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Three Main Street America Staff members standing in front of a mural in Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

About

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.

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Two community members in Emporia Kansas pose with a sign saying "I'm a Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Our Network

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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Dionne Baux and MSA partner working in Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Resources

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!

Overview Knowledge Hub Field Services Government Relations Main Street Now Conference Main Street America Institute Small Business Support Allied Member Services The Point Members Area
People riding e-scooters in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

The Latest

Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.

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Woman and girl at a festival booth in Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Get Involved

Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

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Three Main Street America Staff members standing in front of a mural in Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

About

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.

Overview Who We Are How We Work Partner Collaborations Our Supporters Our Team Job Opportunities Contact Us
Two community members in Emporia Kansas pose with a sign saying "I'm a Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Our Network

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.

Overview Coordinating Programs Main Street Communities Collective Impact Awards & Recognition Community Evaluation Framework Join the Movement
Dionne Baux and MSA partner working in Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Resources

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!

Overview Knowledge Hub Field Services Government Relations Main Street Now Conference Main Street America Institute Small Business Support Allied Member Services The Point Members Area
People riding e-scooters in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

The Latest

Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.

Overview News & Stories Events & Opportunities Subscribe
Woman and girl at a festival booth in Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Get Involved

Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

Overview Join Us Renew Your Membership Donate Partner With Us Job Opportunities
A woman speaks from behind a podium.
Mary Means offers remarks at the Closing Plenary © In-Depth Production/Main Street America

Spending time with you at the Main Street Now conference in Richmond gave my spirit a much-needed boost. Our times too often fill us with anxiety, worry, and sadness. Being in Richmond with you, experiencing the sheer joy of being surrounded by people who love what they’ve been called to do, filled my heart.

The too-short conversations I had with many of you, as well as with Main Street America staff, plus gleanings from the sessions I was able to sample, prompt me to offer a couple of observations:

Lighten Up. While still (eternally, if you really want my opinion) valid, the Four Point Approach is not a stone tablet checklist. It is a set of lenses through which to understand your downtown and respond accordingly. Let’s look through them for a minute.

  • Organization: Having a committee for each “Point” made sense in the 1970s, when we started out. Volunteerism has changed dramatically since then. People able and willing to volunteer are scarce now – they are way too time-crunched. It’s become even more difficult as the pandemic triggered life choices. All volunteer-based non-profits are experiencing this. The savviest are adapting by cutting down on standing committees, continuing to hold most meetings via Zoom or Teams, recruiting fresh volunteers willing to take on special tasks or short assignments, and not requiring long term commitment. Is your organizational model in need of refreshing?
  • Promotion: Special events are another holdover from the olden days of Main Street. At the time, no one was coming downtown anymore. No one. We had to give them a reason to return, to experience the changes being made. Special events were the only way to do this. It worked. Main Street organizations produced them because no one else was. Events can still be important, but producing them can be a draining time sink, not to mention burning out scarce volunteers. If still needed – and look at this “if” carefully – doing them by bringing sponsored popular events downtown through partnerships with other organizations can achieve the purpose with less investment of precious staff and volunteer time.
  • Design: Today it seems to me getting people to live in or near downtown is a missed opportunity. This takes housing. Whether upper stories, conversion of big buildings to flats, or well-scaled new residential development, having more walking traffic creates more vitality, more business for retailers. Don’t be constrained by the actual boundaries of your district, people can and will walk farther. Consider giving priority to fostering downtown living. Identify what this will take and start doing it. When you have a moment, I encourage you to check out MSA’s recently released publication, At Home on Main Street, for detailed insights on the state of housing in Main Street districts.
  • Economic Vitality: Did you know that in the next 5 – 7 years as many as 100,000 churches will close? Mainline religion is in decline everywhere. Many Main Streets boast several imposing mainline churches. Dwindling, aging congregations, rising operating costs and a built-in reluctance to change could leave your downtown with white elephant buildings more difficult to adapt than the last white elephant – department stores. Church buildings can have new life. The time to begin is now, by finding out more about this under-the-radar dilemma. Start by reading Exploring the Reuse Opportunity for Houses of Worship on Main Street on the MSA blog for an overview.

Celebrate! Whether you staff a downtown organization, serve on the board or volunteer, all of you are doing the vital work of seeing that things get done, making sure your downtown is a point of community pride. Step back from time to time and reflect on what’s going right, what’s happened that you played a role in creating. Pat yourself on the back. And take care of yourselves. Richmond was a firehose. Rest a bit. Then, resume play.

Thank you to each and every one of you. I learn from you every day.