Monday, May 24, 2010

Main Street Arkansas May 24-28, 2010


Next Quarterly Meeting will be July 20-22. Details to follow

Main Street Arkansas Calendar May 24-28, 2010

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MONDAY

TUESDAY Susan and Mark – West Memphis

WEDNESDAY Susan - Russellville

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

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IN THIS ISSUE:

State Department Transportation Funding Opportunity

Main Street Arkansas staff attended a seminar this week about the State Highway Department’s Transportation Enhancement Funds. This is the first year in at least a decade that these funds—totaling $7 million, are available to a wide range of projects, including streetscape and sidewalk improvements, the rehabilitation of historic transportation buildings such as train depots, landscaping projects, and bicycle and pedestrian trails and facilities. The application deadline is August 25,th 2010, and you will find the application at www.ArkansasHighways.com. To view how these funds have been used nationally, please see the National Transportation Enhancement Clearing House web site: http://www.enhancements.org.

There’s a lot we can learn from Detroit

Despite its 30% unemployment rate and blighted neighborhoods, the story of how the city will come back is worth keeping our eyes on. There’s been a lot of press this month on how this city’s fighting back. Latino businesses are filling Main Street and thriving and there are several initiatives in the works to help get the city back up on its feet, such as The Greening of Detroit urban garden program, the local food scene and an urban arts program. To read about these programs see: http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/detroit051810.aspx

NPR’s story, “Latino Businesses Flourish in Detroit” is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126309820

Eight Strategic Mistakes with Memberships

If you have members (whether those members fit the legal definition of member or not), chances are you're making at least one of these strategic mistakes identified by Ellis Robinson. With striking clarity she points the way not only to building your membership rolls, but to understanding your membership as your constituency:

http://www.blueavocado.org/content/eight-strategic-mistakes-memberships