Recently, Main Street America (MSA) announced that 883 Main Street programs from across the nation have earned Accredited status! Excitingly, 23 Main Street programs in Virginia earned MSA’s top tier of recognition. This exclusive designation signifies a demonstrated commitment to comprehensive community revitalization and a proven track record of successfully applying the Main Street Approach to such efforts. Apart from Accredited communities, MSA also congratulated the 337 programs that have been designated as Affiliates, 16 of which are from Virginia. These programs are achieving meaningful economic, social, physical and organizational improvements in their communities!

Combined, these Accredited and Affiliate communities generated:

• $4.14 billion in local reinvestment
• 4,356 net new businesses
• 14,988 net new jobs
• 8,488 rehabilitated historic buildings
• 983,702 volunteer hours (2020)

“We are thrilled to acknowledge this year’s Accredited and Affiliate programs and their dedication to advancing economic opportunity and quality of life in their downtowns. During an incredibly challenging year, these programs have demonstrated the power of the Main Street movement to champion small businesses, drive recovery efforts and lift up their communities. I am inspired by their efforts and know that these Main Street programs will continue to help their districts flourish in the next stages of recovery.”

– Patrice Frey, President & CEO, Main Street America

Statewide, countywide, and citywide Coordinating Programs evaluate, select, and recommend qualifying communities to Main Street America on an annual basis. Communities must meet ten rigorous standards to qualify for Accreditation status. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings. Learn more about Main Street America designation here.

View MSA’s interactive map to explore all the Accredited and Affiliate MSA communities across the Main Street network!