The organizing component of the Main Street Approach™ lays the foundation to support a successful revitalization effort by ensuring adequate people and financial resources are available to implement approved projects and activities. Think of Outreach as a two-way street that both shares out information about the organization and invites people in to contribute their ideas, time, and finances to a shared vision for the community’s future.

Specifically, the Outreach Committee is responsible for coordinating:

◊ Communication strategies to create awareness of the overall revitalization effort and promote the purpose and activities of the organization

◊ Volunteer and leadership development, including recruitment, training, and recognition

◊ Developing an overall fundraising plan

◊ Fiscal oversight to ensure appropriate policies are in  place and required reporting is completed

Economic Vitality strengthens a community’s existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base. The Main Street organization helps sharpen the competitiveness of existing business owners, helps to foster entrepreneurial start-ups and expansions, and recruits compatible new businesses and new economic uses to build a commercial district to

create jobs and to respond to today’s consumers’ needs. Converting unused or underused commercial space into economically productive property also helps boost the profitability and sales tax revenue of the district. The Economic Vitality Committee is responsible for: 

◊ Building up local economies by expanding the role entrepreneurs and innovation play downtown

◊ Strengthening existing businesses and recruiting new ones

◊ Infrastructure reuse—finding new economic uses for traditional Main Street buildings

◊ Developing financial incentives and capital for business improvement and retail operations

Promotion sells a positive image of the downtown district and encourages consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play, and invest there. By marketing a district’s unique characteristics to residents, investors, business owners, and visitors, an effective promotional strategy forges a positive image through advertising, media relations, retail promotional activity, special events, and marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers. These activities improve consumer and investor confidence in the district and encourage commercial activity and investment in the area by identifying and appealing to the district’s market niches. 

The Promotion Committee is responsible for:

◊ Understanding the changing market—identifying both potential shoppers and the competition

◊ Identifying downtown assets—including people, buildings, heritage, and institutions

◊ Defining Main Street’s market niche—its unique position in the marketplace

◊ Campaigns, retail promotions, and special events to bring people back downtown

Design means getting Main Street into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets—such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets—is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere, created through attractive window displays, well-managed parking areas, building improvements, street furniture, signs, sidewalks, lights, and landscaping, conveys a positive visual message about the commercial district and what it has to offer. Design activities also include instilling good maintenance practices, as well as enhancing the physical appearance of the district and creating new productive commercial or residential space by rehabilitating historic buildings, encouraging appropriate new construction, developing sensible design management systems, and long-term planning.

The Design Committee is responsible for:

◊ Educating others about design to enhance the image of each business as well as that of the district

◊ Providing design expertise to encourage quality improvements to private properties and public spaces

◊ Planning Main Street’s development—guiding future growth and shaping regulations

◊ Motivating others to make changes by creating incentives and targeting key projects