Las joyas suelen tener un significado personal: marcan momentos importantes, relaciones y recuerdos. Para Alejandra, Karla y Angélica, las tres hermanas detrás de Magical Gems by Gely, también se convirtieron en la base para construir un pequeño negocio basado en la colaboración familiar y la expresión creativa.

El proyecto comenzó cuando una de ellas atravesaba una etapa difícil a nivel profesional.

Sticky notes, reams of printer paper, dry-erase markers and packets of paper clips. For anyone who worked in a professional setting prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, those items may inspire a twinge of nostalgia — regular errands to a tucked-away supply room stocked by a dependable office vendor.

But work has changed. With the widespread adoption of remote policies and rapid technological shifts, the office supply industry has had to transform as needs evolve and the market consolidates.

Wist, however, has remained a constant.

PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 2, 2026) — Thunderbirds Charities has awarded $90,000 to Local First Arizona to support and expand business education and accelerator programs serving entrepreneurs who face persistent barriers to capital, credit and business training. The funding sustains Local First’s flagship programs, Fuerza Local Acelerador de Negocios, Fuerza Local Nivel Ejecutivo and We Rise, which provide culturally relevant business education, financial literacy and access to fair-market capital for Latino and Black entrepreneurs across Arizona. Since 2017, Thunderbirds Charities has invested more than $620,000 in Local First Arizona’s entrepreneurship programs.

Every month, we highlight the businesses that continue to show up for local ownership and community connection. This month’s new and renewing Business Coalition members reflect the breadth of Arizona’s locally owned economy, from skilled trades and creative services to long-standing employers serving communities across the state. Their work supports families, strengthens neighborhoods and keeps local dollars working close to home.

A new boot camp offered by Local First Arizona aims to build on that resilience — by equipping smaller producers with business tools that haven’t traditionally been tailored to agriculture.

The Ag Business Boot Camp, a hybrid, eight-week program for small to mid-sized farmers across the state, educates participants on business fundamentals through an agricultural lens.

Move Over Bob is an Arizona-based lifestyle brand and publication inspired by the teen magazines of the 1990s and early 2000s, reimagined with a very different purpose: empowering girls to pursue careers in the skilled trades. Where earlier magazines focused on celebrity style and social cues, Move Over Bob highlights pathways to economic stability, independence and long-term opportunity.

One of the biggest barriers to accessing local food in Arizona is a lack of infrastructure — from processing to distribution — for small and mid-sized farming and food operations. That gap is both a symptom and a consequence of a highly consolidated food system, one that reduces local control and increases vulnerability.

Arizona’s Black business community has always been a force — building opportunity, culture and stability in the face of systemic barriers. Long before “buy local” became a movement, Black entrepreneurs were creating essential services and gathering spaces that anchored entire communities.

Honoring Black History Month isn’t only about looking back. It’s about recognizing how those foundations continue to shape Arizona’s local economy today — and why supporting Black-owned businesses remains critical to a strong, inclusive future.

Arizona Statehood Day (February 14) is a reminder of the people, places and stories that continue to shape this state. From border towns and rural communities to cities and neighborhoods across Arizona, our history lives on through local institutions, cultural landmarks and the communities that keep them going.

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to mean prix-fixe menus, crowded rooms or doing what everyone else is doing. Celebrating the local way means choosing experiences that feel personal, rooted in place and connected to the communities you love.

Across Arizona — from cities to small towns — there are countless ways to mark the day that support local businesses, honor the landscape and create memories that actually feel like yours.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Every month, we highlight the businesses and organizations that choose to stay invested in local ownership and community connection. This month’s new and renewing Business Coalition members reflect the many ways local leadership shows up, from care and service to creativity and experience. Their work strengthens communities through commitment, purpose and long-term impact.

Forestdale Farm, a Flagstaff-based regenerative farm, is reducing energy costs and strengthening long-term resilience by installing a solar array with support from Local First Arizona. Through the Green Business Boot Camp, a federal REAP grant and a low-interest bridge loan, farm owner Rylan Morton-Starner is replacing costly generator fuel with clean energy — lowering expenses, eliminating emissions and gaining greater control over operating costs at a critical moment for rural food producers.

After nearly two decades as an EEG technologist, Agnes Adams understood Arizona’s healthcare workforce gaps from the inside. Essential roles were understaffed, and for many women — particularly women of color — the pathway into healthcare careers was limited.

In 2021, Adams and her business partner, Miss Gigi, launched the Yond Institute of Learning, a West Valley–based training program focused on Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), a critical entry point into nursing and other healthcare professions. Designed around the realities of working families, Yond offers small cohorts, flexible class schedules and personalized support to help students move from opportunity to stability.

PHOENIX (Jan. 19, 2026) — Local First Arizona will host the 2026 Arizona Good Business Summit in partnership with the Town of Gilbert on Wednesday, Mar. 11, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at HD South, Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum. The event will bring together more than 300 of Arizona’s locally owned business leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers for a one-day gathering focused on connection, collaboration, and strengthening local economies.

Arizona’s landscapes tell our story — from desert trails and riverbanks to neighborhood parks and small-town main streets. Keeping those places clean, healthy and accessible doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because communities show up to help clean up.

That’s where Keep Arizona Beautiful comes in.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) play a critical role in filling gaps left by conventional banks, particularly in rural, tribal, and historically underbanked communities — many of the same places Local First focuses its work. When CDFIs are supported, small businesses can launch, grow and serve their communities. When they’re under threat, the ripple effects are immediate — and deeply personal.