Department of Housing and Community Development

Building Entrepreneurial Economies (BEE) Innovation Day on Oct. 13 — Register Now!

September 9, 2016

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will be holding a Building Entrepreneurial Economies (BEE) Innovation Day on Thursday, Oct. 13 in Lynchburg, VA. This event will provide the opportunity for business leaders to share and discuss innovative ideas in entrepreneurship development. Several recent BEE Innovation and Implementation grant recipients will share about their BEE funded projects and how they … More Building Entrepreneurial Economies (BEE) Innovation Day on Oct. 13 — Register Now!

Revisit Your Community’s Unique Assets

August 24, 2016

The National Main Street Center publishes a Main Street Story of the Week each week. These articles share information, tips and advice from experts around the country. In one of the recently posted articles “Revisit Your Community’s Unique Assets: Connecting Asset-Based Economic Development to Community Transformation Strategies,” the author discusses leveraging unique, local assets to achieve economic … More Revisit Your Community’s Unique Assets

Homegrown Hospitality Development in Downtown St. Paul

August 15, 2016

In early July 2016, ground was broken in downtown St. Paul for a long-awaited $7.3 million boutique hotel that will be called the Western Front Hotel. This project is a result of the hard work and drive of local leaders to take revitalization of downtown St. Paul into their own hands, embracing a community-initiated development … More Homegrown Hospitality Development in Downtown St. Paul

Tips for a Wonderful Experience at Downtown Intersections, Staunton, Virginia

July 6, 2016

Guest Blogger Julie Markowitz, director of Staunton Downtown Development Association, started with Main Street in 2006, armed with 10 years of experience in mall marketing and promotions. Staunton Downtown Development Association is delighted to host the first inaugural Virginia Main Street Downtown Intersections workshop in Staunton, Virginia on July 11-13, 2016. Welcome to Staunton, Main Street … More Tips for a Wonderful Experience at Downtown Intersections, Staunton, Virginia

Pulaski highlights “The Way We Worked” Smithsonian Exhibit

June 29, 2016

The Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Service program, Museums on Main Street, brings exhibits to small towns across America. The most recent exhibit, “The Way We Worked,” showcases various working environments of American citizens, within the United States. This exhibit highlights the journey, struggle and triumph of the American workforce. One of Virginia Main Street’s Commercial District Affiliate partners, … More Pulaski highlights “The Way We Worked” Smithsonian Exhibit

Leverage your marketing dollars!

June 20, 2016

One of Virginia Main Street’s strong partnerships is with the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). Through their grant offerings and programs, our local designated Main Street communities and commercial district affiliates can leverage local dollars into more for their project. The Marketing Leverage Program is designed to stimulate new tourism marketing programs through the creation of tourism … More Leverage your marketing dollars!

Crowdfunding for Main Street

June 16, 2016

Are you looking for new and exciting ways to raise funds for a civic project, your Main Street organization or entrepreneurs in your community? The Local Crowd is a new crowdfunding platform that has been developed to help communities raise support for local businesses and projects. The Local Crowd can help you do several things … More Crowdfunding for Main Street

Overnight Success, 20 Years In The Making

May 31, 2016

Guest Blogger Ken Heath, Director of Community and Economic Development, has been working for downtown revitalization since 1994 with the Town of Marion. Read his inspirational words and how it has taken over twenty years to get where the Town is today. Working hard at revitalization every day, and the job is never done. It’s … More Overnight Success, 20 Years In The Making

Small business training resource

May 17, 2016

Sometimes our downtown business owners are busy minding their shop and cannot attend in-person training. Sometimes they have just an hour during lunch break to take advantage of a short class. Knowing these challenges, the Virginia Highlands Small Business Incubator has teamed up with the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (SBSD) and Washington County Virginia Chamber … More Small business training resource

Building Entrepreneurial Economies (BEE) grant deadline extended to end of May

May 13, 2016

The application deadline for the 2017 Building Entrepreneurial Economies (BEE) grant program has been extended through May 31, 2016. BEE grants provide resources to small business development organizations, local governments, planning district commissions and other nonprofit organizations that deliver services to entrepreneurs in new and original ways. Organizations may apply for up to $15,000 for … More Building Entrepreneurial Economies (BEE) grant deadline extended to end of May