About Business Between The Bridges

Business Between The Bridges (BBTB) is a neighbourhood collaborative network designed to connect local businesses, community organizations, institutions, entrepreneurs, students, and residents in Old Ottawa South.

Our core ethos is simple: "Doing It Ourselves." BBTB creates direct opportunities for community partners to share knowledge, pool resources, and take hands-on action on matters that impact our local area.

Our Vision: To strengthen local neighbourhoods and local economies by fostering collaboration between businesses, community organizations, residents, and students through networking, knowledge exchange, community initiatives, neighbourhood-based action projects, and the development of shared local resource and skills databases.

BBTB serves as a connector and collaborative platform that supports more resilient, engaged, and sustainable local communities.

Our Mission: To connect local businesses and community partners, share knowledge and resources, and turn shared ideas into practical action that strengthens Old Ottawa South.

Our goal is to help make Old Ottawa South one of Ottawa's most sustainable and resilient neighbourhoods through targeted local action. We define a sustainable neighbourhood as one where:

• Local businesses can thrive and remain economically resilient.
• People feel genuinely connected, valued, and engaged.
• Skills, knowledge, tools, and local opportunities are actively shared.
• Businesses and community organizations collaborate on shared priorities.
• Economic vitality, social well-being, and environmental stewardship reinforce one another.

BBTB is a flexible, neighbourhood-focused business development and collaboration network rather than a traditional business association or BIA. We are primarily a bridge and collaborative engine.

Our role is to bring key people together, and build the foundation for impactful projects to take root. Participating businesses, organizations, and volunteers take ownership of specific projects and bring them to life together.

The underlying message is simple: BBTB connects the people; the projects turn those connections into action.

Our core strategy is: Connect locally. Do it ourselves. We prioritize building real, trusted relationships, fostering collaboration rather than competition, and achieving practical outcomes.

Our core values guide everything we do:

• Collaboration: Working together to build shared success.
• Relationships: Focusing on long-term trust, not just contact lists.
• Reciprocity: Encouraging everyone to contribute as well as benefit.
• Practical Action: Turning discussions into visible, community-focused projects.
• Local Support: Seeking solutions within our own vibrant community.
• Resilience: Strengthening our local economy and social fabric.

We facilitate a wide range of practical activities designed to support local businesses and improve neighbourhood vitality:

• Think Local First: Encouraging residents and businesses to buy, hire, and source locally to keep economic value within the neighbourhood.
• Local Business Directory: Maintaining an accessible index of local main-street businesses, home-based services, and community organizations.
• Connecting Database: Developing a shared repository of local skills, services, facilities, and expertise to spark partnership opportunities.
• Neighbour Link: Hosting informal gatherings for local business owners, entrepreneurs, and managers to share insights and build support networks.
• Events & Showcases: Organizing local workshops, street showcases, joint promotions, and neighbourhood town halls.
• Shared Projects & Action Labs: Bringing businesses and community members together to solve local challenges, share skills and resources, and deliver hands-on projects such as tool-sharing and community repair events.
• Institutional Partnerships: Partnering with Carleton University and local schools for student projects, research, and resource sharing.

Participation is open to anyone who lives, works, operates a business, or contributes to Old Ottawa South. Our network includes:

• Main street commercial businesses
• Home-based businesses and freelancers
• Local entrepreneurs and innovators
• Community organizations and non-profits
• Academic institutions, teachers, researchers, and students
• Residents, volunteers, and supporters from surrounding areas

Local businesses form the core anchor of our network, while community partners amplify our overall reach and impact.

Joining BBTB offers direct, practical benefits for businesses and community partners looking to deepen their roots in Old Ottawa South:

• Expand Local Visibility: Promote your services, products, and initiatives directly to neighbours and local partners.
• Generate Referrals: Build strong local customer pathways through word-of-mouth and cooperative marketing.
• Share Costs & Resources: Collaborate on joint purchasing, marketing campaigns, event hosting, and skill-sharing.
• Access Talent & Expertise: Connect with local students, skilled professionals, and institutional programs.
• Solve Shared Problems: Participate directly in finding practical solutions to commercial and neighbourhood challenges.

BBTB operates through a practical, lean organizational structure powered by dedicated volunteers: