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
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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 U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Main Street America $5.9 million as part of the Thriving Communities Program, to provide technical assistance and capacity building for 20 communities to advance transportation and community development priorities.
Monroe, Louisiana © City of Monroe
Main Street America served as a Lead Capacity Builder under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Program (FY22) from June 2023 through December 2025. USDOT selected 20 communities to form the Main Streets cohort. Main Street America and its partners led programming to advance the cohort’s transportation and community development goals:
Over the course of the program, these TCP communities secured over $8 million in infrastructure funding and managed another $67 million to plan, design, or build projects — with another $11 million in applications still pending. They also learned to align transportation work with the needs of their community, ending the program with a stronger capacity to apply for additional grants and funding in the coming years.
Transportation is an essential issue affecting Main Streets, and Main Street America will build on experience in the Thriving Communities Program to equip communities and states to make transformative investments in Main Streets.
Main Street America shared experience, tools, and practices from the program in the Thriving Communities Toolkit: How local changemakers can turn bold transportation ideas into lasting improvements for people and places. The toolkit is designed for Main Street leaders who want to be more effective partners alongside local, tribal, regional, and state entities in the transportation planning landscape.
Main Street America’s team throughout the Thriving Communities Program and the development of this Toolkit include Equiticity, National Association of Development Organizations, Project for Public Spaces, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Rural Community Assistance Partnership, and CTL Engineering (contributing CTL Engineering team members are now with the firm Benesch).
Special thanks to the dozens of local leaders from Thriving Communities Program cities and tribes, who participated in this program and shaped the insights that emerged:
This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by Federal award number 69A6212350001 awarded to National Main Street Center, Inc. by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. Neither the United States Government nor any of its employees make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately-owned rights. Reference herein to any individuals, agencies, companies, products, process, services, service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the author(s), contributor(s), the U.S. Government, or any agency thereof. Opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a position that is endorsed by, USDOT or any Federal agency.
Main Street America is pleased to announce the launch of a $1.8 million sub-grant program as part of our partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Thriving Communities Program.
Beloit, Kansas © Shane Hampton
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.
Please note: