Funding for Downtown Revitalization

In the previous blog entry, the importance of locally owned businesses and how it affects the local economy. For this entry, I'd like to expand on that idea of attracting businesses to the downtown by discussing how Main Street programs are funded. Before I delve deeper into funding, let's make a few things clear. The first is that funding for revitalization is a shared responsibility between the public and private sectors. Secondly,  funding should cover the costs of program administration; lastly, funding techniques will work throughout a Main Street's life span - from beginning to end. 1

Have you ever tried to accrue funds without a direct plan? That's an issue that causes a lot of these various programs to fail; before you can acquire funds, you have to have a plan or a vision. Know where you are going, how you are planning on getting there, and what you will do once you get there. Before Main Street programs began to raise funds, they have a plan that will guide them for the rest of the way.

So you have you plan, now what? There are many avenues that a program could take; however, remember that it is best if funding is diverse in order to ensure that funds are continually coming in. Some options include:

·         Memberships

·         Arts and humanities councils

·         Corporate sponsorships

·         Grants

·         Donations

·         Special events

·         Tax

·         State programs (i.e. DREAM Act)

·         Federal Programs (i.e. Community Development Grants, Tax Credits)

Listed above is an number of tools that a program can access in order to secure funding for their Main Street program. This blog entry was never created for the purpose of going into specifics about this funding; rather, what I am trying to get you as the reader to understand is that there are many options out there funding and that communities shouldn't be afraid to began these programs just because they lack the necessary funding. Also, diversification of funding is just as important as the funding itself; it ensures the program's stability even when one source dries up.

Main Street programs are vital for downtown revitalization; in the previous blog entry I discussed the positive effects that shopping at local businesses have on the community, for that to happen, funding the Main Street programs are needed and funding is an important piece of the creation of such programs. 

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1 Dono, Andrew L., and Linda S. Glisson.Revitalizing main street: a practitioner's guide to comprehensive commercial district revitalization. Washington, DC: Main Street, National Trust for Historic Preservation/National Trust Main Street Center, 2009.