2025 Business Referral Networking

Business Referral Networking events are designed to promote partnership between complementary business sectors for business growth. Attendees of these monthly Tuesday morning energizers typically attend to build their referral network and find referral partners. Referral partners from the same industry are natural recommenders for next-step professionals.  Referral partners from differing industries often share clientele of the same demographic or a shared community.  

Uptown Referral Based Networking events are held at 9:00 AM the final Tuesday twelve months of the year and on December 9th.  Want to host or sponsor a referral based networking event?  Reach out and we'll help your brand latch on to the "Uptown effect" -- a digital amplifier that can share your brand with 1000s of visitors of our social media platforms, website, in-person events and readers of our e-newsletters.  
 
About our Host
Chicago Fair Trade was formed in 2006 by a small, dedicated group of activists and volunteers. Over the years, our coalition has grown to more than 70 business, institutional, and individual members. We are proud to have been the driving force behind Chicago being named a Fair Trade City in 2011, and a Sweatshop-Free City in 2014, and Cook County becoming the largest Sweatfree Municipality in the US in 2015. In 2024 Chicago Fair Trade opened their first Museum location in Uptown at the intersection of Broadway and Leland.  

Visit the Chicago Fair Trade Museum and learn the fascinating stories behind the products we use every day!  At the Chicago Fair Trade Museum, find out how fair trade provides a people and planet-friendly alternative to exploitative mainstream global trade, and learn about Chicago’s important role in the global labor rights movement. Discover how you can help build a better world by bringing fair trade into your daily life, and shop for beautiful, one-of-a-kind items in our fair trade store!

About Fair Trade
Fair trade is an alternative business model that focuses on the triple bottom line: people, the planet, and profits. More than 1 billion of the world’s population survive on less than $1 per day. Fair trade aims to combat this widespread poverty by providing opportunity for economically disadvantaged producers, cultivating transparent trade partnerships, ensuring safe working conditions and the rights of women and children, and focusing on environmental sustainability through all stages of production.
If you’d like to learn more about fair trade, visit the World Fair Trade Organization’s website.