Chamber launches new Jamestown gift card to boost local spending

A new Jamestown Area Chamber Gift Card is meant to keep more birthday, holiday and employee-recognition spending inside Jamestown, with redemption now available at more than 380 local businesses. The card replaces the Chamber Bucks paper check system and can be used at participating stores, restaurants, attractions, hotels and service businesses across the city.

Emily Bivens said the new card is designed to let people experience Jamestown’s “big town amenities and small town feel” with a single gift card. For local merchants, the change matters because each swipe sends dollars to Chamber members instead of sending shoppers outside the community for a gift that is easier to spend and easier to accept.

The Chamber says the gift cards are available in various denominations, and residents can buy them online or in person at the Chamber office, 120 2nd St. SE in Jamestown. The office is listed as open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., giving employers, residents and visitors a straightforward way to pick up a card for gifts or incentives.

The rollout fits a longer pattern of local-spending campaigns in Jamestown. In 2023, the Chamber said its shopping-local programs had directed more than $250,000 toward Jamestown businesses over the previous two years, a sign that convenience can turn into real sales when residents are given an easy way to spend close to home. The return of the Loyal to Local Passport Program for the 2025 holiday shopping season, its fifth year, showed the same emphasis on keeping dollars in town.

The Chamber’s broader mission is to promote and advocate for the civic, economic and social well-being of the Jamestown region, and the gift card is another tool in that effort. Success will not be measured by the number of cards printed, but by how much of that spending stays with Chamber members, adds foot traffic downtown and supports businesses in Stutsman County rather than letting those purchases leave the community.