MAY 14-16: ARKANSAS PRESERVATION CONFERENCE, EUREKA SPRINGS (next quarterly training – memo mailed & emailed last week)
SEPTEMBER 14-16: DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, EL DORADO
Main Street Arkansas Calendar April 13 -17, 2009
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MONDAY Cary & Susan – Helena (Window Display Workshop & tech visits w/ merchants)
TUESDAY Cary & Susan – Helena (RHDI wrap-up w/ NTHP, tech visits w/merchants & speak @ annual meeting); Greg & Caroline – El Dorado: GAMSA presentation by Mark Givens at Chamber luncheon (Gov Beebe & Rep Ross speaking, as well)
WEDNESDAY Susan & Mark – Paragould: tech visits w/merchants
THURSDAY
FRIDAY Mark – Russellville, sm. biz asst. visits
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Film Production Bill Becomes Law
PB 400k Small Biz Incubator
Russellville Taste of the Valley
2nd Friday in Batesville
MS Helena Receives Heritage Month Grant
This Old Wasteful House
Celebrate A Place That Matters
Review Heritage Sites & Win A Trip to NYC
Online Volunteer Coordination Site
Grant Opportunity
Mico Mentor
Film Production Bill Becomes Law
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/printable.asp?aid=113562
Pine Bluff Receives $400,000 for Small Business Incubator
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/printable.asp?aid=113561
Russellville Taste of the Valley Press
http://standard.arkansasonline.com/news/2009/apr/05/taste-valley-offers-local-fare-20090405/
2nd Friday’s in Downtown Batesville
http://www.kffb.com/blog/2nd-friday-downtown-in-batesville/
Main Street Helena Receives Heritage Month Grant
http://www.helena-arkansas.com/archive/x1931063762/Main-Street-Helena-awarded-Heritage-Month-grant
This Old Wasteful House
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/opinion/06moe.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=moe&st=cse
- Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Commentary
Celebrate A Place That Matters
The National Trust for Historic Preservation invites you to tell us about a place that matters to you through our This Places Matters campaign. The campaign helps people call attention to special places in their community before they are endangered -- the small, famous and infamous, and even some relatively obscure, that collectively represent the nation's cultural consciousness.
Simply visit www.PreservationNation.org/thisplacematters to download a This Place Matters sign, take a picture or make a video at the place that matters to you and post it to our slide show. Don't have a picture? Plant your flag on our This Place Matters Google map.
So celebrate a place you love, sound an alarm about a place that is threatened or just start a conversation about places that matter.
Review Heritage Sites & Win A Trip to NYC
Through my travels for business and pleasure, I’ve visited over 500 cities in 35 countries and nearly every state in the U.S. I’ve learned the value of traveling with the information necessary to get to the “must-see” sites. In the old days, I would ask family and friends for recommendations. Occasionally, I found their definition of “must see” differed markedly from mine.
Times have changed. Now, gathering information about travel destinations is as simple as logging onto the Internet. But it’s often difficult to find reliable information about heritage- and culture-rich experiences.
Heritage Travel, Inc. , a new subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is being designed with this purpose in mind. This exciting new online community will enable consumers to find, book and share experiences that match their interests.
This includes reading reviews from people who share your interests. As we build this new online community, we are seeking reviews of heritage destinations and sites, and we are offering an exciting incentive to encourage submissions. Your review could win you and a guest an amazing tour of New York City Broadway theater. Heritage Travel’s “reviews” contest deadline is now May 1st.
The tour highlights include:
• A private performance by current Broadway entertainers.
• A behind-the-scenes tour of Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater (you can even perform on stage!)
• Tickets to two Broadway shows of your choice.
• Privileged access to the New Amsterdam Theater.
• A special visit to The Players, the theater world’s most prestigious private club.
• A private meeting with the president of the National Arts Club.
Each review earns you another chance to win
If you haven’t submitted a review yet, now is your opportunity. It’s free to sign up and share your reviews - all you need to do is login (or sign up if you haven’t already), choose a destination or site, and submit your review. You can submit as many reviews as you like, and each one will earn you one entry into the “Reviews” contest.
The reviews submitted to date range from a few sentences to the maximum of 2,000 words. Provide as much information as possible about the site or destination, such as recommended local hotels and restaurants, must-see’s, best times to go and other helpful tips.
Keep in mind that the winning review will be the one that best embodies the spirit of heritage travel: engaging, informative, and inspiring.
Don’t miss out–submit your review today.
Great New Online Resource for Local Volunteer Coordinating
VolunteerSpot (www.volunteerspot.com) is a free online sign-up tool that simplifies grassroots volunteering. The site makes it easy for anyone to quickly mobilize and coordinate volunteers in their community, congregation or social network. This is a wonderful tool for all-volunteer group officers, committee chairs, special event planners, and others who need to schedule and organize many other volunteers.
Grants Enhance Comprehensive Capital Campaigns
Kresge Foundation: Capital Challenge Grant Program
The Kresge Foundation supports communities in the United States and around the world by strengthening the nonprofit organizations that serve them. The Foundation's six major areas of interest are health, environment, arts and culture, education, human services, and community development. Through the Capital Challenge Grant Program, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that are engaged in comprehensive campaigns designed to support institutional growth through the construction of new facilities as well as the acquisition or renovation of existing facilities, the purchase of real property, and the purchase of major integrated equipment systems. Because environmental conservation is one of the Foundation's values, challenge grant applicants are encouraged to consider green construction issues. The Foundation accepts online letters of intent for this program throughout the year. Visit the website listed above to review the Capital Challenge Grant Program guidelines.
Free Online Service Connects Entrepreneurs with Experienced Mentors to Grow Successful Small Businesses
MicroMentor 2.0 supports local small businesses by providing entrepreneurs with access to one-on-one mentoring
Mercy Corps announced the launch of MicroMentor 2.0, a free online social networking tool designed to easily connect entrepreneurs with people who have the skills they need to grow and improve their businesses.
It has become apparent that America's economic recovery will be driven in large part by small businesses. Responsible for half of all private-sector jobs, small businesses have "created roughly 70 percent of all new jobs in the past decade." (White House statement 16 Mar 2009).
At a time when the US economy is shedding jobs at an alarming rate, connecting small and micro businesses — businesses with five or fewer employees — with one-on-one mentoring is a proven economic growth strategy. MicroMentor focuses on reaching traditionally underserved small-business owners (women, minorities, and those in rural and lower-income communities), helping them increase their revenues, create jobs, and ultimately strengthening local economies.
The improved 2.0 version of MicroMentor, available today, automatically matches skilled business volunteers with entrepreneurs, based on each person's industry and expertise. This ensures that mentors are in a position to provide meaningful advice to their mentees on their most pressing issues, from creating business plans to addressing cash flow problems. And because MicroMentor is a nationwide network, entrepreneurs can choose to be matched with business mentors who live right in their own communities or even on the other side of the country.
"MicroMentor's enhanced usability and smart matching engine make it easier to connect the right volunteer with the right entrepreneur," said Jeff Jones, Program Director, MicroMentor. "Our program offers a win-win solution - entrepreneurs receive advice to help their businesses succeed and mentors find a meaningful way to share their experience and unique skills."
MicroMentor 2.0 builds on the service's strong base of more than 1,015 mentors and 1,380 entrepreneurs participating in the program across 48 states. These relationships have helped small business owners achieve a median 74 percent business survival rate (8% higher than the national average) and increase annual business revenues on average by 63 percent.
"MicroMentor's commitment to helping micro and small business owners start and grow their enterprises successfully, is directly aligned with the Citi Foundation's commitment to the economic empowerment of individuals in need, so that they can improve their standard of living," said Amy Feldman, Program Officer, Citi Foundation. "We are very pleased to be the primary funder of MicroMentor 2.0."
To participate in MicroMentor, mentors must have significant business experience (usually three or more years of management), and mentees must be actively starting or growing a small business. For more information about the program or to become a mentor or mentee please visit: http://www.micromentor.org
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