We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
Community Spotlight: Downtown Florence and Francis Marion University
Downtown Florence, South Carolina. Credit: True Light Photography.
Since 2011, Downtown Florence, a 2022 GAMSA semi-finalist, has been engaged in a thriving partnership with Francis Marion University. The partnership came about during the development of the FMU Performing Arts Center, located at the gateway of Downtown Florence’s Arts and Culture District. The University’s president recognized the importance of a vibrant downtown in attracting and retaining students at the university, and Downtown Florence gained a strong local partner. “This partnership has helped us literally transform our downtown’s physical landscape, but it has also helped us grow the soft skills of our downtown community, recruit new businesses, and have a communication pipeline fairly unique to a Main Street program,” said Downtown Florence Development Manager Hannah Davis.
A cornerstone of this partnership has been their shared work on entrepreneurial ecosystem building. In 2012, the City of Florence, in partnership with Downtown Florence, leased an underutilized commercial building downtown, initially with the intent of opening a retail incubator, the North Dargan Innovation Center. At that time, Downtown Florence partnered with the on-campus FMU Center for Entrepreneurship located seven miles outside of Downtown to provide training courses for businesses on-site in the incubator.
This initial phase was successful, and in 2016, FMU was asked to take a larger role in the Innovation Center. The University began running daily operations and programming while Downtown Florence’s oversaw the building and tenant management. In 2018, the City of Florence purchased a building on N. Dargan Street and shared renovation costs with Francis Marion University. That building became the new home for the Kelley Center for Economic Development, an evolution of the North Dargan Innovation Center, which opened officially in 2019. “Our initial partnership with the Kelley Center started off with simple programming assistance and grew into a powerhouse entrepreneurial development team that touches nearly every business owner interested in opening a business downtown,” said Davis.
The Kelley Center has resulted in many successful new businesses, most notably, Downtown Florence’s first full-service grocery store, virtually eliminating a USDA-designated food desert in the community. The proprietor of the grocery story began his small business journey as a participant in the FMU Kelley Center business incubator. Downtown Florence, the City of Florence, the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, and the local housing authority came together to support the Black business owner’s dream with basic small business training, incubator facility usage, marketing training and network building, and partnership development. The grocery store opened in October 2021. In addition to this achievement, the Center has assisted more than 100 entrepreneurs in the community.
During COVID-19, the Kelley Center and Downtown Florence formed a task force to help support businesses open, share resources, and ensure that business owners had the tools they needed to be successful during tumultuous times. “That initiative has since transformed into the development of a support network that spans regionally,” said Davis. “We are currently working on developing a small business resiliency workshop and succession planning workshop for existing business owners.”
Downtown Florence has also partnered with FMU to bring two health sciences campus buildings downtown, one of which located most recently in the Old Post Office (c.1906), National Landmark Historic Building, which now serves as psychology and speech pathology classrooms for the university. Across the street from the Old Post Office building, FMU built the Luther F. Carter Health Sciences Building, which brings nearly 500 students downtown daily for training classes in nursing and physician assistant programs.
Hannah Davis recommends that Main Streets with nearby universities and colleges consider similar partnerships, even if the university isn’t located within the district (FMU is seven miles outside Downtown Florence). Universities and Main Streets have many shared goals, and students and faculty can become strong advocates for a vibrant downtown. “Having a higher education partner like Francis Marion University, one that believes in the power of place, that recognizes the importance of preserving our historical assets, and that wishes to be part of the growth of future entrepreneurs is truly invaluable,” said Davis.
MSA President and CEO Erin Barnes explores how a holiday market in a public park brought a new focus on growing humanitarian needs in downtown city centers.
Learn how Main Street America's work with the DOT's Thriving Communities Program is supporting transformative efforts with community partners like the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe.
May is Jewish American Heritage Month! We collected ideas and resources to help you explore Jewish American history on your community and work toward a more inclusive Main Street.
At Fort Vancouver in Vancouver, Washington, Native Hawaiians played a critical role in the success of the Hudson Bay Company. Today, Vancouver’s Hawaiian history and heritage plays a crucial role in efforts to reenergize the city’s historic downtown.
Urban Impact Inc., harnesses strategic investments and collaborative efforts to foster a vibrant and sustainable future, from visionary adaptive reuse ventures to transformative development grants for small businesses and property owners in Birmingham, Alabama's historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $20B in federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) awards distributed to eight national non-profit consortiums. Main Street America looks forward to partnership and engagement with awardees and local programs to identify projects and expand impact throughout our network.
Tasha Sams, Manager of Education Programs, shares highlights of phase one of the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (E3) in Rural Main Streets Program and the biggest takeaways from the workshop experiences.
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Derrick Braziel, owner of Pata Roja Taqueria and co-founder of MORTAR, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Every year, H2BE holds their Juneteenth Mobility Stroll and Roll in Dearborn, MI, which celebrates Black Americans and improves local connections. Learn more about the event and why Juneteenth is important to this community.
Do you want to support the next generation of Main Street leadership! Start a youth board! Learn how Historic Downtown Clinton set theirs up and how your organization can benefit from one.
The Main Street Movement is a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community. We spoke to Main Street leaders about how they support the LGBTQ+ community during Pride and beyond.
On May 9, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2023 which included a cultural district located within a designated Main Street America community.
The annual Cinco de Mayo Parade and Fiesta in the Mexicantown Main Street district offers a great example of collaborative partnerships that honor the community’s cultural heritage and support local businesses through events.
Meet Kavi, the first Indian American Girl of the Year doll and a (fictional) resident of 2023 Great American Main Street Award winner Metuchen, New Jersey!
Community Development Block Grants are powerful tools for Main Street programs. Learn more about how CDBG's can be applied to our work and how you can advocate for the program
Main Street America was awarded $5.9 million to support 20 communities in the Main Streets Community of Practice through the Department of Transportation's Thriving Communities Program over the next two years.
We spoke to three women who were awarded Inclusive Backing grants to learn more about their passions, their businesses, and their advice for other women.
Anette Landeros, President and CEO of Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, shares the importance of supporting Hispanic business owners and communities.
#EquityRising, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation's new job training program, seeks to combat rising cost of living by helping residents train for careers that will allow them to stay in their neighborhood.
We spoke to three Black business owners who were awarded Backing Small Businesses grants from Main Street America and American Express to better understand their challenges, successes, and the kinds of support that have helped them the most.
Stockbridge Main Street has made significant strides in exploring and sharing the story of Martin Luther King, father of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr.
Juneteenth is the anniversary of the final emancipation of enslaved people in the US. Here are five examples of examples of community celebrations from Main Streets across the network.
Oklahoma is home to the headquarters of nearly 40 federally recognized Native American tribes, and many of their offices, cultural sites, and museums are located close to or within Main Street districts.
Kendall Whittier is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in an ever-diversifying Tulsa. Learn how they are making efforts to engage their large Hispanic community.
We spoke with two Black entrepreneurs in UrbanMain commercial districts: L. May Creations in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and The Four Way in south Memphis, Tennessee.
This May marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We explored the impact and legacy of this tragic event.
Main Street communities across the nation are celebrating Juneteenth, the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in America and the nation’s newest federal holiday!
From small business owners to public artists to local leaders, join us this month to amplify the impact of the LGBTQ+ community in your Main Street district.
For Black History Month, we want to recognize and celebrate the Black business owners and entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges and obstacles in launching and running their own businesses, thanks to resilience, creativity, and hard work.
In remembrance and in honor of Dr. Marin Luther King Jr., over 900 streets in the United States were named after him. Many are located predominantly in African American communities.
Downtown SLO has kept the magic of their holiday lights installation alive by evolving their winter wonderland into a dual celebration of Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year.
Main Street programs around the Network have created engaging and COVID-safe ways to honor and celebrate the histories and lives of Black Americans in their commercial districts.
Since 2013, Try This West Virginia has sought to improve health environments in local communities as a collaboration of organizations working together to combat the health challenges facing West Virginians.
Supporting new and existing small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who run them, represents a vital aspect of the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood business districts.
The Equitable Economic Development Fellowship is a two-year, one million-dollar effort funded by the Surdna Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts.
History and architecture play an active role in educating and immersing the next generation of preservationists in Le Mars. From museum visits, scavenger hunts, to "show and tell," involving the youth and senior communities is a priority for this Main Street.
From walkability and transportation connectivity, to access to nature and availability of fresh food, place is inextricably linked to achieving positive health outcomes in rural America.
Main Street America is committed to helping build inclusive communities. Homelessness is an increasingly important issue facing Main Street communities big and small, urban and rural.
To understand the role that immigrant business owners play in Boston’s small business ecosystem, you need only to walk through any Boston Main Streets district.