UPCOMING ROUNDTABLE:
Asset Mapping: How to Identify Economic Development Assets in your Main Street
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March 5, 2026
12-1PM over Zoom (FREE)
Featuring: Miriam Parson, Director of Network Capacity Building, Launch
| | | Asset mapping focuses your economic development strategy on what makes your place unique to both residents and visitors. Assets are what we want to keep, build upon, and sustain for future generations. They can be physical things, like historic buildings or a local park, or cultural assets like a festival or an intergenerational social club. Join us to learn the Whole Assets Approach with Main Street America. Leave with your own asset map to continue developing with stakeholders back home. | | PARKING ON YOUR MIND? We talked with Kevin Lowther of the RWU School of Law's Housing Policy Clinic about parking minimums as well as another alternative worth considering: Parking Benefit Districts. | | | |
NEW SEASON!
Main Street: A Power of Place Podcast
| | | | Our Main Street: A Power of Place Podcast, is back with a new season! In episode 1 we travel to Forget Me Not Fables, the new bookstore in Centredale, RI. Host and Producer Evelyn McKenney chatted with owner Alex DiGregorio about opening a brick & mortar, the importance of books, challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship, and more. | New episodes drop every other Friday. Listen on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify today! | | Word on the Street: Snow. | | |
Photo courtesy of Vijay Ram, WhatsUpNewp
We’re all digging out after this storm — and small business owners are clearing snow not just at home, but at their storefronts too. When main street sidewalks aren’t cleared promptly, they become impassable, customers stay away, and safety risks rise. So who should bear this responsibility? Here’s a look at how communities locally and across the country are handling it.
NATIONAL: "More Cities Are Taking Responsibility for Clearing Sidewalks of Snow" STREETSBLOG USA, February 2019.
CUMBERLAND, RI: "Cumberland has no sidewalk clearing law; town buying equipment to help" Valley Breeze, February 2026
EAST GREENWICH: "Mechanical Issues Slow Main Street Sidewalk Clearing" EG News, January 2026
WESTERLY, RI: "Snow problem: For some, not clearing sidewalks can get pricey" The Westerly Sun, January 2026
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UPCOMING WEBINARS
Turning Conflict into Trust: Communication Strategies for Urban Transformation.
Featuring Maite Peris, Former Communications Director to the City of Barcelona, Spain.
880 Cities, MARCH 10, @11am EST.
FREE. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER.
Streets, plazas, and public spaces are where urban change becomes real—and where resistance often explodes. A tweet, a construction photo, or an angry neighbor can derail months of planning. That’s why strategic communication and brand positioning are not “nice to have” in urban projects; they are core infrastructure.
Advocating for Your Local Main Street Budget
Main Street America, MARCH 17, 3-4:30pm EST.
$100 Members, $150 Non-Members. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER.
Advocating for Your Local Main Street Budget provides a clear roadmap for understanding municipal budgets, crafting compelling cases for support, and building year-round relationships with decision-makers. Featuring best practices from staff experts and insights from leaders who have successfully expanded their budgets, this course will equip you with the data-backed storytelling techniques, tools, and confidence to advocate effectively for your program.
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2026 AARP Community Challenge Grant
AARP Rhode Island invites local eligible organizations and governments across the country to apply for the 2026 AARP Community Challenge grant program, now through March 4, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable in the long-term by improving public spaces, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more. All projects must be completed by December 15, 2026.
APPLICATION DUE: March 4, 2026 @5pm
LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE: www.AARP.org/CommunityChallenge
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Grant for Community Climate Resilience
The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is now accepting applications for grants to help communities accelerate their climate resilience plans and projects. The grants can help small and midsize communities at any step in the planning process. Awards include funding, as well as training and technical support. Ranging from $75,000-$115,000 per award, funds can be used over a twelve-month period to advance activities ranging from risk assessments and community engagement to project prioritization and implementation.
APPLICATION DUE: March 12, 2026
LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE: Climate Resilience Fund 2026 Grant
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RIDOH Environmental Health Risk Assessment Program
Community Outreach, Education & Assessment Short-Term Funding Opportunity
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is offering short-term funding opportunities of up to $4,950 each to eligible entities for projects to support and expand upon Environmental Health Risk Assessment Program’s (EHRAP’s) efforts to engage with and educate communities on the impact environmental hazards have on public health.
APPLICATION DUE: March 13, 2026 @4pm
LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE
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RIDOH Environmental Health Risk Assessment Program
Lead in Soil Education & Outreach - Short-Term Funding Opportunity
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is offering short-term funding opportunities of up to $4,950 each to eligible entities for projects to support and expand upon the Environmental Health Risk Assessment Program’s (EHRAP’s) efforts to engage with and educate communities on the risks posed by lead in urban soils, with a focus on soil screening, education, and outreach using the soilSHOP model.
APPLICATION DUE: March 13, 2026 @4pm
LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE
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2026 Certified Local Government Grants
The 2026 Certified Local Government Grant period is now open! The Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission administers a Certified Local Government (CLG) Grant Program for municipal historical preservation activities.
The following 19 Rhode Island communities are Certified Local Governments: Bristol, Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, East Greenwich, East Providence, Glocester, Hopkinton, Narragansett, New Shoreham, Newport, North Kingstown, North Providence, North Smithfield, Pawtucket, Providence, South Kingstown, Warren, and Warwick.
APPLICATION DUE: March 13, 2026
LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE: 2026 CLG GRANT
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T-Mobile Hometown Grant
Main Street America is partnering with T‑Mobile to help build stronger, more prosperous small towns and rural communities. With T‑Mobile’s Hometown Grant program, they’re investing big in small towns by awarding up to 100 towns a year with project funding — up to $50,000 each.
APPLICATION DUE: March 31, 2026 @12:59 PM
LEARN MORE AND APPLY HERE: T-Mobile Hometown Grant
| | Thank You to our Main Street RI Founding Sponsor: | | With Additional Support Provided By | | Grow Smart RI | www.GrowSmartRI.org | |
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