Thanksgiving is here. And Chanukah too. Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, Three Kings Day, Chinese New Year and so many other holidays will be celebrated in homes across the USA. Some are tied to faith, some to custom and others to deeply held beliefs. In a world where so much is hard to understand, we think of this celebration as making meaning. Happy holidays to all of our friends and colleagues, the clients we serve and the people who step up to lead. And happy holidays to the businesses we celebrate and the entrepreneurs and workforce that bring their products and services to market every day.

And let’s face it: we also know that it costs money to celebrate most kinds of holidays. In fact, Americans are expected to spend more than a billion dollars in the next month and a half just to be part of the cheer. Whether we are deeply grounded in sincere and humble gestures or picking out a high ticket or lifetime item for someone we love, it is a time of year where we tend to reach for our wallet more than just a little bit. 

We are here to urge that in this holiday season, when we spend to celebrate, let’s make meaning with money. Let’s make intentional choices about where we spend our hard-earned cash. Let’s be….you guessed it: conscious customers. 

When we deliberately, intentionally, consciously include Black and Latin-owned businesses – and businesses owned by members of other historically and continually marginalized groups in our holiday spending, we make meaning with our money. For gifts, dressing up, decorations, ritual items, food and drink or anything else,