STRATEGIES AND IDEAS
MICHIGAN MAIN STREET
ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACTION PLAN
ORGANIZATION
Organizational planning and communications, heightened awareness campaigns to enhance comfort levels, collaborative clean and safe regimens, and strong partnerships will be essential to recovery.
ORGANIZATION | STRATEGIES AND IDEAS
STRATEGIC PLANNING
A. Strategic planning session
- Engage the board of directors and committee members in a strategic planning session to re-affirm your transformation strategy, goals, and measures of success.
- Set additional goals and/or measures of success to meet new organizational and district needs related to district recovery.
- Determine goals that will continue to help the organization meet your existing transformation strategy.
B. Projects and programs
- Identify projects and programs that fit within the strategy, goals and measures of success, and that will help meet organizational and district needs.
COMMUNICATIONS
A. Be the hub of district communications
- Continue to work and position the organization as the go-to source for district information, news and updates.
- Plan and deploy an escalated awareness campaign promoting and illustrating actions the district and businesses are taking to best ensure a clean, safe, and comfortable environment and experience.
- Prepare materials, posters, signs etc. — linked to the overarching district awareness campaign — that businesses can customize and place at entries and points of sale to communicate actions taken to keep employees and customers safe.
B. Publicize actions the organization is taking
- Communicate actions and the role your organization and partners are playing to advance district and community-wide recovery efforts.
C. Facilitate internal organizational communications
- Ensure the Organization Manager is communicating regularly with individual board members via telephone.
- Ensure Board members are regularly communicating with each other.
PARTNERSHIPS
A. Be the eyes, ears and voice for the district
- Be alert to state and local updates and changing conditions. Work collaboratively with local government and partner organizations to monitor changes, communicate with stakeholders, and advocate for the needs of district businesses.
- Explore opportunities to collaborate and coordinate projects and programming to support district businesses, and implement projects that meet the needs of the district.
B. Promote good housekeeping
- Encourage businesses to go beyond what is minimally required to provide a safe, clean and comfortable environment for employees and customers.
- Consider drafting a “good business neighbor pledge” and recognize businesses who commit to follow or exceed minimal maintenance and housekeeping standards, customer-friendly parking practices, etc.
- Consider creating window clings to showcase business health and safety efforts.
VOLUNTEERS
A. Shine the spotlight on members and volunteers
- Put your volunteers and members in the spotlight by featuring their contributions and the actions they’re taking to aid recovery efforts, help fellow businesses and community members, and build a stronger sense of community.
- Take the opportunity to recruit new volunteers to aid in implementing new projects and programming.
FUND DEVELOPMENT
A. Plan for different scenarios
- Use scenario planning to forecast a realistic budget accounting for revenue shortfalls and conserving fund reserves. Use different potential scenarios to determine expenditures and revenues based on organizational and district needs.
B. Fundraise
- It may seem like an inappropriate, inopportune or awkward time to ask for support, but the ability to influence positive change and play an impactful role in post-pandemic recovery efforts requires resources. Invite those who are able to invest in the cause, and consider crowdfunding and other alternative fundraising avenues that provide stakeholders, friends and advocates the opportunity to invest.
C. Thank existing sponsors and donors
- Take this time to send a thank you to sponsors and donors who have already contributed, or have committed to contributing, to your organization’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
Since moving back to Otsego and working at the Community Shoppers Guide, I have been volunteering with a few local organizations. I was looking for something consistent that could help support our businesses and keep people coming to downtown Otsego. We just couldn’t seem to make things happen. Then about six years ago, we found the Main Street program. We found this program was much more complete esource providing us support in so many areas. The Main Street program strives to foster a strong sense of community that has helped communication between our downtown businesses and the Otsego community. As a result, we have many local volunteers assisting with our events, sharing the load and offering valuable input. We often work side by side with city government and our Department of Public Works personnel. Their support is a key to our success. We have filled almost all of our storefronts in our downtown. I believe this has a lot to do with the Main Street program. People in the community see positive things happening downtown and want to be a part of the excitement. We still have plenty more we want to do, but I don’t think we would even be close to having the downtown business success and community involvement and awareness if it wasn’t for the Main Street program.
Martin Bennett
Board Chair, Otsego main Street
Otsego, Michigan
STRATEGIES AND IDEAS FOR BUSINESSES
STRATEGIES AND IDEAS FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Michigan Main Street is a lead member of the growing Reopen Main Street community.
We've joined forces to help small businesses, community leaders and organizations advance COVID-19 recovery efforts and journey with confidence into a New Reality.
Get in Touch
Michigan Main Street
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
300 N. Washington Sq.
Lansing, Michigan 48913 USA
Join the Reopen Main Street community for news, updates and examples
PROJECT PARTNERS
