Sowing the Seeds of Service: Creating Committed Volunteers for Life
Learn practical, hands-on strategies to develop and maintain a strong volunteer pipeline.
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A board of directors plays an important role in providing governance, setting strategic direction, and ensuring financial sustainability. For Main Street programs, a board of directors that reflects the local community’s stakeholders, needs, and values is essential for ensuring that the organization’s efforts are truly grassroots. Use this composition matrix to understand the current makeup of your board of directors, identify strengths and gaps, track tenure, and align each individual’s unique skills and qualities with your workplan.
Metuchen, New Jersey. Photo by Lauren Beischer.
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Learn how implementing data-keeping systems can enhance your Main Street program, and leave with valuable data health and transition planning tools.
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Learn how to use geo-fencing, QR codes, and data to strategically plan, implement, and measure placemaking.
How to Measure Your Downtown’s Impact
In this webinar, you will learn how to measure and increase your downtown’s Return on Emotion ROE©, providing you with a new tool to increase the importance of people and community in your work.
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State of Main: Winter 2018
With articles written by industry experts on topics ranging from the future of retail to Main Street advocacy, the publication is brimming with tools, tips, and strategies that will help you lead a results-oriented revitalization effort.
Annual Report Hand-Outs
These sample annual reports show how you can condense key impact stats into a single page to use for marketing and outreach. Published by Lawrenceburg Main Street and Indiana Main Street.
A Guide to Hosting a Community Visioning Session
Learn how to engage local stakeholders to develop a vision and strategic plan for your downtown. Published by Georgia Main Street.
Brunswick, GA © Tamara Gibson Photography
Community Transformation Strategies Workbook
This workbook has everything you need to guide you from start to finish through the entire strategic planning process. Published by Georgia Main Street.
Toccoa, GA © Steph Maley, Steph’s Photography
Volunteer Engagement Toolkit
A collection of resources and worksheets to help you improve your nonprofit volunteer program.
Using Market Data to Tell Your Main Street Story
Watch this webinar to learn how market data and local research can make the case among board members, businesses, elected officials, and the general public.
Community Visioning in a Nutshell
This nutshell guide will guide you through this process, and provide recommendations for templates and further recommended resources that will support you in developing your own materials.
Workplan Template
This template provides everything you need to create a comprehensive workplan for your next non-profit project.
Annual Workplan
Use this worksheet to plan each of your activities for a given year and map out the ways they relate to income, expenses, personnel, and more. Published by Indiana Main Street.
Transformation Strategy Workplan
Use this template to develop a comprehensive plan that clearly outlines goals, partners, roles, responsibilities, tasks, timelines, and budgets to align projects with transformation strategies.
Macon, Georgia. Photo by NewTown Macon.
Annual Budget
Use this template to develop an annual budget that tracks income and operating expenses for your Main Street organization.
Raton, New Mexico. Photo by Marty Mayfield.
Board of Directors Demographics Matrix
A simple tool to help you evaluate the diversity of your board of directors along age, gender, race, sexuality, income, and more. Created by Indiana Main Street.
Work Planning Template
Work planning outlines tasks income, expenses, volunteer hours, staff hours, and outcomes. This template provides a step-by-step explanation of the work planning process.
Get Hyped: Turn District Cheerleaders into Social Influencers
Watch this webinar to learn how social influencers can drive engagement and build excitement for your downtown promotions and programs.
Crisis Management
Everything you need to prepare your community organization to handle both internal and external crises. Published by Indiana Main Street.
Momence, IL
Skowhegan Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development Plan
A sample entrepreneurial ecosystem development plan to support small business creation and sustainability. Published by Skowhegan Main Street.
Sjowhegan, ME
Creating a Work Plan
Work plans serve as an important tool to help guide a Main Street program. Having a comprehensive, shared work plan with public buy-in, can help to grow city support and solidify the role the Main Street Program plays in downtown development.
Bylaws from Rome, Georgia
A copy of the bylaws for the Rome Main Street Program. Bylaws act as a guide for how the board and staff should run your organization. They can include board procedures, the layout of the fiscal year, the corporate seal, and more.
Woodbine, IA © Hawkeye Aerial Services
Michigan Volunteer Toolkit
Build a strong volunteer program with these five key areas: identifying volunteers, recruiting volunteers, orienting volunteers, monitoring volunteer activity and retaining volunteers.
Hastings, NE © Molly Kluver
Leading Main Street
Learn the five of these key attributes of successful Main Street leaders with insights and examples from across the Main Street America network. Published in State of Main.
Catalyst Strategies
A list of transformation strategies to guide your Main Street revitalization efforts.
Community Engagement for Main Street Transformation
Learn how to launch or strengthen your community engagement efforts, including actionable tools to put to use in your own community.
Memorandum of Understanding
Use this template to create a memorandum of understanding you can use with partner organizations.
How to Manage Risk for Main Street Organizations
An overview of non-profit insurance options from the National Trust Insurance Services.
Downtowns Matter
Ed McMahon explores the key characteristics of successful downtowns. Published in State of Main.
Boston, MA
Cultivating Effective Leadership to Transform Communities
Insights from across the network on how to lead your Main Street program. Published in State of Main.
Debunking Myths about Main Street Boards
13 myths around non-profit board service and why you should consider volunteering for your local downtown community revitalization group. Published in Main Street Now Journal.
Engaging the Future to Preserve the Past
Learn how Main Street downtown preservation organizations can build strong youth engagement programs to support the next generation of leadership. Published in Main Street Now Journal. Written by Katelin Olson and Sue Starkweather-Miller.
The Keys to Launching a Main Street Program
Learn how Otsego, Michigan used community support and strategic visioning to launch their revitalization efforts. Published in Main Street Now Journal.
Growing Your Volunteer Program
Main Street Vineland's four-point plan for growing their volunteer program focusing on recruitment, retention, and recognition.
Youth on Main Street
Learn how youth groups give young people a chance to share what they want for downtown.
Clinton, TN
Hiring a Main Street Director
This guide provides everything you need to conduct a successful candidate search and identify a new executive director for your Main Street organization.
Downtown Florence, South Carolina © True Light Photography
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