Dear Fargo/Moorhead,

3 Little Birds Landscaping in Moorhead was recently nominated in the Intuit Love a Local Business Grant Competititon and could use some local support. My business was nominated 2 weeks ago and started off great. 3 Little Birds is in the top ten in this National competition but with many other businesses joining in the last couple days from large markets our shot at winning is starting to look bleak.

To increase their odds of winning, owners ask their fans – customers, employees, family, their local community – to nominate the business by sharing a few meaningful words of praise. In February five businesses will be randomly selected to receive small business grants worth $5,000. Judges will then review the winning nominations to select one of those five to win the Grand Prize – a grant valued at $35,000. Each Grand Prize includes $25,000 worth of local radio advertising on the to help them get more customers, a $9,500 cash grant to invest in their small business, plus $500 in Intuit products and services to help them manage their business.

So here I am asking my customers, family and local community to nominate 3 Little Birds Landscaping.

For those of you not familiar with my business, 3 Little Birds is hoping to start it’s 4th year in the FM area and is more than a landscape and yard maintenance company. I am also an Ambassador for the National Wildlife Federations Wildlife Habitat Program and with this volunteer work I educate, advocate and share ideas with the public on the benefits of gardening for wildlife and using more sustainable practices in our yards and around our businesses, schools and Community. This upcoming season of 2010 I have 3 major volunteer projects. SGR Elementary School in Moorhead is about to start the NWF Schoolyard Habitat Program, Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge near Detroit Lakes will be implementing the Habitat Program by their visitors center and I will be helping restore some vitally important land near Ulen and Felton to it’s native state. With these volunteer projects I will be coordinating all the efforts to provide the needed resources for beneficial native wildlife and education. In turn these three projects will hopefully go along way to promote conservation.

This Grant will not only help my struggling business but the volunteer projects I am involved with in the Community, which also include the start of a local Wild Ones Chapter and my families Birds For Brains Project.

Please consider supporting 3 Little Birds in the Love a Local Business Grant Competition, it seems that I have a tough road ahead this month as a service company competing with retail businesses in larger markets but I am hoping for the best. To nominate and put in a good word for 3 Little Birds Landscaping please follow the link- http://lovealocalbusiness.intuit.com/?cid=ad120x60&b_id=11895

I assure you that if we are lucky enough to win I will pay it forward to the Community and to Mother Nature.

Thank you,

Mat Paulson and my 3 Little Birds