Main Street Arkansas Update - August 18, 2008

OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS

Main Street Arkansas Calendar August 18 - 22, 2008
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MONDAY Caroline, out
TUESDAY Susan, Mark & Nancy – Texarkana
WEDNESDAY Susan, Batesville
THURSDAY Greg & Nancy – Siloam Springs; Susan, Morrilton (window workshop) & Siloam Springs
FRIDAY Nancy – annual leave
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Help Flooded Programs in MS, WI & IA
Rescue Public Murals
Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grants
Unique Wayfinding for Parking Decks
House Passes SAT/PA Bill
Innovative Community News Ideas Funded
Foundation Center Cooperating Collection Training At the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation
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Dear Main Street Partners:

Many of you have seen the reporting on damage to Main Street communities in the Midwest, through Main Street News, and directly from some of the coordinators and communities. We have been working to develop a tool to assist those Main Streets in Iowa, Wisconsin , and Missouri, and are pleased to announce that we have a new way for peer Main Street communities to help, through on-line donation sites, managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We have created three online donations pages, through PreservationNation.org, where 100% of the funds will go directly to state organizations, who will then distribute 100% of the funds to towns in the most need. If you would like to contribute to the rebuilding efforts in the flooded Main Street towns in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri, please visit these pages:

http://my.preservationnation.org/mmsc -- for Missouri
http://my.preservationnation.org/wmsa -- for Wisconsin
http://my.preservationnation.org/iowa -- for Iowa
In Iowa, for example, the donations will be divided equally for the five flood - impacted Main Street Iowa towns of Charles City, Waverly, Elkader, Waterloo, and Burlington... which were the most damaged Main Street program communities in the state. Wisconsin and Missouri sites will also identify specific communities that will receive assistance.
We know that many people have already helped the recovery efforts and are so proud to be part of a network that gives so much back, and so we are happy to provide this service as a small way that we can help. It is just this type of deep and strong connections that makes our network so powerful, effective, and successful.

Rescue Public Murals
Rescue Public Murals will soon launch a new page on its Web site with information on best practices for mural creation. This hub will provide muralists and mural programs with information on materials and techniques to consider when painting a mural to help extend the life and vibrancy of their artworks.
The Web resource will feature frequent updates on a current case study in action. Award-winning Philadelphia muralist and Rescue Public Murals Adviser, Megan Saligman, has just begun work on Fertile Ground in Omaha, Nebraska...
To read more about the Mural Best Practices Web Page CLICK HERE!
To read about the latest Rescue Public Mural Assessments CLICK HERE!

Unique Wayfinding for Parking Decks (admittedly, not completely applicable to all of us, but this is pretty cool)
http://de-war.de/eurekacarpark.html

Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grants
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=42592

House passes Preserve America/Save America's Treasures legislation

In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 3981) authorizing the Preserve America and Save America's Treasures preservation grant programs. The bill authorizes $25 million annually from FY2009 through FY2013 for the Preserve America program, and $50 million annually for the Save America's Treasures program with no sunset year. The Senate bill (S. 2262) does not have the sunset provision for the Preserve America program. Its bill is expected to be voted on before Congress adjourns on September 26.

Regarding the budget, the House of Representatives Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Norm Dicks (D-WA), passed its FY 09 bill on June 10. The bill would provide $82.0 million for Historic Preservation Fund programs, a 14% increase over FY 08, and $9.2 million more than the President proposed. The State Historic Preservation Offices would be funded at $45 million, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices at $7 million, Save America's Treasures at $25 million, and Preserve America at $5 million. The full House Appropriations Committee and then the full House of Representatives still have to consider the bill. The Senate must draft its budget bill and follow the same process, but might not do so until after this year's elections.

The administration's budget for FY 09 proposes $66.6 million for Historic Preservation Fund programs, $4.2 million less than the FY 08 final appropriation. The proposal funds State Historic Preservation Offices at $35.7 million, a 9% decrease from FY 08. Tribal Historic Preservation Offices received a reduction to $3.9 million, a 39% decrease. Save America's Treasures would be funded at $15 million, a 40% decrease. The administration's budget adds $2 million for state resources inventories. It also funds the Preserve America program at $10 million, through the Historic Preservation Fund instead of the National Recreation and Parks account where it has

Innovative Community News Ideas Funded
Knight News Challenge
Through the Knight News Challenge, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will award $5 million for innovative ideas that develop platforms, tools, and services to transform community news, conversations, and information distribution and visualization. Grants will be provided for initiatives that will improve local online news, deepen community engagement, bring Web 2.0 tools to local neighborhoods, and develop publishing platforms and standards to support local conversations. Nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit proposals that use digital news and information in a new way to create a sense of community for people in a given geographic area. This year's competition will set aside $500,000 specifically for people 25 and under. Applications will be accepted from September 2 to November 1, 2008, through the website listed above.

Foundation Center Cooperating Collection Training At the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation
The Charles A. Frueauff Foundation is Arkansas' newest Foundation Center Cooperating Collection, and will host three free workshops as overviews of the funding research process. Anna Kay Frueauff Williams, Vice President of Communications and Programs for CAFF, will lead the sessions, highlighting the electronic and print resources available for your free use at the CAFF Foundation Center Cooperating Collection site. Each of these free trainings will be held in the board room at the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation offices, 200 South Commerce St., Suite 100, Little Rock.
• Thursday, August 28th (1:00-3:00pm)
• Wednesday, September 24th (10:00am-12:00pm)
• Tuesday, October 14th (2:00-4:00pm)

Seating is limited to 20 people per session, and will be open on a first come/ first serve basis until filled. Please indicate your first and second choice in an email response to frueaufffdn@aol.com or by calling Alma Willett, CAFF Administrative Assistant at 501.324.2233