November 3, 2008 (Burlington, VT) – Dealer.com, the leading provider of online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, today announced it has partnered with dozens of businesses in Burlington, Vermont to raise awareness and boost sales for locally-owned businesses. The Local Business Partnership Program was designed by Dealer.com to ensure that its 200+ employees are aware of the opportunities, services and products available to them locally.
“This is one way we can give back to a community that has given so much to us in terms of a great quality of life,” said Mark Bonfigli, President and CEO of Dealer.com. “As a company we are encouraging all our employees to go out purchase locally whenever possible instead of from the national chain, big-box stores.”
The program encourages local businesses to offer a special or discount for Dealer.com employees. In exchange, the business will be listed in the local business partnership directory that is available to all Dealer.com employees. Every month a Local Business of the Month will be selected and spotlighted to all Dealer.com employees. There are no other membership fees or dues to be part of the program.
The Local Business Partnership Program is the most recent community project Dealer.com has designed and developed to help drive the local economy. Other projects Dealer.com sponsors include a quarterly fund-raiser to benefit a local charity or non-profit; involvement in the annual Burlington Kid’s Day Parade; a bottle drive to benefit a charity that offsets winter heating costs for the needy; and food drives and a Giving Tree to help local families during the holiday season.
Additionally, Dealer.com is partnered with the State of Vermont and the Vermont HITEC (Health Care and Information Technology Education Center). Dealer.com works with Vermont HITEC to identify and train employees garnered from a pool of unemployed and underemployed Vermonters. Currently 24 percent of Dealer.com employees are graduates of this program.