Committee Handbooks

Board Members Handbook (Pkg/5)
Developing a management team and program that is well structured, well funded, and committed to the future is the only way to sustain the revitalization effort.
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Design Committee Handbook (Pkg/5)
Offers tips, guidelines, and sample forms to help your Main Street Program design committee get downtown into top physical shape and create a safe, inviting environment for shoppers, workers, and visitors.
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Economic Restructuring Committee Handbook (Pkg/5)
Provides tips, guidelines, and sample forms to help your Main Street Program economic restructuring committee retain and expand successful businesses, sharpen the competitiveness and merchandising skills of business owners, and attract new businesses.
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Organization Committee Handbook (Pkg/5)
Offers tips, guidelines, and sample forms to help your Main Street Program organizing committee establish consensus and cooperation by building partnerships among the various groups that have a stake in the commercial district.
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Promoting Main Street Presentation
Learn how to attract people to your community, create an image for the district, produce retail promotions, special events, and more.
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Promotion Committee Handbook (Pkg/5)
Provides tips, guidelines, and sample forms to help your Main Street Program promotion committee create a positive image that will rekindle community pride and improve consumer and investor confidence in your commercial district.
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The Main Street Approach Training Presentation
This PowerPoint presentation and accompanying script will help you orient new board members, staff, and volunteers, as well as educate local officials and project partners.
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Design

Building Improvement File
Discusses and illustrates the design and structural elements of typical commercial buildings, building materials, maintenance, and more.
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Converting Storefronts to Housing
Provides ideas and design solutions for converting commercial storefront space to productive residential uses.
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Guiding Design On Main Street
Provides the background and tools for improving the visual appeal of the central business district.
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Street Graphics and the Law
Provides a framework and design guidelines for creating a comprehensive street signage program.
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Economic Development

Bringing Buildings Back
Offers communities of all sizes a wide range of tools to reclaim abandoned properties and return them to productive use.
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Community Initiated Development
Changes a daunting task into an easy-to-follow process by presenting the methodology that real estate developers use for their projects.
Temporarily Sold Out.
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Creative Community Builder’s Handbook
Presents strategies, best practices, and step by step guidance for putting the power of arts and culture to work in your community.
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Downtown, Inc: How America Rebuilds Cities
Case studies delve into the inner workings of the public-private partnerships that have revitalized the downtowns of such cities as Boston, San Diego, Seattle, St. Paul, and Pasadena.
Temporarily Sold Out.
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Fill-in-the-Blank Business Recruitment
This workbook was designed for downtown and commercial district revitalization organizations that want to improve the mix of businesses in their districts by helping existing businesses thrive, and by recruiting new businesses to fill gaps in the market.
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Main Street Renewal
Case studies from around the country illustrate what downtown professionals are doing to make their downtowns the economic and cultural centers of their communities.
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Making Business Districts Work
The single most authoritative guide to leadership and management of downtown organizations.
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Niche Strategies for Downtown Revitalization
Presents the most complete and thorough information available on using business clustering for downtown revitalization.
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Placemaking on a Budget
Illustrates how to use local attributes, involved citizenry, and creative thinking to create a sense of place downtown.
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Revitalizing Main Street
Provides a practical framework for downtown and central business district growth and development.
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Executive Reports

Business Recruitment and Retention
Illustrates how to strengthen at-risk businesses and bring new businesses downtown.
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Improving Downtown’s Curb Appeal
Presents seven creative approaches to enhancing downtown’s visual appeal.
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Increasing Your Impact with Volunteers
Presents a seven-step approach to finding, recruiting, and retaining productive volunteers.
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Priorities for Downtown Organizations
Provides an in-depth look at the goals and objectives of downtown organizations of all types and sizes.
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Ringing Downtown Cash Registers
Covers 11 key marketing trends and opportunities you must act on to keep downtown strong.
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Funding Sources

Business Improvement Districts:
Financing Downtown Growth
A primer for those considering, or reconsidering, a Business Improvement District for their community.
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Funding Sources for Downtown Organizations
Provides detailed information on how downtown organizations of all types and sizes are funding their day-to-day operations.
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Winning Grants: Step by Step
Will show you how to compete successfully for shrinking funding dollars from corporate, private, family, and community foundations.
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Marketing and Promotion

Destination Branding for Small Cities
This fully updated and expanded second edition, cuts through the theory, advertising-speak and branding jargon to simplify and clarify the practice of branding small cities and downtowns for improved tourism and economic development.
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Event Sponsorship
Provides everything you need to get your share of the available sponsorship dollars — from local, regional and national sources.
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Marketing an Image for Main Street
Provides both the novice and the experienced marketer with a solid background in all aspects of launching a marketing program.
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Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns
The most complete and comprehensive resource available on attracting tourists to the downtown area.
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Parking

Parking Management Best Practices
Demonstrates how an integrated approach to parking management can reduce parking needs by 20 to 40 percent.
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The Dimensions of Parking
For more than 30 years, The Dimensions of Parking has been the leading resource on best practices in parking development and operations.
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The Parking Handbook for Small Communities
A complete and thorough review of how to plan, develop and manage parking for a small downtown.
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