Downtown Strong Grant: December & End of Year Update
December 30, 2021 | MO Main St
The end of December is here, which means the closing of the year 2021 and what a year it has been. Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) has many things to be thankful for with one being the partnership with the Economic Development Administration for the Downtown Strong: Building Resilient Economies grant.
Looking at the numbers, the Downtown Strong: Building Resilient Economies grant is fulfilling its mission by building more resilient economies and stronger downtowns across the state through strengthening organizations and businesses in Main Street communities. In 2021, Downtown Strong grant committed to assisting 17 Main Street organizations and 63 businesses in 20 communities from Trenton to Joplin and Washington to Campbell. MMSC and 12 consulting firms have been working to deliver services to various communities that were scheduled for 4th quarter 2021 into 2022 under this grant.
The Downtown Strong grant is working in a variety of communities with populations ranging from 1,800 to 98,000 and Main Street programs run solely by volunteers to programs with multiple staff members. The grant program includes a wide range of downtown business types including retail, restaurants, personal trainers, interior designers, artists, a food co-op, and an innovation center. These grant participants are working to contribute to their community and strengthen their business through this process.
Missouri Main Street Connection and our team of consultants are excited to carry the momentum we have into 2022 as we finish delivering services in some communities and businesses and start working in new communities and business that have been scheduled in early 2022.
This update was prepared by Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. using Federal funds under award 05-79-06056 from Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.