The Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) leverages local and private resources to achieve market-driven redevelopment of vacant and deteriorated industrial and commercial properties. The program focuses on vacant non-residential structures whose poor condition creates physical and economic blight to the surrounding area in which the structure is located. The following communities were named 2022 IRF grant … More Four Communities Named 2022 Industrial Revitalization Fund Grant Recipients

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and it’s time to begin rallying your community around the small businesses that help make your downtown thrive! Encourage your community to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday by applying to be a Neighborhood Champion. Excitingly, Main Street America (MSA) has partnered alongside American Express to help communities support … More Become a Neighborhood Champion and Rally Your Community to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday

Educational Webinar In September, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) welcomed Elgin Cleckley, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia (UVA) and designer, director, and principal of _mpathic design, a Design Thinking pedagogy, initiative, and professional practice focusing on intersections of identity, culture, history, memory, and place, to discuss the … More CCV Series: October 2021 Recap & Additional Resources

In addition to its credit enhancement program, the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority (VSBFA) now offers two direct lending programs: SWAM Microloans and Child Care Financing, with options for both commercial child care centers and at-home child care providers. The SWAM Microloan and Child Care Financing program for commercial child care centers both offer opportunities … More Virginia Small Business Financing Authority Direct Lending Programs Open

The Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network has partnered alongside the Federal Reserve Bank to conduct a Small Business Credit Survey to help determine needs, gaps and opportunities to support business owners in accessing capital. By taking the survey, you contribute to data that directly informs the Fed, federal government agencies, service providers, and others—ultimately … More Small Business Credit Survey: Respond Now!

Our guest blogger, Zachary Whitlow (pictured left), is a Community Revitalization Specialist at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), working closely with the agency’s Virginia Main Street (VMS) program and Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI). He loves helping communities across Virginia unleash the power of small-scale, grassroots revitalization to build a sense of place and … More Orange Continues to Blossom!

Lately, murals have been springing up all over the Commonwealth! You may have recently asked yourself, is there a building or wall that is already painted and sticking out like a sore thumb in my community? It could be time to think about how to liven it up with a new large-scale public artwork that … More Finding Home Grown Muralists

In support of Governor Northam’s 2019 Executive Order 35, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Department of General Services (DGS) launched the new, free and mobile-friendly Start Small application that can be used to help locate nearby small businesses from eVA’s approximately 100,000 registered vendors. Keyword searches can be refined to pinpoint businesses owned … More Start Small App Makes Small, Women-Owned, and Minority-Owned Businesses More Accessible

Does your Main Street have a ghost story to tell? Main Street America (MSA) wants to hear it and learn more about your downtown district’s strange sightings, haunted buildings or other paranormal activities for an exciting chance to be named a 2021 Great American Haunted Main Street! Click here to share your commercial district’s ghost … More 2021 Great American Haunted Main Street Contest

Excitingly, Orange County has partnered alongside the Charlottesville-based Community Investment Collaborative (CIC), a certified Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI), to launch a Revolving Loan Fund program that will provide a flexible source of supplemental financing for businesses expanding or locating to Orange County. Utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the program was created to … More Orange County Launches First Ever Revolving Loan Fund