The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Sterling Main Street, and the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University will host a Downtown Revitalization Workshop at the Sterling Federal Bank, lower-level conference room, 110 E. 4th Street, Sterling, IL. The workshop is Tuesday, April 21, 2015, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Each participant will receive five Continuing Education Units from Northern Illinois University.
Click here for more details. Click here for a registration form.
The workshop, “Taking the Next Step: Nonprofits as Developers, Landlords, and Business Owners,” will provide valuable information for nonprofits. Consider going beyond the traditional role, by taking on development projects, owning and leasing buildings, and operating businesses.
Workshop highlights include:
first-hand experiences of nonprofits renovated old buildings and developed new ones, for both residential and commercial use
how nonprofits can own and manage rental properties successfully
how nonprofits started businesses and managed them, to generate revenue for the organization or fill a downtown need
the inspiring story of a community group that raised money and recruited a restaurateur to start a popular restaurant
knowledge from attorneys about how for-profit roles fit within a nonprofit organization.
Nationally, Main Street communities and their local programs have created nearly 915,000 jobs, representing public and private reinvestment of over $48 billion!
The State of Illinois has participated in the Main Street program for more than 20 years and currently has 37 designated communities with one new community scheduled to be designated in June 2015. A recent sample of participating organizations disclosed that Illinois Main Street downtowns
- completed more than 396 construction projects
- opened over 149 new businesses
- created more than 843 jobs during 2014.
Background: Illinois Main Street is an historic preservation-based economic development program, that applies the comprehensive Main Street Four Point Approach® to the revitalization of Illinois’ downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Main Street approach focuses on four key tenets: Organization, Design, Promotion, and Economic Restructuring.