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.
Meet the 2022 Small Business Saturday Neighborhood Champion Innovation Contest Winners
Earlier this spring, we invited Main Streets that participated in the 2022 Small Business Saturday® Neighborhood Champion program to apply to our annual Neighborhood Champion Innovation Contest. The entrant with the most innovative idea received $5,000, a second-place winner received $2,500, and three third-place winners received $1,000 in recognition of their Shop Small® efforts.
This year, our judging panel was looking for the most innovative ways Main Streets engaged with the next generation of shoppers in their community. From selfie booths to local influencer marketing to pop-up shops to partnerships with local schools, our judges were blown away by the level of creativity in this year’s pool of applicants.
Read on to learn more about the winning ideas:
Grand Prize Winner: Sweetwater Main Street, Sweetwater, Tenn.
Our grand prize winner at Sweetwater Main Street in Sweetwater, Tenn., created a city-wide game based on their brand (“The Sweetest Street in Tennessee”) called “Sweetest Street Sweepstakes” that kicked off on Small Business Saturday. To enter the drawing, participants received stamps at local businesses. To submit a game card, participants had to receive a stamp at six Main Street businesses on their game card. The winner of the drawing was awarded a grand prize of $500.
In addition, they gave out $500 in $10 increments of “Main Street Bucks” to the first 50 people to show up in the downtown district on Small Business Saturday. Funded by Sweetwater Main Street, Main Street Bucks are printed cards that function as trackable gift certificates at participating businesses, usable only on Small Business Saturday.
Sweetwater Main Street also had activities scheduled from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Small Business Saturday, starting with Breakfast with Santa, followed by pet pictures with Santa, and culminating with their annual Small Town Christmas event, which included carousel rides, vendors, and more. Over 8,500 people attended their Small Business Saturday events.
To better engage with the next generation, Sweetwater created a TikTok account to help spread the word about their programming and events. They also involved high school and college aged volunteers at events to keep them in the loop and encourage word-of-mouth marketing. They also featured vendor booths with products that appeal to the next generation of shoppers, including permanent jewelry, clothing, accessories, and more.
2nd Place: Calumet Area Industrial Commission, Chicago, Ill.
This year’s second place winner, Calumet Area Industrial Commission in Chicago, Ill., created a multi-tiered, long-term plan for Small Business Saturday in 2022. Their team took several steps to encourage the community to support small businesses, beginning with early promotions on social media and through flyers throughout the community. They also sent out regular newsletters to local businesses and community members. They also collaborated regularly with local business owners, reaching out on a regular basis to involve them in Small Business Saturday programming and assisting with promotions.
On Small Business Saturday, they hosted a Holiday Pop-Up event called Mistletoe, Mingle, and Shop! at a local community art gallery, which included local arts and crafts vendors, games for kids and youth, booths for local businesses -- all themed around the holiday. All participating vendors were local to the Chicago Pullman/Roseland neighborhoods, and 100% BIPOC and women owned. During the event, the venue hosted an art exhibit titled, “Excelsior!”, featuring several works featuring local artists around Chicago. They also offered a hot chocolate bar for guests to enjoy festive treats while they shopped. Topping off the event, Dreezy Claus, Chicago’s Black Santa, made a special appearance.
“Our communities of Roseland and Pullman, located on Chicago’s Southside, for decades have been systemically under-invested and under-represented,” wrote Melissa Campos, Calumet Area Industrial Commission’s Project Coordinator. “By hosting this event, we were able to showcase our local businesses to the community and help start the creation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
To connect with the next generation of shoppers, they created asocial media campaign involving strategic hashtags, influencer marketing, and gamification on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. During their Mistletoe, Mingle, and Shop! Event, they also brought in arcade games in attract next generation community members. They also focused on sustainability in their events, as environmental and social issues are important to their local youth population. For example, they hosted The Hive, a bee-keeping company in Chicago that educates youth about the importance of bees in the environment’s ecosystem.
3rd Place: Ortonville Downtown Development Authority, Ortonville, Mich.
Our first third place winner, Ortonville Downtown Development Authority in Ortonville, Mich., designed their Small Business Saturday programming around creating an experiential holiday shopping experience. The campaign consisted of retail pop-ups and artisan market that used vacant storefronts and public community spaces; a “Local Gems” Sweepstakes that invited participants to submit a selfie photo at a local business they consider a local gem for the chance to win a prize; marketing toolkits for local small businesses to help them promote their specials; Downtown Dollars provided to retail businesses to be used in their stores for a drawing on Small Business Saturday; Scratch-&-Win cards for businesses to give out to Small Business Saturday shoppers.
To connect with the next generation of shoppers, Ortonville usedselfie photo frames for their Local Gem Sweepstakes, provided regular updates on their social media sites, and created volunteer opportunities for next generation audiences such as social media programming, event set-up and take-down, and distributing materials to local businesses.
3rd Place: Main Street Oceanside, Oceanside, Ca.
Another third-place winner, MainStreet Oceanside in Oceanside, Ca., brought back its award-winning holiday shopping event series, ‘Tis the Season to Shop Local, adding several new additions to appeal to the next generation of shoppers. New in 2022, they created a partnership with Oceanside’s local community college. The college’s participation in and sponsorship of our event series contributed to the largest and most well-attended Small Business Saturday in Downtown Oceanside — and the development of the next generation of business owners and shoppers.
’Tis the Season to Shop Local invited the community to explore Oceanside's retail establishments and to shop local for the holiday season, from Small Business Saturday through Sunday, December 11, 2022. This fun and distinctly local holiday celebration included a craft beverage tasting event, a Downtown makers fair with the addition of new Millennial and Gen Z student makers, a tree lighting celebration during the weekly Sunset Market, a holiday mobile scavenger hunt, and a variety of heavily promoted in-store events held by participating local businesses.
MainStreet Oceanside also offered their Oceanside Holiday Challenge with three grand prizes: a one-night staycation at a Downtown resort, a $500 Downtown shopping spree and a one-night staycation at a historic Downtown hotel. 136 participants registered and 44 players activated and played in the Oceanside Holiday Challenge game on the GooseChase app, choosing from 82 selfie and video missions at 20 participating businesses and at ’Tis the Season to Shop Local events. Each point earned in the app equaled one drawing entry, with a minimum requirement of 5 points for entry into small prize drawings and 25 points for entry into grand prize drawings. As a further reward for supporting local businesses, all participants who earned at least 25 points that did not win a grand prize were offered a free nontransferable 2023 Sip & Shop Downtown Oceanside ticket.
3rd Place: City of Stockbridge Main Street Program, Stockbridge, Ga.
And the final third-place winner, Stockbridge Main Street in Stockbridge, Ga., has grown their Small Business Saturday promotion from a one-day event to a month-long engagement, with over thirty participating businesses including restaurants, retailers, and service industry businesses. They call their event the Stockbridge Small Business BLITZ and spans the entire month of November, including continuous social media posts, videos showcasing local businesses, contests, and more.
During the BLITZ, they hosted several business and community engagement initiatives to bolster the Shop Small season. For example, through a partnership with our area’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), they offered business classes to BLITZ participants that specifically focused on small business marketing, social media management, and finance.
To connect with the next generation of shoppers and to streamline the experience for all customers, the organizers created a newshopping passport app that allowed consumers to plan their shopping and dining excursions while also getting the opportunity to learn about what the BLITZ businesses had to offer. Next generation shoppers were especially enthusiastic about two contests during the BLITZ. The first was a drawing for a $100 American Express gift card, where shoppers had to show proof of shopping on Small Business Saturday. The other was a selfie challenge that encouraged participants to take photos at the places where they shopped and dined on the big day. These photos were posted on Stockbridge Main Street’s social media and a winner was selected.
Join host Matt Wagner for his conversation with Patrick Jackowski and Matt Horne, the duo behind Firehouse Coffee 1881, a thriving coffee shop housed in a firehouse in historic Fort Monroe, a decommissioned military compound located in Hampton, Virginia.
In this episode, Matt reveals the data-driven trends that will define the 2024 holiday shopping season—and shows you exactly how to leverage them for your small business.
As we approach this milestone celebration, we've compiled 15 creative ways for Main Street and downtown leaders to make this year's Small Business Saturday truly special.
Calling all small business owners: tell us about the wins you've had in 2024, the challenges you face, and the types of support from the Main Street America network that would help you most. Take our latest survey today!
Join host Matt Wagner as he welcomes Kaycee McCoy, co-owner and creative lead at Pawsnickety Pets in Norfolks, Virginia. Kaycee and her best friend, Shizuka Benton, launched the all-natural and organic pet supply business in Norfolk at the start of the pandemic, but have used their combined talents to keep the business growing and thriving over the last four years.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt interviews Patrice Hull, the owner of Stuff We Wanna Say Custom T-Shirts and Apparel and c2bn / Created to be Noticed, based in Atlanta, Georgia.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sat down with Mindy Bergstrom, owner of Cooks Emporium, Nook & Nest, Z.W. Mercantile, and The Recipe, all located in downtown Ames, Iowa.
Our Research team shares the results of the Spring 2024 Small Business Survey, with insights related to small scale manufacturing in Main Street districts, opportunities to best support entrepreneurs, and more.
This specialized learning experience, sponsored by U.S. Bank, combines interactive classroom sessions and a hands-on course project to equip local leaders with insights, strategies, and a a distribution-ready small business guide to foster entrepreneurship, support small business owners, and retain local businesses. Registration closes on Friday, August 30.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sat down with Kristin Smith, owner and founder of The Wrigley Appalachian Eatery in Corbin, Kentucky.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt talks with Joshua and Jared Ravenscraft, co-founders of New Frontier, a sustainable apparel brand in Morehead, Kentucky.
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.
If the economic vitality of your downtown is on your mind, Main Street America Institute’s Supporting Small Businesses on Main Street course for you! This specialized learning experience, sponsored by U.S. Bank, will give you new insights, tools, and strategies to foster entrepreneurship, support small business owners, and retain local businesses. Registration closes on Friday, August 30.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt chats with Ross Chanowski, owner and founder of NuMarket. NuMarket is a leader in crowdfunding solutions for small businesses with a focus on food services.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt talks with Ebenezer Akakpo, a designer and jeweler who owns Akakpo Design Group and Maine Culture in Westbrook, Maine.
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.
In this conversation, Matt explores the story of Elements: Books Coffee Beer, nestled in the heart of Biddeford, Maine, with co-owners Katie Pinard and Michael Macomber.
We are asking small business owners across the country to share their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges they're facing as summer approaches.
In this special episode of Main Street Business Insights, recorded in front of a live audience during the Main Street Now Conference, Matt sat down with Alycia Levels-Moore, owner and founder of ASL Creative Firm and POLARIS, an event and co-working hub, based in Birmingham, Alabama.
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.
In the last episode of season two of Main Street Business Insights, tune in as host Matt Wagner breaks down how to understand and synthesize local market data.
Sterling Main Street launched a brick and mortar retail incubator spaces. Executive Director Janna Groharing shares lessons they learned about organization, fundraising, and outreach.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Glen Ellis, owner of Sycamore Education, Dominion Catalyst Services, and Milady Coffeehouse in Fremont, Nebraska.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Jaime Courtney, President of Shoalwater Seafood, Derek King, Oyster Farm Director of Shoalwater Seafood, and Shane Thomas, Tribal Council Vice Chair of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe.
Sarah Cole, owner of Abadir’s in Greensboro, Ala., was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Abadir’s is a pop-up eatery specializing in seasonal and wholesome baked goods influenced by Egyptian traditions and flavors combined with inspiration from true Southern cuisine.
In this episode of the Main Street Business Insights podcast, Matt sits down with Casey Woods, Executive Director of Emporia Main Street in Emporia, Kansas.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Nicole Fleetwood and McKinzie Hodges, co-owners of Scratch Made Bakery in Amarillo, Texas.
Tylisya Gober, owner of Barbie Behavior Boutique in Oak Park, Mich., was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Barbie Behavior is a women’s clothing boutique specializing in celebrity-inspired attire.
Tiffany Fixter, owner of Brewability in Englewood, Colorado, was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Brewability is an inclusive brewery and pizzeria that employs adults with disabilities to brew craft beer.
We’re excited to announce that Main Street America will continue to offer virtual and on-demand small business training in 2024 through an evolved program, the Small Biz Digital Trainers program.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Jennifer Jones, co-owner of Good Times Coal Fired Pizza and Pub in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Tiffany Fixter, owner of Brewability, an inclusive craft brewery and pizzeria that employs adults with disabilities based in Englewood,
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Bobby Boone, founder and Chief Strategist of &Access. Based in New Orleans, La., &Access creates data-driven and design-centric retail real estate solutions for historically excluded entrepreneurs and under-invested neighborhoods.
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.
Small Business Saturday is an important opportunity to show your support for local businesses. We asked business owners across the network what your support means to them.
Matt sits down with Jamie and Jerry Baker, co-owners and founders of Trendy Teachers, a teaching boutique and educational toy store located in downtown Rome, Georgia.
Middlesboro Main Street in Middlesboro, Ky., Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago, Ill., and Sugar Creek Business Association in Charlotte, N.C., have each been awarded $100,000 through The Hartford Small Business Accelerator Grant Program in partnership with Main Street America.
Matt sat down with Anette Soto Landeros, co-owner of Casa Azul Coffee and President and CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Fort Worth, Texas.
Matt Wagner sat down with Danny Reynolds, president and owner of Stephenson's, an independently owned high-end fashion retailer in downtown Elkhart, Indiana.
Matt Wagner sat down with The Barbershop Conversation podcast team, co-hosts Kenneth Bentley and Davion Hampton along with executive producer Emory Green Jr., in Goldsboro, Florida.
This three-week live, online course will prepare local leaders to more effectively work with small business owners in their districts and create an environment that is supportive of entrepreneurship.
Meet the 2023 recipients for the Backing Small Businesses grant program, presented by American Express, to provide financial support to small business owners to address critical needs and make a positive impact in their local communities.
In partnership with Grow with Google, our digital coaches will work with businesses in their home states, with a focus on those that operate in small towns and rural communities.
Check out a deep dive into the results of our Spring 2023 Small Business Survey, plus insights to help inform the work of local leaders supporting entrepreneurs on Main Street.
Matt Wagner wrote an article for the OECD blog on how can small business owners can combine digital tools with the power of place to find sustainable success.
Inspired by a session at the 2022 Main Street Now Conference, Main Street Ottumwa has launched the Business Builder Academy, an entrepreneurship course to help aspiring business owners start their ventures.
Whether you are a seasoned American Express Small Business Saturday Neighborhood Champion or an entrepreneur joining this national movement for the first time, we’ve gathered a roundup of resources to support your “shop local” marketing efforts.
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.
From social media scavenger hunts to downtown passports, the Main Street network has used countless innovative ways to encourage their communities to Shop Small®—and had plenty of fun doing it.
#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.
Main Street Skowhegan opened their new Skowhegan Center for Entrepreneurship, a downtown space for co-working, meeting, entrepreneurial support, trainings, and education.
Main Street Charles City organizes their annual 'WonderFall' event, a business decorating contest designed to have some fun with the autumnal season as well as provide a reminder of the importance of curb appeal in attracting the public’s attention.
Leverage NC, a partnership between North Carolina Main Street and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, hosted a four-part webinar series titled Better Community Planning & Economic Development led by Ed McMahon, Chair Emeritus of Main Street America and a leading national authority on land use policy and economic development.
Main Street Arkansas has brewed a new engaging way for tourists and residents alike to explore local Arkansas commercial districts: the Main Street Arkansas Coffee Trail.
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.
We heard from organizations across the nation about the incredible impact their markets have had on community engagement, entrepreneur and small business support, and keeping their district vibrant.
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?
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.
BDOs are place-based organizations that help small businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish. They have been on the frontline of support for the country’s hardest-hit entrepreneurs throughout the pandemic and have been working to enable thriving commercial corridors throughout the crisis.
Matthew Wagner, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, was featured on Breaking Down Barriers: a podcast from Startup Space highlighting stories of community leaders who break down barriers to entry for underserved and unrepresented entrepreneurs.
We heard from 289 business owners in 35 states plus the District of Columbia in our new text message-based survey of small business owners across the network.
The Batavia Boardwalk Shops are freestanding, purpose-built structures acting as seasonal pop-up locations for entrepreneurs, offered in tandem with a business incubator program.
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.
As a vital place factor within an entrepreneurship ecosystem, pop-up programs allow for emerging businesses to test their product, gain consumer feedback, and promote their brand at an extremely low cost. In essence, allowing for a ‘fail-fast’ product development cycle.
In early December, as the COVID-19 crisis intersected with a peak moment in the holiday shopping season, we surveyed small business owners and Main Street programs to learn more about how they were managing.
New research by Main Street America suggests greater returns on our missions and resources can be had by transitioning to more deliberate economic vitality work centered on cultivating new business development from within our own communities and neighborhoods.
Fredericksburg Virginia Main Street (FVMS) is taking storefront activation to a new level with their new initiative, the Scan & Love Project, which tells the stories of business owners through personal and engaging videos.
Read the results of our survey aimed at understanding how business owners are managing the recovery from COVID-19 and responding to recent protests and social unrest related to police violence against Black Americans.
Our research team dug into some of the data about the state of Black-owned businesses on Main Street, the structural challenges they face, and how Main Streets can support them.
Detailed findings from our follow-up survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on small businesses to better understand the continued challenges businesses face as the crisis evolves.
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 Berkley Downtown Development Authority (DDA) proudly debuted its Downtown Berkley Shopping Bag for a Cause through a partnership between Better Life Bags.
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.
The Jefferson Rotary Club partnered with Jefferson Matters: Main Street to offer mini-grants for building facades and storefront signage to two dozen businesses for up to $500 each.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with Retailworks, Inc., a commercial interior design, display and branding firm headquartered in Milwaukee, to launch Wisconsin’s Main Street Makeover Contest.
Too often, as we’re strolling our favorite Main Street, we pass empty or dark shop windows that make us want to hurry home a little bit faster. Imagine instead, a charming streetscape adorned with vibrant, lively window displays, showcasing retailers’ favorite products and seasonal gift ideas.
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.
We’ve put together a practical list of some of the things that local store owners can do right now to help them capitalize on this increasing trend in local searches.
From authentic comfort food to farm-to-fork fresh and everything in between, these restaurants, bars, and cafes are key to the thriving social, business, and residential life in the historic commercial districts in Main Street Iowa communities.
Located in southeast Kansas, Independence (pop.8,799) is home to Fab Lab ICC, which is on track to be the world’s leading innovator in combining entrepreneurial mindset education with a fab lab maker space.
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.
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Altavista On Track, the local Main Street organization, is working to cultivate and sustain local entrepreneurs with an educational business launch competition, Pop-Up Altavista 2.0.
The first rule of conducting business is “make it simple.” The easier it is to pay for merchandise, get entertainment or obtain a service, the more likely it is that people will take advantage of those options.
Main Street communities across the country are no stranger to seeking creative strategies to solve their most nagging issues – vacant buildings, marketing downtown, bolstering retail to name a few.
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.
A lot of signs are necessary to make a downtown work well, but not every community knows what a good sign system looks like, or how instrumental it can be to the creation of a successful downtown.
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.