Percentage of downtown Iowa City shopping dollars will go to United Way

As you're checking off your holiday shopping list this year, spending money locally could also mean giving back.

For a new campaign, “The Giving Book,” for one week 50 downtown Iowa City businesses and restaurants will donate a percentage of their proceeds on certain items to the United Way of Johnson County. The University of Iowa Community Credit Union will match the donations.

“A lot of the downtown merchants have people asking them for donations, so we talked about how we can get more organized and make a bigger impact,” said Nancy Bird, executive director of the Iowa City Downtown District.

The district hopes to raise $10,000 during the campaign.

Zach Power, co-owner of Daydreams Comics, 21 S. Dubuque St., said participating was an obvious choice.

“We're all in this together,” he said. “Everybody kind of helps everybody.”

Daydreams is donating $5 for every “Superman” graphic novel sold.

Other items in the catalogue range from a cd of Iowa musicians, wine gift baskets and homemade chocolate turtles to clothing, jewelry and food and theater gift certificates

“The Giving Book” catalogue will be distributed in print to 10,000 households in the Iowa City area and can be found online at downtowniowacity.com.

The week runs from Nov. 30, Small Business Saturday, through Dec. 8. The day after the traditional mad house shopping experience that is Black Friday, Small Business Saturday encourages shoppers to keep their dollars local.

Bird said nationally, $68 out of every $100 spent at a small business is reinvested into the local economy, compared to $43 out of every $100 spent at a national chain.

“For downtown Iowa City, the local small businesses are our primary asset,” she said.

She also said giving back to the community is one of the six goals of the Iowa City Downtown District, a non-profit formed in 2012 to champion the area.

“We hope people like the idea of shopping and giving toward agencies that support the greater Johnson County community,” she said. “It's important to do something over the holiday season that's more than just shopping.”