July 29, 2014
Fundraising Basics by Eduardo Martinez, NMMS Program Associate Fundraising is a critical element of your MainStreet program success. It’s not enough to rely on municipal contracts or public sources for operational funds (see Sustainable Funding Sources for NM MainStreet and Arts & Cultural District, NMMS Newsletter, January 2014). Grant writing…
July 21, 2014
February saw the release of In the New Mexico Tradition: The Impacts of MainStreet, 1985-2013 at New Mexico MainStreet’s Winter Leadership Network Meeting in Santa Fe. Author Donovan Rypkema of PlaceEconomics presented the study’s findings and advised NMMS communities on how to capitalize on our network’s impressive performance statistics. See…
July 8, 2014
***APPLICATION NOW AVAILABLE! Click links below to download*** Is your community is interested in applying to become an “Emerging” MainStreet Community or a Frontier Community? We will be holding three Pre-Application workshops (the same workshop in three regions), providing an introduction to the program benefits, process, eligibility criteria, ranking and…
July 7, 2014
by Robyne Beaubien, NMMS Program Associate Branding is a challenging topic for many of our communities. We spend a lot of time trying to get to the core of what defines our district and exploring ways to reach different target markets. Often we lump image and brand together and don’t…
June 26, 2014
New Mexico’s 27 MainStreet districts build strong local economies brick by brick and job by job. During fiscal year 2013-2014, MainStreet’s owners invested almost $10 million in 162 private building rehabilitation projects and $71.8 million in 10 new buildings. Entrepreneurs on MainStreet launched 101 net new businesses and created 456…
June 24, 2014
By Charlie Deans, NMMS Program Associate This is an overview of funding sources that can finance projects, programming, and specifically administrative operations, of MainStreet/Arts and Cultural Districts. There are only a few funding sources that can be used to fund the administration and operations of MainStreet and A&C Districts and…
June 18, 2014
Raton Executive Director Position Announcement Raton MainStreet is seeking an Executive Director with the education/and or experience in one or more of the following areas: commercial district management, economics, finance, public relations, planning business administration, public administration, retailing, volunteer and/or non-profit administration, architecture, historic preservation, and /or small business development. …
June 10, 2014
by Keith Kjelstrom, NM MainStreet Program Associate New Mexico MainStreet programs are building better websites by adding or enhancing business development (BD) features. Surf the web to find lots of great examples. For a comprehensive BD page with links to businesses, business climate, real estate, business resources, incentives, infrastructure and…
June 3, 2014
Most NM MainStreet communities have installed various signs in their downtowns, either related to way finding within the district, or arrival into the MainStreet district with the “NMMS Community” road sign. While most of these sign applications are vehicle-oriented, in other words, intended to be seen from persons driving in…
May 28, 2014
The 2014 National Main Streets Conference was a great example of resilience, innovation and hard work, all visible in the conference location — Detroit, “a city that is actively building on its cultural and heritage assets to overcome economic challenges.” The Conference kicked off Saturday with a welcoming reception in downtown…
