The Impact of MainStreet

From NMMS eNewsletter February 2011

What impact does diligently applying the Main Street Approach™ have on a community? Fortunately, the network of New Mexico MainStreet communities has produced some of the strongest statistics in the field of economic development and our numbers can help answer that vital question. MainStreet’s statewide track record data is powerful and reliable because it has been gathered over time, measures incremental progress, is taken from multiple communities, and is collected four times a year. Modest, incremental measurement prevents overstatement of results. A near-100% sample of many communities ensures that any rare reporting errors are easily spotted and corrected. And, the high frequency of reporting makes for easier local tracking, maximizing accuracy by minimizing double-counting.

New Mexico MainStreet is clearly a small business developer.Through business coaching, involving businesses in MainStreet promotion and design initiatives, and linking owners up with other technical and financial assistance partners, NMMS network programs created 117 net new businesses that generated 508 net new jobs in 2010 alone.

New Mexico MainStreet improves the visual quality of communities throughout the state by stimulating reinvestment in MainStreet buildings and streetscapes. Façade improvements and public infrastructure investment capitalize on historic commercial buildings as leading economic assets and realize districts’ full urban design potential as community gathering places. These changes boost local quality of life, encourage local citizens to spend their dollars in the community, attract tourists, and reclaim MainStreet’s role as the cultural, civic and commercial heart of town. Last year, NMMSdistricts invested $8.5 million in 168 individual private building storefront and interior improvements and $42.6 million in 80 public improvement projects.

Our network programs produce a packed calendar of superior community events, cooperative business promotions and advertising campaigns. Silver City MainStreet’s Spookwalk, Lighted Christmas Parade, Celebration of Spring Festival and Taste of Downtown Silver City attract thousands of customers to downtown for shopping and socializing. Farmington Downtown Association’s Fall Art Walk generates the participation of 29 businesses that collectively showcase their community as an arts center. The Corrales MainStreet News is distributed quarterly to 6,000 households. Nob Hill MainStreet maintains a model website and 2,000 people “like” the organization on Facebook.

While our statistics are essential, the numbers tell only part of our impact story. Not every important result is easy to quantify. Perhaps the biggest effects of MainStreet are the ways that communities grow qualitatively. Community pride swells as folks of all ages find their town’s history and heritage. Citizens are empowered to work effectively in building their community. In 2010, NMMS programs logged 27,010 hours of volunteer labor. (Hey, that’s another great number.) Leadership capacity expands by learning proven revitalization tools and techniques through NMMS and improving upon them by lots of in-the-trenches application. Accountability and performance are enhanced by using sound organizational practices. Community communication, public decision-making processes, and inter-organizational partnerships are enriched. MainStreet communities know that these impacts are hard to beat!

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