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.
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25 New Towns Selected to Receive T‑Mobile Hometown Grants for Local Initiatives
T-Mobile continues to deliver on its massive 5-year commitment to small towns. Today, they announced its next round of 25 Hometown Grant winners and their projects:
• Wickenburg, Ariz.: Create the Kid's Corral Play to Learn Space at the Wickenburg Public Library to encourage exploration and promote literacy development opportunities for community youth. • Yreka, Calif.: Retrofit the Siskiyou Community Food Bank with necessary food transportation equipment and storage to address food insecurity and support the Siskiyou County community. • Arcadia, Fla.*: Restore Arcadia Downtown Main Street business property facades following the devastating Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, in order to assist business owners and renovate downtown historical buildings. • Fort Valley, Ga.: Add innovative zSpace augmented and virtual reality technology to the Peach County High School Discovery Lab to increase hands on and immersive learning opportunities for students of all learning styles and abilities. • Perry, Iowa: Build the first inclusive ADA playground at Wiese Park for children of all abilities to enjoy. • Kankakee, Ill.: Enhance technology at The Co.LAB @ Station Street equity-based business incubation and workforce development facility with touchscreens and video content for the Welcome Tech Center. • Auburn, Kan.: Build a lighted pavilion for a highly used outdoor exercise park near the Auburn Civic Center to protect community users from outdoor elements and continue to promote healthy lifestyles. • Parsons, Kan.*: Connect existing outdoor hike and bike Rotary and Frisco trails and enhance security by adding emergency blue box cameras to promote outdoor recreation use. • Yarmouth, Maine: Renovate a neglected park on Main Street which presently is used for parking; improvements will reduce impervious surface, add native plantings, create space for people to gather, and be accessible for people of all ages and abilities. • Marine City, Mich.: Revitalize the Marine City Tot Lot, a downtown municipal park, including installing a new play structure, benches, signage, fencing and rubber surface to increase safety and community use. • Crookston, Minn.: Repair steps of 100-year-old historical Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception now used to hold community events and gatherings. • Holden, Mo.: Build attractive ADA hand railings for more than 20 downtown businesses as a part of the Holden Downtown Railing Project, to improve safety and the welfare of the community while preserving the historic downtown aesthetics. • Greenville, Miss.*: Complete the outdoor children’s garden at the Mississippi Delta Nature and Learning Center to increase health, education and economic development. • Choteau, Mont.: Build the first-ever fenced 2-acre dog park to provide a safe, public space for dogs and the dog owner community to enjoy. • North Wilkesboro, N.C.*: Revitalize the Yadkin Valley Marketplace by adding seating, shade canopies and greenery to continue hosting farmers markets and outdoor concerts to increase community use. • Wilkesboro, N.C.*: Install wayfinding, ecological, and interpretative signage and sensory art at a playground universally designed for all ages and mobility levels within Wilkesboro’s Cub Creek Park. • Lebanon, N.H.: Replace outdated lighting system at the historic Lebanon Opera House, a performing arts and community gathering space, to include new state of the art LED lighting for future theatrical performances. • Sanbornton, N.H.: Renovate community space at the historic 1825 Woodman-Academy Building, to include window restoration and updates to the heating and cooling system, continuing to serve the community’s many programs and gatherings. • Perkins, Okla.: Transform the future Perkins Public Library building, including modern updates to the building’s exterior, to meet the demands of a growing community and continue to support developmental programs for youth and adults. • Phoenix, Ore.: Rebuild Blue Heron Park after the 2020 Almeda Fire destroyed much of the area, including landscaping, walkways/paver surfaces, three shade sail structures, a dual pedestal water fountain and new handicap accessible benches and tables. • Siletz, Ore.: Upgrade indoor and outdoor lighting at the Siletz Public Library to ensure the library will continue to be an inviting, warm and safe place for the Siletz community to gather, learn and grow together. • Pittston, Pa.*: Outfit a permanent stage in the Pittston Downtown district to support the highly attended annual Tomato Festival and future community events. • Brackettville, Texas: Restore the Fort Clark Springs Swim Park, the third largest spring-fed pool in Texas and a National Register Historic District structure, to continue to serve the community as an outdoor recreational gathering space. • Payson, Utah*: Revitalize “The Sideshow,” a vacant, unused movie theater in downtown Payson to host performing arts and musical performances and serve as a classroom for theatre students. • Luray, Va.*: Renovate Ruffner Plaza, a popular gathering place, by replacing concrete to ensure accessibility and safety, adding lighting and electrical outlets, installing a shade structure, and replacing safety bollards around the plaza’s parking lot.
T-Mobile works with Main Street America and Smart Growth America to select Hometown Grant recipients. These two organizations have decades of experience helping to build stronger, more prosperous small towns and rural communities. Application assessments are based on level of detail and completeness, potential community impact, project viability and other factors.
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.
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.