Join us for three days of learning, connecting, and celebrating at Main Street Now 2025 in Philadelphia, from April 7 – 9.
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Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams
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.
Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street
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.
Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America
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!
Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo
Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.
Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Virginia Main Street (VMS) program is incredibly excited to co-host the 2022 Main Street Now Conference alongside Main Street America in Richmond, Virginia, May 16-18. Get to know our state, host city, and Main Street communities through this special blog series! Conference registration is open here. Check out the conference website and follow conference's Facebook and Twitter accounts for the latest updates.
In order to help small Main Street businesses thrive, we have to be creative about getting them access to capital. The prevailing mythology is that entrepreneurs can simply go to a bank and get a loan or raise money from their friends and neighbors, and that will be enough to help them get started. That's just simply not the case. Localized economies don't traditionally have the infrastructure to help small businesses that are less than two years old, and, as we know, many of them don't survive that long because of the lack of access to capital. Fortunately, microfinance is a vehicle to provide small-scale, accessible capital to businesses and people while removing traditional barriers. Our local businesses need microfinancing, especially those that cannot otherwise get traditional forms of credit. It is a tool that helps communities and small businesses thrive, while allowing money to be reinvested in local businesses and neighborhoods where it is needed most.
Today, a sense of connectivity is more important than ever, especially after experiencing an unprecedented pandemic where we had to physically isolate ourselves from our community and peers. Many of us are still struggling to find that sense of space, safety, relationships, and community that we once knew. One of the things that I love about being an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder is putting people and our relationships front and center of everything we do! And, what better way to highlight the importance of community than by spotlighting a highly impactful microfinance program in Virginia, the Community Business Launch (CBL).
Since 2015, 33 communities have participated in the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Community Business Launch (CBL) program and launched new or expanded businesses in walkable downtowns and neighborhoods throughout the state. As a systems approach to asset-based, small-business economic development, the CBL program helps communities identify their unique assets and fill vacant storefronts with businesses that best attract and serve its residents. CBL is a perfect example of how commitment to place and building stronger communities through a people-centered approach can beautifully come together.
How does it work? CBL partners with localities and Main Street organizations, providing them with the capital to create and run a small business incubation training program, and fund the awards for a pitch competition. These groups typically facilitate a bootcamp for aspiring entrepreneurs or existing businesses poised to grow. These folks go through the bootcamp to learn the basics of running a business, such as the marketing, financial, and legal structure. Once finished, there is a pitch competition and at least three businesses are awarded funding. With this small grant and additional technical assistance and mentor services, winning entrepreneurs are able to move their business into available space!
Magical Math
Capital + Support + Education = Vibrant Neighborhoods
Having three businesses open in a very short period of time is not only catalytic for those businesses, but also for the people around them. Pretty easy and straightforward, right? Not so fast.
This is a blog post about community and relationships, not economic development. That’s why it’s important to note that something amazing happened between many of the CBL cohorts, and that was increased collaboration.
We have all seen Shark Tank, and when CBL first launched in 2015, that is how DHCD thought the program was going to unfold. It was assumed that if you put a bunch of entrepreneurs together and have them go after a finite amount of money, there would be fierce, dog-eat-dog competition. Surprisingly, the opposite happened: they collaborated with each other, supported one another, and built meaningful relationships. When one of them was struggling, others took notice and helped. The sense of belonging, community connection, and access to a network of colleagues has offered rewards greater than the sum of the cash award, and it’s a great reminder that people are our biggest asset. The program is a fantastic exemplification of how one well-positioned and people-centered initiative can impact an entrepreneurial ecosystem in a very short period of time.
Speaking of dogs, in 2018, Downtown Wytheville, Inc. (DWI) was granted $60,000 to complete a CBL in the Town of Wytheville’s main street corridor, with the hopes of recruiting a brewery and some new restaurants to accommodate both tourists staying at the Bolling-Wilson Hotel and those who worked downtown. Ultimately, they were able to fund three new businesses, including Chau's Corner Bakery, Seven Sisters Brewery, and 7 Dogs Brew Pub, and one expansion, Rose Cottage School of Art. All of these businesses are still open today!
If you are planning to attend the 2022 Main Street Now Conference next month in Richmond, VA, join us on May 15th at 6:30 p.m. at Wong Gonzalez to learn more about Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building. Stay tuned for more information!
Even though the CBL program is pretty amazing, the funding needs of the businesses that won awards do not end there. For most of them, it’s only the beginning.
Referring back to the mythology mentioned earlier, aren’t people supposed to just go to a bank and get a small loan to meet all of their financial needs to get their business started? No, they can’t. It’s extremely difficult for an entrepreneur to access reliable, non-predatory capital if their business is less than two years old and needs less than $50,000. Some businesses are able to access capital, specifically through payday and predatory lenders, but it is certainly not ideal. Here’s where Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) demonstrate their value!
CDFIs use traditional financial tools, like micro-loans, in innovative ways. CDFIs can be credit unions, banks, loan funds, and even venture capital firms. They ensure that integrity and respect are woven into every policy, procedure, product, and service they offer. Essentially, it’s people-centric banking. Check out this helpful infographic to learn more!
Join us on May 3rd for the Microfinance: What is a CDFI? Webinar, hosted by the VA CDFI Coalition and DHCD’s Virginia Small Business Resiliency Fund. You can also find a CDFI in your area by checking out the Opportunity Finance Network’s website!
Hope can be found in this new economy as long as people are prioritized. It's the people that are running our local businesses. It’s the people that hire, create good jobs for your neighbors, and donate to local charitable causes in one’s community. It's not a mistake that it's called Community Business Launch. It's not a mistake that it's a Community Development Financial Institution. Community is first. Our small businesses are the souls of our communities, and if you use magical math in a people-centered approach, amazing things can happen!
Whether you're new to grant writing or seeking to sharpen your expertise, this four-part webinar series—presented in partnership with Grant Ready Kentucky—will provide you with the tools and insights needed to secure funding and drive your mission forward.
© skynesher/Getty Images Signature
The holidays are a great time to boost your fundraising efforts and meet your annual goals. Check out these tips for how to run a successful end-of-year fundraising drive.
Learn how Main Streets can tap into federal resources to improve transportation infrastructure, take down barriers, and improve access to key services.
Shop crawls are a great way to introduce people to your small businesses. Fredericksburg Main Street loves to host shop crawls, and this spring, they tried a new model: the flower crawl.
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure has many benefits for Main Streets. Learn how to apply for federal funding to support EV charging in your community.
American Express and Main Street America announced the 500 small business owners who have been awarded $10,000 through the Backing Small Businesses grant program.
Learn how the Safe Streets and Roads for All program is providing grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.
Streetscape in Denison, Texas. © Mel Climer — Climer Design
T-Mobile announced its latest round of Hometown Grant recipients, with 275 communities across 46 states now part of the exclusive crew that will receive funding and support to fuel local projects that help people connect and innovate.
Meet the recipients of the 2024 round of GM on Main Street grants.
Learn how this organization is uplifting business owners and preventing displacement.
Charlotte, NC © Pixabay
Learn how you can participate in the Thriving Communities program as a capacity builder or how you can receive support from the program.
Learn how this Massachusetts community uses their farmer's market to increase access to fresh food.
Learn how the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and the Clean Communities Accelerator Fund (CCIA) will pump billions of dollars into reducing carbon emissions from the built environment in the coming years.
Meet the newest recipients of the T-Mobile Hometown Grants, reaching a milestone of 200 towns impacted by the program.
Main Street America is leading a coalition urging that the EPA make available the GGRF funds for adaptive reuse and location-efficient projects because of the substantial greenhouse gas emissions reduction offered by such developments.
Learn about the Boston Main Street Foundation’s role in fostering powerful collaborations, and stay tuned for our final featured article in March.
In Fall 2022, MSA partnered with infill developer and small-deal guru Jim Heid and the Incremental Development Alliance to conduct surveys on the barriers to small-scale real estate projects across the United States. Here we share the results.
Creating a meaningful, place-based fundraising program is a great way to tap into the holiday giving season while centering your mission and values.
Main Street America launches a project to learn more about the specific barriers to small-scale real estate development on our Main Streets and identify solutions for financing small-scale deals.
Learn about Friendly City Fortune, Downtown Harrisonburg Renaissance's largest annual fundraiser. It provides flexible revenue for a variety of projects including art installations, façade enhancements, and small business support services.
Harrisonburg, VA © Downtown Harrisonburg Renaissance
learn how Rethos: Places Reimagined is encouraging upper-floor development through their program funded by the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant Program.
Red Wing, MN © Megan Tsui
The AARP Community Challenge program gives out quick-action grants to activate public spaces. Meet some of the Main Streets awarded grants through the program this year.
How do those amazing Main Street rehabilitation projects happen? And what policies and public support make them happen? In the Behind the Ribbon Cutting series, we look at a project or businesses from concept to opening day to break down the partnerships and funding brought to bear and recognize how we can advocate for policies and resources for revitalization across the country.
Astoria, OR © ADHDA
To support Georgia Main Streets throughout the recovery process and position them for long-term sustainability, Main Street America launched the Georgia Main Street Innovation Grant Program, made possible through generous support from The Williams Family Foundation of Georgia.
Thomasville, GA © Thomasville Main Street
The global pandemic gave us all a glimpse of a further dispersed future – a time when you don’t sit in a classroom at school, watch movies in a theater, or even go to the grocery store. Where do Main Streets fit in that model?
Community economic development leaders need to get creative with their fundraising plans, identifying and securing diverse funding sources from both inside and outside their community
San Francisco, CA © Bjorn Bakstad
These 67 recipients from across the country ranged from bakeries and boutiques to salons and museums, but they all shared a commitment to the program's goals of responding and adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic and helping to revitalize and strengthen older and historic downtown commercial districts.
Meet a recipient of the HartBeat of Main Street Grant Program
Learn how the Main Street Exchange Visits made people think in different ways, interact with peers, forge new relationships, and travel beyond the bounds of their own communities for inspiration.
Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) had the opportunity to take Missouri Executive Directors and other community representatives on the Iowa Community Expedition
Main Street America partnered with OneMain Financial to create Made on Main Street.
Small Business Saturday® is more than a day to shop. It’s a nationwide movement that shines a spotlight on the importance of supporting small businesses in communities across America.
The Downtown Newton Development Association (North Carolina) partnered with the City of Newton on a temporary tactical urbanism project to demonstrate how their permanent streetscape improvements will benefit downtown.
Over 500 people braved the misty rain this past weekend to come and celebrate Painesville and its Made on Main Street community transformation project.
In October 2017, Main Street Ottumwa collaborated with local partners, Main Street Iowa, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Better Block Foundation to stop planning, talking, and wishing, and start doing.
As part of the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta’s Grants to Green program, Maine was designated one of two national replication sites.
The Metuchen Downtown Alliance created a cool, family-friendly public gathering space in “the worst looking spot in town” with the help of just $2,500 in Edward Jones Placemaking on Main Challenge matching grant funds,
Small Business Saturday promo pic from Downtown Goldsboro, North Carolina, showing all the folks who took the pledge support a small business in their community.
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Main Street merchants in two communities in Michigan and Kentucky, as well as a fellow Texas Main Street community, jumped in to help their Texas colleagues.
Through the Edward Jones Placemaking on Main Crowdfunding Challenge, the National Main Street Center and Edward Jones awarded 10 Main Street America programs $2,500 each in match funds to implement their lighter, quicker, cheaper-type placemaking projects.
Being the only person in the know can be fun, exhilarating even. Except when you are the one person out of 600+ in a room and you know bad news is coming.
In 2016, the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center partnered with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Department of Interior Architecture (UNCG) to provide design assistance to Main Street communities.
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.
How one Wyoming Main Street implemented a free bike share program.
With 413 National Park areas¹ and over 1,000 Main Street America programs, it’s no surprise that many of the communities following the Four Point Approach serve as gateways to our national parks.
The local Main Street organization, Downtown Milford Inc., is trying to address these shifting demographics by creating a more inclusive sense of community.
Street Fairs are fun! Fundraising is not. Unless an individual or local business would like to underwrite the full cost of your Fair, consider the following eight tested fundraising programs.
Given these facts and others about year-end appeals, you should be planning a fundraising campaign during the six weeks of the year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.
Enter the aLABama Downtown Laboratory, a two-day event where participants work in sessions to study, analyze, and question experts on one area of the Main Street Four Point Approach®.
5 questions to understand how to tap into the motivations of your Main Street stakeholders to achieve what you (and they) want.
