Newsletter - August 31st, 2023

Welcome to Kansas Main Street's August 31st newsletter!

Read below for more information about upcoming trainings, Placer.ai, how to stack grants for the biggest impact on your community and more!

Quarterly Training

September 7-8 in Salina

The training will be presented by Mark Miller, Small Business Consultant with Main Street Arkansas. Mark has been with Main Street Arkansas since January 1996. We have also added KMS Design Specialist Robert McLaughin to the training schedule. Robert will talk about design and the built environment and how it impacts business development in your downtown!

Agenda

Save the Date!

October 16 in Dodge City

The last in-person quarterly training of 2023 is Monday, October 16 in Dodge City. This training is the day before most of the sessions for the state Tourism conference begins, so hopefully this training location and date will help with travel for those of you who will be attending the Tourism Conference.

The training will be presented by Brian Ostrovsky of Locable and will be very hands-on. Bring you laptop so you can work on your marketing and web site while Brian is presenting.

A detailed agenda with more information will be sent next week. In the meantime, CLICK HERE to book a hotel room in Dodge City for this training and the Tourism conference!

Placer.ai Virtual Session is Friday morning in Salina

Designated Kansas Main Street communities have access to data from Placer.ai through the state program. Placer is our go-to program for market data and can be a valuable tool for helping you better understand your market for event planning, funding, and business recruitment.

We will have a representative from Placer make a virtual presentation on Friday morning, September 8 as part of the quarterly training.

What is Capital Stacking? Can I even do that?

Capital stacking means using multiple sources of funds for a project. This includes grants. As long as you stay within the guidelines for each grant, it could be a possibility for you! It has successfully been done in multiple communities for many projects throughout the state.

Andrew Hayman, CDBG Director, has put together a great handout for capital stacking that you can find HERE !

*Please note that Andrew's handout was made for a previous project, so the survey is no longer active.

Registration Now Open: Supporting Small Businesses on Main Street Online Course

The Main Street America Institute is excited to offer the Supporting Small Businesses on Main Street course! Generously sponsored by U.S. Bank, this three-week live, online-course will prepare local leaders to more effectively work with small business owners in their districts and create an environment that is supportive of entrepreneurship. This three-part program will be held September 12, 19, and 26.

Member discounts and registration scholarships are available!

Another Round of HEAL

HEAL 4.0 is now accepting applications! HEAL is a grant program that offers matching funds to support communities in revitalizing underutilized, vacant or deteriorated downtown buildings. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity! Application deadline: November 10th. Plus, if you received funding in the first round, you are eligible to apply for this round.

Hint: If you apply by October 10th, the HEAL committee can meet with you to talk about your application before the final deadline. Get that application in!

HEAL Website

Heritage Trust Fund Workshops

The Kansas Heritage Trust Fund (HTF) is a wonderful opportunity to receive matching funds for the preservation of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the Register of Historic Kansas Places. The State Historic Preservation Office has scheduled Heritage Trust Fund Workshops in the next few weeks to help those who might apply for a grants.

Find out more HERE !

Paul Bruhn Kansas Rural Preservation Grant

The National Park Service announced the award of $750,000 to the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office to facilitate a new round of Kansas Rural Preservation Grants. This new round of subgrants will target properties in rural downtown commercial cores with priority given to Kansas Main Street communities.

Learn More

Kansas Infrastructure Hub

and the Build Kansas Fund

The Kansas Infrastructure Hub was created to identify best practices from across the nation for maximizing Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) opportunities. They provide technical assistance, grant writing, collaboration, and tracking for BIL.

Visit Website

SEED Grant - Open until October 27

Get ready for another round of SEED grants! $275,000 has been made available to eligible communities.

Click HERE to learn more.