During the month of November, the Virginia Main Street (VMS) team published eight blog posts, highlighting the latest community-vitality news, events and more! Here’s a recap: Helene Recovery Resources Two months ago, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and traveled straight north, bringing wind, rain, and catastrophic flooding to Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia as a tropical … More In Case You Missed It: November 2024 Digest

Guest Blogger: Todd Wolford, Executive Director of Downtown Wytheville, Inc. Todd has served as the Executive Director of Downtown Wytheville, Inc. for eight years and has learned more in those years than any other time in his career about people, personalities, and politics. In 2022, he was selected as recipient of Main Street America‘s (MSA) … More Supporting Local Is More Than Just a Hashtag

Discover the Who / What / When / Where / Why of a Grant Opportunity! USDA Rural Development | Rural Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is excited to present a monthly grants opportunity brief that could be a game-changer for your growing Communities! This brief is designed … More U.S. Department of Agriculture Grant Opportunity: Rural Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund

Small Business Saturday was created 15 years ago by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and American Express to encourage shoppers to look outside of the big chains for their holiday shopping and spend their dollars locally instead. Every year, the initiative serves as a reminder of the vital role that small businesses play in … More November 30th is Small Business Saturday!

Last fall, Destination Downtown South Boston (DDSB) was awarded a $100,000 Virginia Business District Resurgence Grant (VBDRG) from the Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) to fund an entrepreneur assistance initiative – Keep Entrepreneurs Program – within the community’s historic commercial district. Over the past year, DDSB delivered high-quality, individualized advising and technical … More Entrepreneur Assistance Program in South Boston Has Big Impact on Downtown Businesses

The Town of Altavista’s Spark Innovation Center recently completed their Boost Your Business (BYB) series, which strengthened local entrepreneurs across Central Virginia. The series included six total cohorts that participated in targeted business essential training. Each four-week session focused on a specific topic such as marketing, finance, leadership development, and human resources. Due to high … More Altavista’s Spark Innovation Center Boosts Entrepreneurs

On October 24, 2024, the Town of Colonial Beach welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s (USDA) Virginia Rural Development State Director Perry Hickman, who announced a significant step forward in economic development for rural communities across the state. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has been awarded $500,000 through the USDA Rural … More Federal and State Collaboration Boosts Economic Development in Rural Virginia

During the month of October, the Virginia Main Street (VMS) team published eight blog posts, highlighting the latest community-vitality news, events and more! Here’s a recap: Disaster Preparedness Virginia did not escape Hurricane Helene unscathed, reporting hundreds of buildings destroyed or damaged and thousands without power and water in the Southwest area of the state. As the … More In Case You Missed It: October 2024 Digest