Sometimes Community Looks Like a Bookstore
The Business of Showing Up
What does it look like to use every part of your business to care for community, from your brand and products to your values and relationships?
In late January, Phoenix Books made a deliberate choice to show up for their neighbors at a moment when it mattered, with a significant financial commitment. For eight days, the independent bookseller directed 20% of all sales across its three locations to the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund.
“Michael and I were looking for a way to offer tangible support here in Vermont. Rather than closing our doors for a day, (as grass roots organizers from Minneapolis encouraged us to do), we chose to open them wider and invite our customers into a shared effort to care for our neighbors,” said Renee Reiner, co-owner of Phoenix Books. “It became a moment we could step into, together.”
Each purchase became a small way to show up. Together, those small acts added up to over $20,000 to support Vermonters seeking legal guidance and representation.
For Reiner, this kind of action is not new. Through her donor advised fund at the Vermont Community Foundation, she supports a range of causes, from food insecurity and our housing crisis to environmental work, women’s issues, and literary programs. At Phoenix Books, she and her husband, Michael DeSanto, extend those same values into their business and invite others to take part.
Vermont has a long tradition of business leaders who understand that success is connected to community, and who choose to invest in the people and places that make their work possible. That tradition has helped shape our state.
Today, as some companies grow, change hands, or operate beyond Vermont, the way that leadership shows up is evolving. What remains constant is the opportunity to lead with intention and to find new ways to contribute.
Phoenix Books offers one example of what community leadership can look like. Sometimes community is found in a gathering or a conversation.
Sometimes it’s a bookstore.
Inspired by this story of impact?
Consider opening a donor advised fund to make a difference in Vermont communities. Together, we can create lasting positive change.
