Supporting Local Entrepreneurs with the Main Street America Program

Published on October 09, 2024

Downtown KCK is focused on revitalizing the urban core through small business support

KANSAS CITY, KS - This summer, the Downtown Shareholders, a Unified Government-recognized Neighborhood & Business Revitalization Organization, kicked off a partnership with Main Street America and Kansas Main Street. This program is a collaborative effort to advance shared prosperity, create resilient economies, and improve quality of life through place-based economic development and community preservation. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has helped build economic power in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts in over 2,000 communities, spurring more than $101 billion in local reinvestment.

Small Businesses Matter: Take the Survey

The Downtown Shareholders invite small business owners across the community to engage in this process by sharing feedback through the survey (see below). The survey is one part of our small business and entrepreneur engagement and outreach efforts. We want to learn more about the small businesses we serve, what resources they know of, as well as identify barriers that prevent entrepreneurs from starting or growing local businesses and develop action plans to address them.

Take the survey

The survey will help inform an upcoming site visit scheduled for November 1 by our state Main Street and Main Street America partners. 

“Downtown Shareholders became a designated Main Street community this summer," said Executive Director Tomi Francis-Ramirez, "and we are now taking another step with KS Main Street and Main Street America to build an equitable entrepreneur ecosystem for our community. We will hold virtual small business focus groups on October 29th, followed by an all-day session Downtown on November 1st with KS Main Street and Main Street America. During these sessions, we will identify barriers and develop actionable strategies to address them.”

Stay tuned for more announcements about how to participate in this exciting process. Together, we can make a real difference in our community's entrepreneurial landscape. Thanks so much for your partnership and support!