SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce’s award-winning Love Our Locals Campaign had another record-breaking year in 2025, with $440,726 tallied purchases and donations supporting the local economy.

As part of the end-of-year program, shoppers and donors were encouraged to submit their receipts of $20.25 or more spent at a Saratoga County business or donated to a local nonprofit to be entered in a gift card giveaway.

Following a Love Our Locals $20.25 kickoff event in late October, nearly 5,000 receipts were submitted over the eight-week campaign, and dozens of lucky participants were rewarded for supporting local as gift card winners. 

“In the past four years, this award-winning campaign has rewarded local consumers and donors with weekly gift card raffles in November and December for spending $1.1 million in our local economy,” said Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. “The program has developed a loyal consumer, business, and nonprofit following and we want to thank everyone who participated in 2025.”

This year, more than 50 area businesses participated by donating gift cards as prizes, which went to dozens of local winners over the course of eight weeks. 

This campaign started as Save Our Locals $20.21, which resulted in more than 2,000 entries from locals whose purchases directly aided in the county’s economic rebound from COVID-19 restrictions. 

In 2022, the Save Our Locals program was recognized with a New York State Tourism Excellence Award from the New York State Tourism Industry Association. 

The campaign was renamed Love Our Locals in 2022, and it remains a popular and purposeful initiative for the Chamber, the business community, and the impact sector in Saratoga County.  

The participation and impact of the Love Our Locals campaign continues to increase every year. The $440,726 total reached in 2025 is more than $100,000 more than the previous year’s Love Our Locals total of $315,243. About 1,500 more receipts were submitted to help reach this goal.

The Saratoga County Chamber looks forward to bringing this successful campaign back later this year as Love Our Locals $20.26.

About the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce: Since 1918, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce has been opening doors and closing deals for businesses throughout the Saratoga County community. Guided by a strong and sustainable vision, the Chamber leads the way in maintaining and strengthening a healthy business climate, initiating constructive community action, and creating a community where all can thrive.