Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Main Street Arkansas Update - January 10, 2011


Historic Downtown El Dorado

Reminder – Quarterly Training February 21-23, Little Rock (detailed agenda to follow)

Welcome to the new Siloam Springs executive director, Meredith Bergstrom. Send her a welcome note at: Meredith.mainstreetsiloam at gmail.com

Main Street Arkansas Calendar January 10 -14, 2011
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MONDAY office closed due to weather
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY Cary – LR (Community Development Society)
THURSDAY Cary – McGhee (Rohwer/Jerome public meeting)
FRIDAY
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Main Street Batesville Press
Giving Tree Grants
The Networked Nonprofit
America’s Most Romantic Main Streets
AHPP Accepting Grant Applications


Main Street Batesville Press http://batesville.todaysthv.com/content/recipe-revival
Giving Tree Grants via the Arkansas Community Foundation Giving Tree grants are here! Twenty-three of our local offices are accepting grant proposals now through February 15. Watch this 5 minute tutorial on how to apply online, and visit our website, arcf.org, to learn more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGu_Ka8fdA
"The Networked Nonprofit," author Allison Fine – at the Clinton School for Public Service
Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall) *Book signing to follow
- Fine will discuss her book "The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change," a straightforward guide for any nonprofit reviewing its social media strategy.
- I know many of you can’t attend this, but remember this will be archived on http://www.clintonschoolspeakers.com a few days after the event.

America’s Most Romantic Main Streets’ – from the National Trust
You’ve seen the top 10 places to live, the best places to retire, the top dog-friendly cities… but with Valentine’s Day, we want to share the most romantic Main Streets for a national media campaign.

We’ll be collecting your entries through our new My Main Street photo submission page now through Feb. 2 – so grab a camera and take some photos that capture why your Main Street should be on this list. Go online to
http://www.preservationnation.org/main-street/main-street-now/my-main-street-submissions.htmlto find out how to upload your photos. Use the caption area to submit your 5 reasons why your Main Street is the most romantic. (Not every photo has to correspond with the 5 reasons.) We’ll be working with our communications office to build some buzz over our list, which we hope will capture some national media attention next month. Contact me with questions about this.

So what is this My Main Street thing? Many of you have already used it. It is our photo submission system. Since we first told you about it several weeks ago, we have already received 500 photos. We put 25 of our favorites in our first slideshow that you can see on the link I posted above. The slideshow will change frequently, with the next one featuring some of the most romantic Main Street photos. You’ll also find these photos on the back cover of every Main Street Now journal, and I am sure they will pop up on our website and in our other publications and presentations. You can submit photos any time during the year and we’ll be using them constantly. The only deadlines are when we use the system for contests like the one announced above.

AHPP ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANTS
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, will accept applications for its Historic Preservation Restoration Grant and County Courthouse Restoration Subgrant programs through March 11, AHPP Director Frances McSwain announced today.
Two Historic Preservation Restoration Grant options are available for rehabilitation of historic structures in Arkansas:
• Option 1 grants of up to $10,000 are available to the owners of properties that are listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places or are non-contributing structures in National Register historic districts if the grant project will make the property eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and the owner follows through with the National Register listing process
• Option 2 grants of $10,000 or more are available to the owners of properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by a not-for-profit organization or a local government.
Guidelines and applications for the Historic Preservation Restoration Grant and County Courthouse Restoration Subgrant programs can be downloaded from the AHPP web site at http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/preservation-services/grant-programs/; guidelines also can be acquired by writing AHPP Grants, 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center St., Little Rock, AR 72201. Requests also can be sent to the agency via fax at (501) 324-9184 or via e-mail at joia at arkansasheritage.org. All applications must be delivered to the AHPP office by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11, 2011; faxed or e-mailed applications will not be accepted.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Main Street Arkansas Update - January 3, 2011


Go Hogs!

The Assistant Director job (Caroline’s) closes tomorrow. We’ll spend the rest of the week going through resumes & will work to interview soon thereafter. It’s posted here:
http://tinyurl.com/MSADAH


Main Street Arkansas Calendar January 3 – 7, 2011
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MONDAY Susan – out (Sugar Bowl)
TUESDAY Susan – out (Sugar Bowl)
WEDNESDAY Susan – out (Sugar Bowl)
THURSDAY AHPP Planning Day – office closed
FRIDAY Susan – out
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Distinctiveness – The Secret to Cities Success
8 Strategic Mistakes Made with Membership
The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value
Get Your Downtown Businesses on Google Places



Distinctiveness – The Secret to Cities Success
http://citiwire.net/post/2467/

8 Strategic Mistakes with Membership
http://www.blueavocado.org/content/eight-strategic-mistakes-memberships

The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value

http://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value/ar/1

Are All of Your Local Businesses on Google Places? They Should Be
http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/12/get-more-from-google-place-page.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SmallBusinessTrends+%28Small+Business+Trends%29

Monday, December 27, 2010

Main Street Arkansas Update - December 27, 2010


Historic Downtown Rogers

We wish you the best for the coming year.

MSA Assistant Director job is posted until January 5
http://tinyurl.com/MSADAH


Main Street Arkansas Calendar December 27 - 31, 2010
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MONDAY
TUESDAY Susan – Rogers; Greg – out
WEDNESDAY Susan – Rogers; Nancy & Greg – out
THURSDAY Nancy & Greg – out
FRIDAY office closed
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Main Street Helena’s Paula Oliver Makes a Donation to the DCC
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=134441&catid=2

Main Street Batesville Press
http://www.guardonline.com/content/main-street-offers-gifts

The Giving Effect – connects donors of ‘things’ to non-profits
www.thegivingeffect.com/
Is your Main Street/Downtown organization signed up? You should be

The Placemaking Dividend

http://www.planetizen.com/node/47402

Monday, December 20, 2010

Main Street Arkansas Update - December 20, 2010


Downtown Sheridan

Has your program received USDA funding? If so, please let me know as the National Main Street Center is collecting that data.

Happy Holidays from the MSA staff

Main Street Arkansas Calendar December 13 - 17, 2010
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MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY Greg – out
THURSDAY office closed
FRIDAY office closed
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Newsweek Covers the Main Street Program
Downtown Helena Gets a Business Incubator
Downtown Eureka Springs Coverage
Downtown Ft. Smith Growth
High Profile: Vanessa McKuin
Arkansas – Tourism as an Export
Study Shows 3 Qualities to Attach People to Place



Newsweek Covers the Main Street Program

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/16/how-to-save-main-street.print.html
- they get the name of the National Trust Main Street Center wrong (calling it Main Street America) but we’ll take national coverage of downtown revitalization everyday

Downtown Helena Gets a Business Incubator
http://www.helena-arkansas.com/newsnow/x1714281391/DBP-awards-an-186-000-grant-for-Phillips-County-business-incubator

Downtown Eureka Springs Coverage
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/dec/12/christmas-cavalcade-20101212/

Downtown Ft. Smith Going Great Guns
http://www.swtimes.com/news/article_6e2ca51c-0864-11e0-a2af-001cc4c03286.html

High Profile: Vanessa McKuin & the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/dec/19/historic-alliance-chief-blass-site-typifi-20101219/
- subscriber only, sorry. But, there’s still time to buy tickets to the January 14 Preservation Awards at preservearkansas.org

Arkansas Tourism as an Export
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/printable.aspx?aid=124679

Gallup-Knight Foundation Study Looks at Benefits of Loving Your Community
Gallup and the Knight Foundation partnered to look into the effects of attachment to place in 26 cities. The Knight Soul of the Community project found that people’s love and passion for their communities may be leading to economic growth. The project interviewed almost 43,000 people over three years and found three main qualities attach people to place. According to the study,
1)social offerings (entertainment venues and meeting places)
2) openness (how welcoming a place is), and the
3)area’s aesthetics (its physical beauty and green spaces)
are more important than people’s perceptions of the economy, jobs or basic services in creating an emotional bond.

“This study is important because its findings about emotional attachment to place point to a new perspective that we encourage leaders to consider; it is especially valuable as we aim to strengthen our communities during this tough economic time,” said Paula Ellis, Knight Foundation’s vice president for strategic initiatives.
Resource: http://www.soulofthecommunity.org/

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Monday, December 13, 2010

Main Street Arkansas Update - December 13, 2010


Historic Downtown Ozark

Main Street Arkansas Calendar December 13 - 17, 2010
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MONDAY Mark – Ozark (sm. biz consult), Greg – out
TUESDAY Susan, Mark, Nancy – Walnut Ridge (design & sm. biz site visits)
WEDNESDAY Cary – out a.m. (training)
THURSDAY
FRIDAY Greg – out
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Main Street El Dorado in the News
Your Story About a Nonprofit
A Small Bypassed Town Reclaims Its Identity
Using Internet Marketing to Promote Your Events



Good Main Street/Downtown El Dorado Press
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/dec/11/el-dorado-city-roll-20101211/
- Subscriber only, Sorry.

Your Story About A Nonprofit

This Season of Giving, help your favorite nonprofit gain visibility and attract donors and more volunteers. You can do that by writing a review about your experience with them.
Whether you're a volunteer, donor, client served or board member, you can give your favorite nonprofits the gift of a review. Tell others why you think they are great. You can write a review of any nonprofit at GreatNonprofits.org which lists over 1.2M nonprofits.

Nonprofits have few marketing resources, so you can help bring your favorite nonprofit some much needed visibility by writing a review. Won't you take 3 minutes to share your story?
Go to greatnonprofits.org

A Bypassed Small Nebraska Town Reclaims Its Identity
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/us/08land.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Using Internet Marketing to Promote Your Events
http://ruraltourismmarketing.com/2010/12/online-events-marketing-for-your-small-town-five-easy-steps/

Monday, December 6, 2010

Main Street Arkansas Calendar December 6 - 10, 2010

Main Street Arkansas Calendar December 6 - 10, 2010
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MONDAY Mark – out
TUESDAY Mark – out; Susan & Nancy – Paragould & Walnut Ridge
WEDNESDAY Mark – Texarkana; Greg – out
THURSDAY Greg – out
FRIDAY Greg – out
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Online Review Sites Can Threaten Businesses’ Reputations
Statewide Workshops on CDBG
Grant Opportunity
Online Training for Property Repair



As Internet Review Sites Grow, Business’ Reputations Can be Threatened
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/printable.aspx?aid=124388
- This is a worthy piece to share with your local businesses. It’s worth your ER committee’s time to take a look at reviews & on the web to determine if they’re accurate.

Statewide workshops to focus on CDBG application procedures

AEDC’s Grants Management Division will host application workshops in five locations throughout Arkansas to inform the public on the procedures for applying for grants and loans from four different agencies and organizations. AEDC administers the state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, as well as several state-funded grant programs aimed at economic development. For more information regarding workshop locations, contact Dana Heatley at (501) 682-1211 or dheatley at arkansasedc.com.

Outreach Programs in Company Communities Supported
Ameriprise Financial Community Relations Program
The Ameriprise Financial Community Relations Program supports nonprofit organizations in company communities throughout the United States whose shared goal is to improve the lives of individuals from all walks of life. The company's community outreach focuses on Meeting Basic Needs and Supporting Community Vitality. (Requests from nonprofit organizations where company employees/advisors/retirees volunteer are also considered.) The application deadlines are February 1, May 1 and September 1, annually. Visit the company’s website to review the Community Relations guidelines and submit an online application.

Online Training Videos for Historic Property Repair
http://www.youtube.com/user/KansasSHPO