While the federal government labors to help small businesses in its own mysterious, lumbering way, the approaches taken by state and local governments to help the same have been varied and, in many cases, quite innovative.

Take Cleveland, for example:

A Cleveland-area small-business council is trying to shore up its 17,000 member businesses with a program that encourages consumers to patronize locally owned enterprises instead of big-box chains or Internet sites.

Last year, the Council of Smaller Enterprises began a Web site called “I Buy NEO” — that’s Northeast Ohio — where consumers can search for discounts and bargains at participating local businesses. So far, about 300 businesses as diverse as art galleries and home-improvement stores have signed up to offer rebates or discounts. About 11,000 cards, which cost $10, have been sold. “When a resident buys locally,” said Dan Roman, the council’s director, “independent studies have found 68 cents of each dollar stays in the community.” The current average for the region is 43 cents.

There is no charge for small businesses to join, and about two dozen companies have been signing up each month. Even though the program’s $150,000 budget for marketing, Web development, printing and postage is modest, Mr. Roman says, sales activity tied to the loyalty cards has increased 40 percent over the last six months.

This NY Times article covers a number of cities and states from coast to coast, including San Francisco,  Florida, Connecticut and Missouri, among others.