Taking Care of Main Street grants announced

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Forty Indiana Main Street programs will receive funding through Taking Care of Main Street announced by Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The new program offers operational support for Indiana Main Street organizations impacted by COVID-19.

“Main Street organizations are a lifeline for small businesses who are doing their best to survive the effects of this pandemic,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch. “Ensuring small businesses are able to survive requires a comprehensive approach. This funding can help bridge the gap.”

Crouch says the goal is to help organizations withing the program that provide services and leadership to businesses and members, with a special emphasis on organizations most significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Eligible expenses include salaries, administrative fees, space/equipment rental or staff training. For more information, visit here.

Each of the 40 programs receive $5,000. Programs receiving funding:

• Attica Main Street – to help with annual expenses to include board insurance, promotional materials, billboards, table toppers, Facebook advertising and website maintenance.
• Auburn Main Street – for downtown business promotion, operational expenses and helping search for a new Executive Director.
• Cambridge City Main Street – for ongoing efforts to support local businesses through promotions, town events and business owner engagement. 
• Columbia City Connect – to cover salary expenses.
• Crawfordsville Main Street Program, Inc. – for program manager and board training for long-range business adaptations to include innovative small business online promotion and visitor attraction, computer software upgrades and website improvements.
• Decatur Main Street – to cover payroll and utilities expenses.
• Destination Huntingburg – to continue the 2020 work plans, as well as aid in 2021’s planned projects.
• Develop New Albany – to employ a part-time Program Coordinator.
• Discover Downtown Franklin – to fund the five-year strategic plan and associated planner. Implementing a new strategic plan was a primary goal listed in Franklin’s 2020 work plan.
• Downtown Angola Coalition – to virtually promote downtown businesses through interviews and profiles as part of mini-documentaries. This funding will also help establish an outdoor downtown history museum where small plaques will be displayed with historical and human-interest stories.  
• Downtown Bloomington Inc. – for the organization’s main street insurance, membership software, communication software expenses, general office and media designer expenses.
• Downtown Evansville EID – to allow the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District to move forward with an alley lighting and planting project. This alley connects a parking area to Main Street and will add to the downtown experience.
• Downtown Goshen, Inc – to support and promote downtown businesses and help administer a Facade Incentive Program for Central Business District buildings.
• Downtown Terre Haute will use the funding for salaries of the Office and Program Coordinator, as well as provide promotional help to local businesses who have been most impacted by COVID-19. 
• Experience the Heart of Kendallville – to hire a professional consultant with Gibbs Planning Group to help the Main Street build organizational capacity through a thorough analysis of previous downtown planning efforts and conditions. As part of this service, Gibbs Planning will provide workshops for downtown merchants, including topics such as visual merchandising.
• Frankfort Main Street, Inc. – to cover salaries and business training.
• Greater Lafayette Commerce – to develop a series of SMART workshops during Downtown Development Week, to help business owners recover from the pandemic. Additionally, they will develop and promote a Christmas scavenger hunt and Shop Small Saturday to help drive sales.
• Greenfield Main Street Inc. – to fund a portion of the new Executive Director’s salary and to update the downtown office space.
• Heart of Rushville – to help with support from events that had to be cancelled. It will also be used to provide PPE, downtown lighting, and to purchase a blue tooth sound system, which will be used for special downtown events.
• Jeffersonville Main Street, Inc. – to promote the downtown businesses and help supplement organizational operating expenses.
• Kirklin Main Street, Inc. – to use the funds to support downtown murals and other quality of place initiatives.
• Logan’s Landing Association, Inc. – to use the funding to assist with ongoing operating costs including payroll, taxes, insurance, telephone and utility bills, office supplies and postage.
• Madison Main Street Program – to update the Madison Main Street web page with a new space for  business materials, event and workshop plans and registrations, grant information and applications, real estate listings, sponsor and donor recognition, interactive maps for business locations and inventory, community press releases and staff and business training.
• Main Street Brookville Inc. – to coordinate programming and provide technical assistance to help transition to an online platform by helping build a business’s website integrated with merchant services. In addition, grant funds will be used to help sustain operational costs.
• Main Street Corydon – for salaries, PPE costs, office supplies, printing, social media marketing, activities, equipment rental, administrative fees and staff development.
• Main Street Greensburg – to fund the salary of a new part-time assistant.
• Main Street Richmond-Wayne County, Inc. – for operational expenses.
• Main Street Shelbyville – to bridge a gap left by the loss of sponsorships, memberships and event income. The funding will help with continued promotion and facilitation of programming such as COVID-19 survival webinar with ISBDC, the Downtown Highlights series, and for the administration of the downtown grant programs.
• Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, Inc. – to launch a marketing message in the fall and will use the funds for the development of the campaign, hard costs for media buys and collateral costs. The campaign is focused on getting residents and visitors to return to the downtown.  
• New Castle Main Street, Inc. – to support operating expenses like marketing, administrative materials, postage, website maintenance, etc.
• Noblesville Main Street – to support increased expenses for the farmers market. The market is their main event, with the largest profit margin, and funds the Event Manager position for the following year.
• Manchester Alive – to purchase equipment to help create interviews, videos and photos for social media and websites; to execute a downtown celebration and help supplement office support salaries.
• Rediscover downtown Peru, Inc. – to expand the downtown façade Improvement Program and be able to continue marketing and advertising efforts.
• Seymour Main Street Program – towards the Executive Director’s salary.
• Streets of Monticello Association – for operational expense that include insurance, website maintenance, P.O box rental, staff training and purchase PPE for a variety of upcoming events.
• The Heart of Lebanon – towards the Executive Director’s salary.
• Uptown Project Inc. – to continue to enhance downtown Francesville, support local business and create a mural.
• Vevay Main Street – to fund the director’s salary.
• Wabash Marketplace Inc. – towards part-time employee’s salaries.
• Warsaw Community Development Corporation – to create a downtown mural and other quality of place initiatives.