This half-day workshop in Red Bank, NJ, will focus on components you can add to any downtown’s public relations arsenal to get broader name recognition for the program and for the quality merchants in the district. We will discuss how to make your Main Street program an opinion leader in town by becoming more “quotable” for local and regional reporters and making connections between national—and even international—events and the impact they have on your local district.

The afternoon will focus on:

• the changing nature of volunteerism, given that local programs around the country are continuing to have difficulty getting volunteers to monthly committee meetings.
• how a local Main Street program can respond to volunteers interested in only short-term or “bite-sized” assignments.
• how the role of the Team chairperson must change, given the casual nature of many volunteer assignments.
• how to engage different groups of volunteers, especially Baby Boomers, Hispanics, youth organizations, families, and African American churches and other organizations.
• how to make volunteer assignments interesting to these groups by customizing assignments to their interests or needs.

Please join us in Red Bank on February 15. Sign up for this workshop at http://msnjidpgms.eventbrite.com/

Heritage Consulting has a complete range of training workshops for historic sites and revitalization organizations. Click here to see the complete list.

PS the shopping is excellent in Red Bank!

10.  Handouts from Your New Board Policies Courtesy of the IRS

We presented this session at the National Trust Main Street Center conference in Des Moines IA this May, at the worst possible time, Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. Conference goers know that this is worst spot possible because the Big Bash is held the night before and many conference goers have a good time, but not so many people show up bright and early for an 8:00 a.m. session the next day. The hundred souls that did attend this session were fully engaged in what is a highly important but potentially snore-inducing topic, but the reviews were stellar. If you missed the session, this blog post has all the handout materials, including the PowerPoint presentation and links to more content.

9. Neighborhood Shopping in Portland OR

In April we were asked to visit with the new Portland (OR) Main Street program to provide fundraising training for their three new neighborhood commercial districts. This blog post is about one of the great commercial corridors there Alberta Street. This corridor has some of the best commercial signage we have seen in years (clearly a sign ordinance must exist there) and this blog post is lavishly illustrated with photos of the best signs we saw.

8.  Survey Results Posted–Diversify Your Revenue: a Workshop for BIDSs and SIDs

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission has been working hard to organize the suburbs that participate in their Classic Towns effort, a joint marketing program. Many of these Classic Towns have downtowns that are in the midst of starting or have already successful downtown revitalization programs. We provided a day-long presentation on fundraising options for Business Improvement Districts (BIDs, and SIDs as they are called in NJ) to help these corridor management organizations to diversify their funding base and expand their budgets. This blog post also includes the results of an online survey we conducted of more than two dozen BIDs/SIDs in New Jersey and Southeastern PA.

7.  25 Great Ways to Use Your Main Street Reinvestment Statistics

Main Street New Jersey continues to be a highly valued client, and since moving back to Pennsylvania in 2007, I have presented at their Downtown Revitalization and Management Institute each year. This blog posts offers 25 different ways to share and use the reinvestment statistics collected monthly (or quarterly) by Main Street organizations nationwide. These stats, which are time-consuming to gather, need to be featured more prominently to show successes for local programs. This post offers some ideas about how to use them throughout a local program’s PR efforts.

6.  Heritage Consulting Inc. Project Wins 2011 Preservation Achievement Award

We were delighted to learn that we had won the Grand Jury Award for our yearlong project for The Delaware County (PA) Planning Department called Delaware County Public History Feasibility Study and Implementation Plan. For this project we surveyed and got to know the 80 history organizations in the county, of which 77% are still run entirely by volunteers. These organizations maintain more than 300 buildings, and most are run admirably by their nonprofit and government stewards. This blog post has a link to the entire study. The Delaware County Historic and Preservation Network have a lively listserve, blog and event calendar—all outgrowths of our work.

5.  Making Affordable Housing Publication Available

During 2009–10, we worked with Preservation New Jersey on a yearlong program to offer technical assistance to local preservation organizations that wished to establish historic preservation plans in their municipal planning documents. Another part of that study was a review of the creation of affordable housing in historic buildings throughout the state. This report finally published in 2011, offers case studies of eight exemplary projects statewide and provides a basis for the renewed emphasis on combining both federal tax credits (historic preservation and low-income housing). We hope this report will encourage more uses for threatened buildings statewide. Read all or part of the study in the blog post.

4.  Being Introduced to Main Street Saline MI

We enjoy providing training to new Main Street organizations, and the volunteers in Saline, MI, wanted to get off to a strong start. This post describes the handsome downtown in suburban Ann Arbor, MI, and the work the residents had before them as they were trying organize themselves to submit for Main Street community designation by the Michigan Main Street program.

3.  Reaching Further: Cultivating African American, Latino and Youth Volunteers

Guest blogger and a longtime consultant Alexander Balloon wrote this blog piece about research he conducted this summer on expanding the representation of ethnic and racial groups among Main Street volunteers. This post was picked up by the American Association for State and Local History and retweeted in their network.

2.  Fifty People Attend Historic Tacony Revitalization Project Kick Off meeting

In the fourth quarter of 2011, we began working as interim staff for the Tacony Community Development Corporation as they wanted to start a Main Street revitalization effort. This post describes the response to the kickoff meeting and key concerns along the corridor.

1.  Scenario Planning—2 of 5 blog posts on Surviving a Financial Crisis

One of the component parts of our Main Street New Jersey presentation for 2011 Downtown Revitalization and Management institute was about creating scenarios to judge various solutions to financial problems that local revitalization organizations are facing. This post offers useful ways to think about an uncertain future.

Thank you for reading this blog. Please add your comments below.

We thank all of our many of our returning clients and welcome new clients to our practice.

2011 Clients

American Association for State and Local History –conference presenter

Delaware Main Street

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission*

Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House*

Heritage Ohio*

Historic Bartram’s Garden

Historic Saline (MI) Revitalization*

Iowa Main Street

Illinois Main Street

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency*

Main Street New Jersey

Michigan Main Street

Minnesota Main Street

New Jersey Historic Preservation conference presenter

National Trust Main Street Center conference presenter

Philadelphia Cultural Fund

Portland (OR) Main Street*

Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia

Texas Main Street

Tacony Community Development Corporation*

Whitesbog Preservation Trust*

*new clients in 2011

In Phase 1 of the project, SEPTA renovated the bus depot in 2008-9.  MARC worked with SEPTA and funded the murals associated with the depot. These were funded with City of Philadelphia funds from a Restore Philadelphia Corridors grant funds obtained by Councilwoman Joan Krajewski’s office.  The project also placed pedestrian lights along Torresdale Avenue from Tyson to Knorr Streets.  These blocks received the pedestrian lighting, according to Mr. Creelman because wires along these streets were already underground making the installation of pedestrian lighting much less expensive than for blocks where wires still remained above ground.  He noted that higher wattage lighting was also placed along Torresdale from Harbeson to Cottman Avenues.  These improvements were completed in 2009.

The last and final phase of improvements is scheduled to begin in 2012 if approvals from PennDOT come in a timely manner.  Mr. Creelman explained that this phase includes a 19 block stretch from Harbeston to Cottman Avenues.  He noted that the plans for this section have been held up because the funding source was not federal stimulus money.  Projects receiving those funds were executed first, while projects like the second phase of the Torresdale Avenue Project, which are funded by PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia were put on hold.  Funding for the last phase of improvements includes one million dollars obtained by Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz’s office.  Other funds for this project include $920,000 from State Representative McGeehan’s office.

During the period when other projects moved ahead, there were changes to Federal standards for handicapped ramps.  The changed necessitated that the Torresdale project be redesigned adding an additional cost of $60,000 per four corner intersection.  MARC was able to secure additional funding from PennDOT for these costs, as well as the additional $60,000 needed for project redesign by Urban Engineers the designers of the 19-block project.  The project also ran into additional delays from the Philadelphia Streets Department, as the initial paving pattern (honeycomb) in the crosswalks is no longer approved.  MARC and the engineers are working with Streets Department to identify an acceptable pattern.

The project as designed will include new handicapped ramps to meet the new Federal standards at 19 intersections.  Ten intersections will be restriped for school crosswalks and the remaining intersections will be stamped in a pattern acceptable to the Streets Department.  Two curb cuts will be closed along Torresdale Avenue including one around Dave’s Auto and at the 7/11 store.  There will be Solar Belly Trash Cans placed along the avenue, along with benches, bike racks, newspaper corrals, metal banners (as opposed to fabric) and hanging flower baskets on poles and planted tree beds.  Mr. Creelman noted that MARC staff would water any flower baskets placed on poles.  Some sidewalk replacement will occur in places along the avenue where needed, but wholesale sidewalk replacement is not included in this project. The City will empty the Solar Belly Trash cans.  There were several questions about trees and Mr. Creelman said that trees would be replaced with hardy ones as recommended by the MARC arborist on staff.  Funding was received for the ramps by MARC from PennDOT with the help of State Representative McGeehan and State Senator Stack.

The plans are now under review by PennDOT for safety and design field review, and this could take several months.  When the plans are returned from PennDOT review, then the engineers will complete the final design, which will take about two months.  These final plans are then submitted to PennDOT again for final review, which takes another several months.

Mr. Creelman is hoping that the job can be bid out about June 1, 2012.  Mr. Creelman promised to bring the final design to another meeting of the Historic Tacony Revitalization Program  and supply the inventory of street conditions to the Clean and Safe Team so they can use it for their planned “walk about” to determine current conditions.  The Clean and Safe Team is very interested in placement of these new street amenities and looks forward to working with Mr. Creelman, MARC and our new Councilman Bobby Henon in the coming years as these long sought series of improvement to Torresdale Avenue are implemented. If you want to know more about MARC or the upcoming phase of work on Torresdale Ave., please contact Chris Creelman at thecreelmans@verizon.net

The Historic Tacony Revitalization Program is an effort of the Tacony Community Development Corporation, for which Heritage Consulting Inc. is a consultant. We are  assisting the organization to start up a local commercial revitalization effort. Learn more on the program’s  blog www.historictaconyrevitalization.com   and become a member of the group www.facebook.com/historictaconyrevitalization .

Here is the powerpoint presentation IMS Diversify Your Revenue Source handouts ppts

Here are the additional resource materials discussed during the conference session. Click on the link to go to the document.

Membership/Annual gifts

MSN_AUG08_MakeMore$forMember Donna Ann Harris

MSN Sept 2010 Make Your Case Triple Your Members Donna Ann Harris

Ideal Membership Brochure MS

7 easy ways to boost membership programs

Sponsorship

Batavia year long 2011 Sponsorship Brochure

Boonton NJ_sponsorship brochure

Boonton NJ_sponsorship_fax_form

Libertyville IL Year long sponsorship package

Woodbury IL Event Sponsorship Opps
Business Improvement Districts/Special Service Areas

MSN April 07 BID Feasibility article Donna Ann Harris

Are there specific fundrasing topics that you want to know more about? Please let me know.

Addressing a standing room only crowd, Pete Naccarato, Board president of the Tacony Community Development Corporation (TCDC) welcomed everyone and shared the history of the Tacony CDC.  He highlighted many of the important projects the CDC had completed during the past ten years.  Mr. Naccarato urged the audience to become an active part of the commercial corridor revitalization project to begin shortly for Torresdale and Longshore Avenues.  He stated “The Historic Tacony Revitalization Project is a very important priority for the Tacony Community Development Corporation.”

After Mr. Naccarato made his remarks, he introduced Donna Ann Harris, of Heritage Consulting Inc., a consultant to the TCDC.  Ms. Harris spoke about the Main Street Approach to commercial corridor revitalization and how it would be used in Tacony.  Ms. Harris outlined the reasons commercial corridors had changed over the past 30 years, and how these changes had affected Torresdale Avenue.  She then spoke about how residents, businesses and property owners can become actively involved in the revitalization of Torresdale Avenue by undertaking volunteer projects.  Ms. Harris discussed the team structure of the Main Street Approach, which will be used to organize the project’s efforts.  This comprehensive approach will focus on four areas:

1. the design, safety and cleanliness of the corridor;
2.  the promotion of the district for shoppers;
3. communication, fundraising and volunteer development, and
4. expansion of existing businesses and recruitment of new businesses to the avenue.

At the heart of the effort, Ms. Harris noted, was the power of volunteers.  As active partners, volunteers provide the energy for the revitalization effort.  She invited attendees to join teams to create specific projects to help solve problems.  She also introduced the job description and press release for the new corridor manager to be hired for the effort.

After her remarks, the audience broke into small groups and to identify top challenges and ideas for new opportunities on the Torresdale Avenue corridor.  Each of the seven small groups identified their top three ideas and concerns, and shared them with the audience.  After everyone had shared his or her ideas and concerns, Ms. Harris spoke about where each fit within the team structure of the Main Street Approach.  There was consensus about forming volunteer run teams on the following topics:  Economic development, clean and safe, and design/historic preservation.

After Ms. Harris concluded her remarks, the audience reassembled to three discussions based on the major topics identified to discuss possible first projects to undertake to improve the Torres dale Ave corridor.  The group agreed to meet again to discuss next steps and form project teams on Monday October 24, 2011 at the Tacony Branch of the Free Library at Torresdale Avenue and Knorr Streets.  Registration begins at 5:30PM; the meeting will be held from 6PM to 7:30PM.

More information and an agenda for the meeting is available from Donna Ann Harris at 267 251 5444 or historictaconyrevitalization@gmail.com

The mission of the Tacony Community Development Corporation is the revitalization and preservation of the neighborhood of Tacony.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss why the Tacony Community Development Corporation is launching the Historic Tacony Revitalization Project now and what they hope to achieve in the next few years.  Peter Naccarato, the Board President of the Tacony CDC will also discuss the role of the Retail Market Analysis study being conducted now, and the process the organization will undertake to hire a full time employee this fall to manage the commercial district revitalization work.

After Mr. Naccarato speaks, Donna Ann Harris, principal of Heritage Consulting Inc., a consultant to the Tacony Community Development Corporation will give a twenty minute presentation on “An Introduction to Commercial District Revitalization.”  After the presentation, Ms. Harris will facilitate a series of small group discussions where neighbors can identify their major issues and concerns about the Torresdale Avenue commercial district that they wish to see changed.  The small groups will present their ideas and Ms. Harris will describe how these concerns fit within the Main Street Four Point Approach™.  Small group participants will be encouraged to identify projects to solve some of these problems that might interest them from these lists. The next meeting date will be determined to create committees to move the revitalization effort forward.

“We are very excited about the launching of our revitalization effort for Torresdale Avenue in historic Tacony” said Mr. Naccarato, “we hope to see many community members at this meeting, and hear their views about the future of the Avenue.”

More information and an agenda for the meeting is available from Donna Ann Harris at 215 546 1988 or historictaconyrevitalization@gmail.com

The mission of the Tacony Community Development Corporation is the revitalization and preservation of the neighborhood of Tacony.

1. Use your work plan as a volunteer recruitment tool to show individuals as well as partnering groups exactly what you need them to do, since all the tasks are listed.
2. To give confidence to  a new program, your work plans can show funders and others that you can complete complex events  with volunteers running the show, because all the tasks and money needed is written down.
3. As a blue print for next year’s budget planning, your work plan can be used as a baseline document from which you can make improvements.
4. The Board can use work plans to prevent taking on ill advised projects, or poorly performing projects hosted by others that they want to foist on your very successful organization
5. Work plans approved by the board allow the Executive Director to say no to pet projects suggested by others. “I’m sorry our Promotion Committee just cannot take on another project because our Board has voted on our work plan for the year.”
6. Use several years worth of work plans to help with forecasting budget increases, staffing and strategic planning.
7. Use your work plans show local government how many groups with whom your program partners in a given year
8. Work plans permits funders to understand how well you manage scores of volunteers with only one staff member and why they should invest in your well run organization.
9. Use your work plan as a raw annual report showing what your program accomplished in the year.
10. Use the work plan to celebrate all the fantastic achievements of the Board, Staff and volunteers when the fiscal year is done.

Have other ideas? We would love to hear them.

The survey was sent to 85 business improvement districts, Main Street organizations and commercial corridor organizations in the Delaware Valley and other bordering counties.  The survey was open for four weeks, and we got a 15% response rate.  The survey results are available here. Survey Responses DVRPC BID-SID survey

We also prepared more detailed charts of the results of specific survey questions dealing with the variety of current revenue sources and the major concerns facing survey respondents.  Find this chart here. BID SID Handout revenue concerns.

If you are interested in seeing a copy of the PowerPoint presentation please contact us for a complimentary copy.

Here is the promotional literature about the event

Diversify Your Revenue: A Workshop for SIDs and BIDs

This half-day workshop will assist existing Special Improvement Districts and Business Improvement Districts working in downtowns and commercial corridors in the region to diversify their revenue sources.  SIDs/BIDs today are pressed, as never before, to offer their ongoing clean and safe efforts, retain existing businesses and grow others in their district and promote the downtown with ever dwindling resources.  This workshop will focus on proven revenue generating strategies for small and midsized BIDs/SIDs in the region.

Before the workshop, the presenter will circulate a brief survey to all invitees to gather information about current revenue sources of SIDs/BIDs in the region and key issues about fundraising.  We will use the survey results to hone the agenda.

During the workshop, we expect to speak about boosting sponsorship and special event income, expanding contributed revenue especially from fundraising events and discuss a wide variety of earned income opportunities.  Our emphasis will be on intermediate level revenue opportunities that the organization controls rather than grants and government support.  During our morning together, we will do one short group exercise, and end with Top Ten Tips. We’ll  take questions throughout the program. After the workshop, we will have a Dutch treat lunch and take a behind the scenes tour of our host’s downtown district.  Participants will receive a Resource Packet including a CD of templates, forms, articles and work plans to help you increase earned and contributed revenue when you return from the workshop.

Learning objectives

1. Learn about typical revenue sources for SIDS/BIDs in the region from a pre- workshop survey by the presenter
2. Understand why SIDs/BIDs should have diverse funding stream of both contributed and earned revenue, especially revenue the organization controls.
3. Gain detailed knowledge about how to implement or expand existing sponsorship, special event and fundraising events geared to downtown organizations.

Agenda

8:30     Coffee and pastries

9:00     Welcome and introductions around the room

9:10     Trends in budget cuts for downtown organizations nationwide; why diverse revenue sources for existing SIDs/BIDs make sense; results of SID/BID revenue survey; typical revenue sources of SIDs/BIDs today;  ideal revenue mixes pie charts; where does contributed money come from today?

9:40     Why focus on revenue YOU control?  Common earned income sources for SID/BIDs in the region.

9:55     Special Events; adding component parts to existing events to boost revenue

10:35   Sponsorship; review sponsorship benefits; creating a year-long sponsorship program

11:05   Signature Fundraising Events; deciding which ones makes sense; location; adding component parts to existing fundraising events to boost revenue

11:45   Review and Q & A

12:15  Adjourn for lunch at a local restaurant

1:30     Behind the scenes tour of host downtown

3:00     Depart for home

The DVRPC flyer and sign up information is here which has an agenda. We will have lunch and then a tour of downtown Collingswood NJ.

The publisher has also provided a variety of quotes from recent reviews in professional journals. Take a look below.

“In this book, Donna Ann Harris, a preservation consultant with more than 20 years of experience, provides a critical resource for boards, staff, and volunteers at historic house museums, who need to consider whether creative alternatives to the house museum model may allow them to better realize their fundamental obligation—the preservation of the house.”—Michelle McClellan, University of Michigan, Winter 2009, The Journal of Heritage Stewardship

“Harris’s book is organized in a very clear fashion….At every step, the author displays an emphatic objectivity….Harris comes well positioned to write such a book….Donna Harris has done a great service for historic house museums and the people who are passionate about them.”—September 5, 2008, The Public Historian

“This publication brings together a number of workable solutions for a contemporary issue of concern….Timely, concise, practical, well researched….and written in everyday language, this is a handy management tool.”—November 2008, Museums Australia Magazine

“Harris’ message is prudent and pragmatic and the operating circumstances surrounding her case studies of house museums that have successfully made the transition to a new owner or a new use will be very familiar to many small museum operators…”—Journal of Museums AOTEAROA

“Donna Ann Harris brings unique insights to a critical problem facing advocates of historic preservation: the proliferation of house museums, too often under-funded and under-staffed. Through penetrating analysis of actual as well as hypothetical cases, she outlines how transitions to new uses and new owners can best achieve the desired result of saving the building itself. This book should be required reading for anyone even remotely connected with running a house museum.”—David G. DeLong, professor emeritus of architecture and former chair, graduate program in historic preservation, University of Pennsylvania

“Taking care of an old house isn’t easy, and being a responsible steward of a historic house museum is particularly challenging. In this thoughtful book, Donna Harris offers advice that can help boards and staff ask tough questions–and, if necessary, make tough decisions–to ensure a viable future for the historic resources they manage.”—Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

“I would certainly recommend this book to my colleagues in the historic house museum community who may be facing house museum sustainability challenges, and who may be able to use the contents and insights offered in this book as a source of inspiration, and/or as a catalyst for moving their institution forward in pursuit of a successful alternative.”—Terry Dickinson, Newport Mansions