Membership

Business Support

The Ballard Alliance is proud to support the diverse businesses that help make our neighborhood and the City of Seattle an economic engine and international destination. From city contacts to help with permitting to identifying funding for façade improvement projects, we’re your go-to resource for doing business in Ballard.

Ballard Merchants & Restaurants Group

The mission of the Ballard Merchants &Restaurant Group (BMRG)is to provide support for local businesses through knowledge sharing, organization of seasonal events aimed to help drive sales, collaborative marketing for brick-and-mortar businesses, and access to available government resources.

Moreover, the BMRG works to bring the neighborhood merchant and restaurant community together to exchange ideas and best practices and ensures that these businesses are informed about critical issues, events, and activities that impact our neighborhood. As a note, BMRGis not intended to be a networking or business, development group.

The BMRG is available to retail or restaurant businesses within the Ballard area (see map). For some events and programs, participation may be limited to businesses within the Ballard Improvement Area(see map).

Business Marketing

This is the program area stoking your fear of missing out. Our marketing and communications shape the Ballard narrative by promoting the area’s unique assets across numerous marketing channels, including events, public relations, digital communications, social media, advertising, and publications. We foster relationships with media and PR outlets, build community partnerships, and engage audiences online and through events, to keep Ballard fresh, exciting, and top-of-mind. From free outdoor movies and fitness classes in the summer to weekly features on the commercial district’s most interesting people and new public art initiatives, the Ballard story is still being written.

Community Events

The Ballard Alliance hosts a range of events to promote the neighborhood, attract people downtown, provide opportunities for people to connect, and support the community. Our annual programs include regular networking luncheons, promotional programs like the Ballard ArtWalk, Wine Walk, and Cocktail Trail, holiday festivities, and end-of-season sales like Hullabaloo and Sidewalk Sale. Read more about our community events by clicking here.

Small Business Technical Assistance

The Ballard Alliance acts as an interface to direct business owners to the tools, knowledge, and resources to help businesses achieve their goals. In addition to connecting businesses to city-wide resources, including Find It Fix It, SDP crime prevention safety assessments, and REACH, The Ballard Alliance also helps businesses access neighborhood knowledge and expertise through Ballard Merchants and Restaurant Group Meetings, committee meetings, and more. Additionally, the Ballard Alliance has plugged businesses into grant-funding opportunities and assisted with permitting and reporting public realm concerns, including power outages, blocked storm drains, crime, and more. See more in our Small Business Resource Directory.

Business-Forward Design

Through advocacy and outlining a process for street-level design charrettes, the Ballard Alliance has advocated for safe and accessible public spaces, prioritizing outdoor dining access, pedestrian mobility, one-way traffic, and safe shared streets. Access to outdoor dining opportunities prompted neighborhood businesses to succeed during the COVID-19 pandemic.