About
We combine student creativity, technical talent, and community service to create measurable local impact — one business at a time.
What we are
Local Lift is four things at once — and refuses to compromise on any of them.
We hold ourselves to professional standards — real strategy, real critique, real deadlines. The work has to earn trust on its own.
Every project is designed, built, and shipped by students. That's not a caveat — it's where the energy, fresh thinking, and ambition come from.
We exist for the businesses that agencies overlook: family-owned, immigrant-owned, budget-constrained, and busy running the actual business.
Every handoff includes plain-language teaching. Owners finish projects more capable with technology than they started — and so do we.
Trust & transparency
Applications are reviewed by our team against need, community impact, and current capacity. We take on a limited number of projects so each one gets done properly. Applying never guarantees acceptance — but it always gets a reply.
Time for a few conversations, basic business information, and any materials that exist (photos, logos, menus). We handle the rest and confirm scope in writing before starting.
The website, domain, and every account are set up in the business's name and handed over in full at launch. Owners keep everything — including the ability to walk away from us entirely.
Personal information from applications is used only to evaluate and deliver projects — never sold, never shared beyond our team. Details live in our privacy policy.
09The team
Volunteers do real client work with real stakes — and graduate with a portfolio, references, and experience most students wait years for.
Co-Founder
Engineering · Technical direction
Jake is the team's builder. Fluent in the tools most people find intimidating, he turns designs into fast, accessible websites and makes the technical calls — from the code under every page to the setup an owner inherits at handoff. If something on a Local Lift site just works, Jake is usually the reason.
Co-Founder
Outreach · Project delivery
Will is the engine. He's the one knocking on the door of a business that deserves better, the one following up when a project could stall, and the one who refuses to call anything finished until the owner is genuinely set up to succeed. His drive sets the team's pace.
Co-Founder
Strategy · Prioritization
Landon is the compass. Before anything gets designed or built, he's weighing what a business actually needs first, which projects fit the team's capacity, and where each hour of effort does the most good. Every build starts from a plan Landon has already thought three steps past.
Designers, developers, writers, photographers, organizers — if you want your work to matter, we have a seat for you.
Ready when you are
Tell us about your business, your community, and what you hope to build. Our student team will review your application and determine how we may be able to help.
Applying is free and takes about five minutes. It never guarantees acceptance — but it always gets a real reply.