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NC Main Street Director Guide
Welcome to NC Main Street! You will soon discover that managing the Main Street Program locally is rewarding. The program takes a team of community partners and volunteers. One of your first tasks will be to get to know your local board, downtown business owners, property owners, and volunteers. If you are new to "Main Street," I would encourage you to review Main Street America's website. You can understand how "The Approach" translates to Main Street.
Visit Main Street America’s website to learn about the Main Street Approach
About The NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center
The NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center works in regions, counties, cities, towns, downtown districts, and in designated North Carolina Main Street communities to inspire placemaking through building asset-based economic development strategies that achieve measurable results, such as investment, business growth, and jobs. Three downtown revitalization programs are offered through the MS&RP Center: the Main Street program, which began in 1980; the Small-Town Main Street program, which began in 2003; and the Downtown Associate Community program, which began in 2015 and serves as a stepping-stone for Main Street designation. There are 82 communities in these three programs, all following the Main Street America program.
The NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center (the Center) manages the NC Main Street, Small Town Main Street, and Downtown Associate Community programs, the Rural Transformation Grant Fund – Downtown Revitalization category, and the NC Main to Main Trail Initiative. Through its Main Street Program, staff provides designated communities with strategic economic development planning and technical assistance for downtown revitalization, extensive training and education for staff and volunteers, and grants for downtown revitalization. The Main-to-Main Trail is a tourism-based destination development initiative that is supported in part by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
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Visit the NC Department of Commerce page for official information for NC Main Street communities
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Visit the NC Main Street training website for conference and educational offerings
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Visit the NC Main to Main Trail to learn more about the trail
NC Main Street Focus Areas:
Strategic Economic Development Planning
The NC Main Street Program works with individual Main Street programs and their community leaders to develop an asset-based, market driven 5-year strategic economic development plan for downtown, and a 1–2-year implementation/action plan to bring their five-year plan to fruition.
Technical Assistance
The NC Main Street Program works with communities on resources and funding that will strengthen the local Main Street program, leverage redevelopment initiatives and small business growth. In partnership with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Interior Architecture, NC Main Street provides façade improvement plans to property and business owners located in the downtown districts of designated NC Main Street and Small-Town Main Street communities.
Continuing Education
In the dynamic landscape of downtown revitalization, professional development is not just a benefit, it’s a necessity. For NC Main Street Directors, staying informed, inspired, and equipped with the latest tools and strategies is essential to fostering vibrant, resilient communities. Ongoing learning empowers directors to lead with confidence, adapt to emerging trends, and collaborate effectively across sectors. By investing in professional growth, directors strengthen their capacity to drive economic development, preserve historic character, and cultivate local pride.
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Visit the NC Main Street training website to sign up for training
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Visit the Main Street America Academy to sign up for training
Funding
The NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center maintains a comprehensive grant funding and resources guide that is emailed to communities. If you would like a copy of the funding and resource guide, please email Lisa Rueh at lisa.rueh@commerce.nc.gov
What is Main Street America?
Working with a nationwide network of Coordinating Programs and local leaders, Main Street America has helped over 2,000 communities across the country bring economic vitality back downtown, while celebrating their historic character, and bringing communities together. Visit Main Street America’s website to learn about the movement
The Four-Point Approach™
The Main Street Approach™ offers community-based revitalization initiatives with a practical, adaptable framework for downtown transformation that is easily tailored to local conditions. The Main Street Approach helps communities get started with revitalization and grow with them over time. Visit Main Street America’s website to learn about the Four Point Approach
Economic Vitality
Focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economies. Visit the NC Main Street training website and watch Focusing on the Four Points, Economic Vitality series
Design
Supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual assets that set the commercial district apart. Visit the NC Main Street training website and watch Focusing on the Four Points, Design series
Promotion
Positions the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that shows a community’s unique characteristics. Visit the NC Main Street training website and watch Focusing on the Four Points, Promotion series
Organization
Involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, and resources for the district. Visit the NC Main Street training website and watch Focusing on the Four Points, Organization series
Main Street America Eight Guiding Principles
The National Main Street Center’s experience in helping reinvigorate commercial corridors across the country has shown time and time again that the Main Street Approach is a proven framework for assisting communities to succeed in their revitalization efforts. Building on the Main Street Approach, the following values can help staff and volunteers articulate a Main Street program’s mission.
Comprehensive
No single focus, lavish public improvements, name-brand business recruitment, or endless promotional events – can revitalize Main Street. A comprehensive approach, including activity in each of Main Street’s Four Points, is essential for successful, sustainable, long-term revitalization and sustainability.
Incremental
Baby steps come before walking. Successful revitalization programs begin with simple activities that demonstrate “new things are happening” in the commercial district. As public confidence in the Main Street district grows and participants’ understanding of the revitalization process becomes more sophisticated, Main Street can tackle increasingly complex problems and more ambitious projects. This incremental change leads to a much longer lasting change in the Main Street area.
Self-help
No one else will save your Main Street. Communities must have the will and desire to mobilize local resources and talent. That means convincing residents and business owners of the rewards they’ll reap by investing time and money in Main Street – the heart of their community. A focused movement can produce long-term success by fostering and demonstrating community involvement and commitment to the revitalization effort.
Partnerships
Both the public and private sectors have a vital interest in the district and must work together to achieve common goals of Main Street’s revitalization. Each sector has a role to play, and each must understand the other’s strengths and limitations to forge an effective partnership.
Builds on Assets
Community assets refer to the resources, strengths, and opportunities that exist within a community that can be utilized to improve its quality of life. These assets can be both tangible and intangible. By recognizing and leveraging these assets, communities can foster collaboration, drive positive changes, and enhance overall well-being.
Quality
Emphasize quality in every aspect of the revitalization program. A quality-focused approach applies to all elements of the process—from storefront designs to promotional campaigns to educational programs. Concentrate on quality projects over quantity.
Change
When skeptics turn into believers, attitudes on Main Street will turn around. Changes in attitude and practice are slow but definite – public support for change will build as the Main Street program grows and consistently meets its goals. Change also means engaging in better business practices, altering ways of thinking, and improving the physical appearance of the commercial district. A carefully planned Main Street program will help shift public perceptions and practices to support and sustain the revitalization process.
Implementation
To succeed, Main Street must show visible results that can only come from completing projects. Frequent, visible changes remind us that the revitalization effort is under way and succeeding. Small projects at the beginning of the program pave the way for larger ones as the revitalization effort matures, and that constant revitalization activity creates confidence in the Main Street program and ever greater levels of participation.
Program Requirements
Main Street America Six Community Standards
The six Community Evaluation Standards aim to elevate local revitalization efforts and provide the Main Street America Network with a strong foundational framework for reviewing progress, recognizing strengths and accomplishments, understanding trends and challenges involved with local revitalization, and implementing strategies that keep moving Main Street programs forward.
1 | Broad-based Community Commitment to Revitalization
Standard One reflects that successful and sustainable revitalization efforts are not just the work of a single organization but should result from a community-wide effort that brings the public and private sectors together with a strong sense of ownership in their downtown or commercial district. This Standard reviews the Main Street organizations' essential role in fostering a culture of inclusion, engagement, collaboration, and commitment from all community sectors. Launching a program, growing it incrementally from one year to the next, and sustaining success for the long run is only possible through a diversity of solid partnerships and collaborations, continued outreach, and communication.
2 | Inclusive Leadership and Organizational Capacity
Strong, thriving communities don't just happen. They need influential leaders at all levels, from a broad base of committed volunteers to dedicated professional staff offering their time, talents, and passion for this work. Standard Two reflects the value we place on PEOPLE as Main Street's greatest resource and our belief that everyone in the community has a place in Main Street. This Standard encourages Main Street programs to prioritize human capital and develop a clear operational structure and practices that increase the organization's capacity to engage all community sectors and leverage their participation in their revitalization efforts.
3 | Diversified Funding and Sustainable Program Operations
A successful revitalization program must have the financial resources to carry out its work and sustain its operations. Program sustainability relies on the diversity of revenue streams, as dependency on one primary or only source could jeopardize the program's operations. Through this Standard, Main Street programs demonstrate a priority for ensuring that the community invests in the Main Street organization and programming through a comprehensive and balanced funding structure that ensures successful and sustainable revitalization efforts.
4 | Strategy-Driven Programming
Main Street has a strong track record for making change happen in communities nationwide. Change is an essential guiding principle for Main Street. However, rather than letting change happen, Main Street programs define and manage it from one year to the next through a strategy-driven work plan and aligned implementation process. Standard Four brings together all integrated components that must be in place to plan and successfully implement the revitalization work. Centered around Main Street's Four Point Approach, these integrated components are driven by a local Transformation Strategy(s) aligned through community participation and based on an understanding of the district's unique and competitive market position.
5 | Preservation-Based Economic Development
Successful Main Street efforts are built on the principle that district economic development is obtained by leveraging and preserving its unique historic and cultural assets. Standard Five confirms our firm belief that a community's place-based and diverse cultural assets reflect its identity's richness and strength and establish a competitive market advantage.
6 | Demonstrated Impact and Results
Main Street communities are part of a national network with a proven record for generating strong economic returns and strengthening the district's position within a highly competitive marketplace. Standard Six highlights the importance of tracking, packaging, and demonstrating the qualitative and quantitative impact of the program's revitalization efforts. It also allows the local Main Street program to tell their stories and advocate for resources needed for sustainability.
Main Street America Community Self-Assessment
Decades of experience implementing the Main Street Approach in communities across the country have demonstrated that building and sustaining a thriving downtown or neighborhood commercial district is not a one-time project but an ongoing process that requires long-term commitment, continued focus, and strategic action. The Main Street America Community Evaluation Framework empowers communities to review their progress, recognize achievements, acknowledge challenges, and identify opportunities to move their efforts forward continually.
Evaluation Framework
The key elements of the Community Evaluation Framework include six Standards and a process consisting of:
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Annual Community Self-Assessment: This component allows communities to review and reflect on the organization's progress, impact, and needs toward the district's revitalization vision. Local leaders are encouraged to incorporate this tool into their planning process.
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Standardized Reporting Practices: This component is intended to help communities track and measure the level of investment the district is experiencing and highlight the level of engagement and investment the community is making in the Main Street program. Beyond just meeting reporting requirements, the information can be a powerful tool to promote the value and impact of the organization's efforts.
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Onsite Community Progress Visits (at least once every two years): The accreditation process cannot be complete without the opportunity to connect with the communities, if possible, annually or at least every other year (biennially). A progress visit should include meetings with local leaders and stakeholders to build consensus on the program's strengths and needs and a visual assessment of the district's conditions and opportunities.
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These components provide important tools to celebrate wins, promote Main Street's value and impact, and help us understand local revitalization needs and the necessary resources for successful revitalization.
Main Street America Assessment and Designations
Main Street America offers two tiers of national designation: Accredited and Affiliate.
Accredited Tier
Accredited status is the top tier of recognition. Main Street America Accredited™ programs have a proven track record of planning, implementing, and measuring results that align with the Main Street Approach. Accredited programs must meet the set of baseline requirements and demonstrate success in each of the six Accreditation Standards. Designated Main Street communities work with North Carolina Main Street to meet the performance standards including an annual Community Self-Assessment, an on-site Community Progress visit, and required reporting. NC Main Street evaluates, selects, and recommends Accredited programs to Main Street America annually.
The six Community Evaluation Standards aim to elevate local revitalization efforts and provide the Main Street America Network with a strong foundational framework to review progress, recognize strengths and accomplishments, understand trends and challenges involved with local revitalization, and implement strategies that keep moving Main Street programs forward.
Affiliate Tier
Main Street America Affiliates™ are programs or organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to the Main Street model and are on the pathway to achieving meaningful economic, social, physical and organizational improvements in their downtown or commercial districts. Main Street America Affiliates have not met the six Community Evaluation Standards or baseline requirements, but they have committed to:
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Broadly engaging community stakeholders in the revitalization process;
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Working with stakeholders to identify a unified vision for success for the downtown district and appropriate success indicators;
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Developing diversified and sustainable funding sources to support local revitalization efforts;
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Participating in available training, professional development, and networking opportunities to strengthen leadership capacity and deepen knowledge of the Main Street Approach and community revitalization field; and
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Maintaining membership with Main Street America.
Designated Main Street communities work with North Carolina Main Street to learn and implement the Main Street Approach, build capacity, and meet requirements for Affiliate status, which includes an annual Community Self-Assessment, an on-site Community Progress visit, and required reporting. NC Main Street evaluates, selects, and recommends Affiliate programs to Main Street America annually.
Reporting Platform
The Main Street America Platform provides a one-stop portal for local Main Street programs to complete self-assessments for designation.
For more information, contact:
Liz Parham, CMSM
Director, NC Main Street and Rural Planning Center
Email: lparham@commerce.nc.gov
Cell: (919) 805-2067
Lizzie Morrison
Main Street Program Manager
Email: lizzie.morrison@commerce.nc.gov
Cell: (919) 971-5744