Join us for three days of learning, connecting, and celebrating at Main Street Now 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 7 – 9.
Secure Your Spot!The proposed legislation would help provide support for small business owners. © Pierce Drones
Business districts are critical to our nation’s economic vitality, acting as catalysts for entrepreneurship, community hubs, and centers of commerce and civic life. But the growth and development of our business districts, as well as the small businesses within them, depends on the capacity of the local organizations that serve them. Now, new legislation offers a pathway to strengthen local business district organizations, accelerating their efforts to build thriving businesses, create high quality local jobs, and revitalize towns and neighborhoods.
Main Street America (MSA) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) are proud to support the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program, which would create a competitive grant program within the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support business district organizations in rural and underserved areas through the national nonprofit networks in which they participate.
Small businesses are often found clustered in our business districts: neighborhood commercial corridors, Main Streets, downtowns, and other dense concentrations of small business development. Small businesses located in business districts are typically locally-owned, have under 20 employees, and hire locally, creating opportunities to build wealth and sustain a community from the ground up. The importance of these businesses cannot be overstated: research from the Association for Enterprise Opportunity indicates that if one-third of “microbusinesses” hired just one additional employee, unemployment in the country would be eliminated.
Beyond their direct economic impact, small, locally owned businesses create communities where people want to live, work and visit, providing vital spaces for social connection, opening opportunities for new entrepreneurs, and reinvesting back into their neighborhoods. But successful small business ownership in these places requires supportive networks, resources, and a community commitment to their growth. Often, economic development activities focus on resources and incentives to attract large industry, but research indicates that quality of place and customized support for small businesses are more effective strategies to promote economic growth. From rural downtowns to historically disinvested urban areas, creating thriving communities requires a hyperlocal approach.
Business district organizations (BDOs) support the local small business community by advancing solutions throughout the district. Every business district revitalization effort needs a durable local organizational structure with sufficient staffing to develop strategies and execute plans to create place-based support for small businesses. In many communities, and particularly in rural communities, BDOs are the only local economic development entity connecting entrepreneurs to resources, capital, and physical space for business growth. Capacity building for these entities is essential to ensure the success of hyperlocal, place-based economic development efforts. Unfortunately, there is currently no federal program dedicated to supporting business district organizations, with most economic development programs focused on larger, better resourced entities.
“By strengthening existing place-making efforts and serving as a catalyst for economic growth and development by creating a sense of place and pride for the community, the Downtown Hattiesburg Association is improving the quality of life in Hattiesburg. Added resources for capacity and technical assistance to expand our work will increase our impact. We are grateful for Rep. Ezell’s support to make that vision a reality.”
With our decades of work to support business district organizations nationwide, LISC and MSA applaud Representatives Mike Ezell (MS-04) and Troy Carter (LA-02) for introducing a bill to create the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program. The program would enable BDOs to better support small business owners and build thriving communities in small towns and neighborhoods across the country — particularly those that face barriers to participating in existing EDA programs. The legislation would also direct resources and technical expertise to communities that have identified commercial corridors and main streets as economic assets in need of revitalization.
The program would deploy resources through national organizations that already partner with BDOs and other locally based small business support organizations. This approach would leverage the capacity of these larger organizations to apply for EDA funding, ensure compliance with federal regulations, and provide training and support to locally based BDOs to enhance their impact. This would enable BDOs to expand the small business support programs that are so critical to their communities.
Thousands of organizations across the country could benefit from the resources provided through the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program. For example, since 1985, Downtown Hattiesburg Association in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has worked with city and county partners to revitalize Hattiesburg’s historic core. Bringing people back to the community through events and placemaking paves the way for strategic investment in downtown properties and small businesses, generating increased tax revenue for the city. Under the umbrella of the Mississippi Main Street Association, the organization receives support and guidance, but additional resources for local economic development are needed to expand and continue this success.
In New Orleans, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, neighbors organized to rebuild, forming Broad Community Connections to create a thriving commercial corridor across several historic neighborhoods. Now, the organization supports over 120 small businesses along the Broad Street business district, along with creating investment in high-impact projects. Through their work in property and business development, the organization has activated over 100,000 square feet of vacant or blighted property into active use as commercial space, creating over 300 jobs.
A broad range of national organizations that promote business ownership and locally-driven economic development have already endorsed the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program, including:
“Broad Community Connections is committed to creating a flourishing community, connected by its people, its businesses and its culture. To reach this vision, capacity building resources and technical assistance are vital. We applaud the introduction of the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program and are grateful for Rep. Carter’s co-sponsorship of this important legislation.”
This legislation addresses a long-term need for direct support for the hyperlocal approaches that have been a missing link in federal support for economic development. Currently, the Economic Development Administration is set to be reauthorized for the first time in twenty years through inclusion in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Reauthorization of EDA is essential to advancing broad economic development goals nationwide and will be beneficial for BDOs. The goals of the Capacity Building for Business Districts Pilot Program further advance this need by using nonprofit intermediaries to extend support to business district organizations.
If you’re interested in learning more about federal policies impacting Business District Organizations, email Kelly Humrichouser at khumrichouser@mainstreet.org or Lauren Rosenbaum at lrosenbaum@lisc.org.
For more information on this legislation, read press releases from Representative Mike Ezell and Representative Troy Carter.
The Government Relations team is excited to release our new Policy Agenda outlining policy issues and recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels that impact Main Street communities.
Over 50 Main Street advocates gathered in Washington, D.C., to meet with legislators and government leaders and share information about the Main Street movement.
The Government Relations team shares some key policy updates from 2024 and advocacy priorities for 2025.
Learn how your Main Street can support voters, manage relationships, and impact policy during and after the election.
Learn how Main Streets can tap into federal resources to improve transportation infrastructure, take down barriers, and improve access to key services.
The RAISE program funds surface transportation projects with local and regional impact by enhancing safety, mobility, sustainability, and economic growth.
Streetscape improvements can make a big difference for Main Streets. © Grant Harper
Apply for federal funding to remove, retrofit, or mitigate transportation infrastructure that creates barriers to community connectivity.
Streets play an important role in our downtown districts. Learn more about Main Street America's recent work with the Department of Transportation to promote vibrant and sustainable downtown roadways.
Understanding the Advisory Council on Historic Preservations report on federal historic preservation standards.
Toccoa, GA © Steph Maley
Michael Jarosz, Coordinator of Government Relations, provides details on this productive day on the Hill and offers insights into the impacts that are already emerging from their advocacy efforts.
Learn how the HUD Pro Housing Program and other opportunities can help you increase affordable housing in your community.
Learn how Majd Alsaif, Celeste Constancio, and Leilani Commons supported Main Street America this summer.
Learn how you can participate in the Thriving Communities program as a capacity builder or how you can receive support from the program.
Learn how the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and the Clean Communities Accelerator Fund (CCIA) will pump billions of dollars into reducing carbon emissions from the built environment in the coming years.
Main Street America is leading a coalition urging that the EPA make available the GGRF funds for adaptive reuse and location-efficient projects because of the substantial greenhouse gas emissions reduction offered by such developments.
Learn the results of our Capitol Hill Day, the first to bring Main Street leaders together around a Main Street-focused agenda.
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
Two years after the American Rescue Plan Act, we are celebrating successful Main Street projects and sharing lessons learned in advocating for federal funds.
Key advocacy and policy updates from the 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill.
Kelly Humrichouser, Director of Government Relations, shares a short guide on how you can reach out to your representatives and engage them in a conversation about the importance of your work.
Main Street America is proud to support the Revitalizing Small and Local Businesses Act
How do those amazing Main Street rehabilitation projects happen? And what policies and public support make them happen? In the Behind the Ribbon Cutting series, we look at a project or businesses from concept to opening day to break down the partnerships and funding brought to bear and recognize how we can advocate for policies and resources for revitalization across the country.
Astoria, OR © ADHDA
Main Streets and small businesses are benefiting from the strategic use of ARPA State and Local Recovery Funds through the advocacy and innovation of local leaders and decision-makers.
San Marcos, TX © Andy Heatwole
Learn more about small business needs in the pandemic.
The Brookings Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking released a new series of research briefs focused on the role that place governance organizations, like Main Street programs, play in revitalizing rural downtowns and promoting equitable rural economic and community development.
Many Main Streets serve as gateways to national parks and find a significant portion of their tourism economy tied to the well-being of the nearest national park.
After more than five years of consistent advocacy, the 20 percent historic tax credit (HTC) has survived the most significant rewrite of the tax code in more than 30 years.
In the midst of this human and cultural disaster, the Main Street program, managed by the Ellicott City Partnership, collaborated with Preservation Maryland to provide a variety of disaster relief financing that helped expedite the recovery.
As Main Street practitioners, our work is constantly impacted by decisions made by governing bodies at the local, state and federal level.
We measure the effectiveness of our last marketing campaign, weigh whether the investment in new street lights outweigh the political capital spent, and debate if the thousands of volunteer hours are worth the impacts created by a one-day event.
