeans.

“When shoppers choose to shop in Fort Collins they protect their

way of life,” said Kelly DiMartino, communication and public

involvement coordinator for the city of Fort Collins. “When you

make a purchase here, there is 6.7 percent sales tax, 3 percent of

that goes directly to the city for things from the library to

police services.”

From city leaders, like Mayor Ray Martinez, to the General

Manager of Foothills Fashion Mall, Cynthia Eichler, many are doing

their part to show how far money spent in Fort Collins goes to

benefit everyone who lives here.

“It supports the very infrastructure of the city that you live

in,” Mayor Martinez said. “I think when people stop and think about

it they realize the impact, but it’s not an automatic

sometimes.”

Shopping in Fort Collins helps many merchants selling a wide

variety of products.

“We have 120 shops here and there is absolutely a lot of good

variety and value to be had,” Eichler said. “All of our merchants

would say they do close to 20 and 30 percent of their annual

business in the month of December. It’s a pretty amazing

amount.”

Students are a consumer market that merchants may not take for

granted.

“The CSU community is obviously a key element to our town,”

DiMartino said. “We recognize the students, many of them at least,

have a lot of spending power.”

Eichler agrees that students need to know the impact they

have.

“In essence we (Fort Collins) are your adopted community for at

least nine months of the year,” Eichler said. “This impacts the

streets you drive on and can control whether you or your neighbor

has a job or not.”

Special campaigns are even in works to let consumers know how

much their business matters. Shop Fort Collins First is one such

campaign. It combines the Chamber of Commerce, Foothills Mall, Fort

Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Business

Association to let consumers know how what they spend can add

up.

“Shop Fort Collins First is a campaign whose goal is to make

people understand their shopping choices matter,” DiMartino said.

“If a person spends $500 holiday shopping it gives $15 back to the

city, while that doesn’t sound like a lot but for 120,000 people

that live in Fort Collins that adds up to $8.1 million. It’s a very

significant impact.”

Although it may be more time-consuming, most Fort Collins

merchants are confident they have everything a shopper could

need.

“We have a really good mix of specialty stores and chain

businesses,” Eichler said. “There’s a lot of variety here, people

just need to take some time to look around.”