Patrice Frey, president and CEO of Main Street America, shares how small
businesses nationwide are faring in the pandemic.
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Dear Preservation Supporter,

Over the past few weeks, you’ve seen quite a few headlines about “Main
Street”—specifically, the threat to Main Street businesses posed by the
coronavirus crisis. Indeed, the picture for Main Street businesses is sobering.
Just last week, Main Street America, a program of the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, released a report finding that approximately 7.5 million
small businesses are in danger of closing over the next five months if they do
not quickly receive financial relief.

During normal times, America’s main streets are a powerful economic engine
powered by the authenticity of place. Since the National Trust founded its Main
Streets program 40 years ago, Main Street communities have created more than
600,000 net new jobs and rehabbed more than 275,000 buildings. When we say that
historic preservation helps build stronger communities in both rural and urban
areas, we lead with America’s main streets.

The next few weeks will be critical for these communities. Much hinges on the
effectiveness of the federal CARES Act stimulus programs, though as of this
writing, reviews are mixed in terms of the success of small businesses accessing
these funds. Main Street America and our partners are working to make sure
stimulus funds reach those small businesses most in need, and advocating
specifically for those businesses who employ fewer than 20 people.

Yet even amid these unprecedented challenges, I have enormous hope for the
resilience of our small businesses and our Main Streets. In recent weeks, we’ve
been flooded with stories of creativity, perseverance, and tenacity in the face
of great hardship. For example:

* In Petoskey, Michigan, downtown leaders are buoying local businesses by
encouraging residents to buy gift cards to downtown stores to be redeemed
once stay-at-home orders lift. To add an incentive to shop local, they are
giving $25 in “downtown dollars” to anyone who purchases a gift card of $50
or greater value.
* In Southern California, Leucadia 101, Encinitas 101, and Cardiff 101 Main
Street Associations are partnering with the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Foundation and
the Harbaugh Foundation to develop a special fund that will enable business
owners to apply for grants ranging from $2,000 to $10,000.
* And at Morgan Park Beverly Hills Business Association, a Chicago Special
Service Area administrator is connecting local businesses to local, state,
and federal resources. They are working hard to feature their local business
that are providing curbside pickup, delivery services, and online sales.

These are just a handful of the hundreds of examples that abound. For four
decades, the Main Street America program has supported preservation-based
revitalization in more than 2,000 downtowns and neighborhood commercial
districts in nearly every state in the country. Our network of intrepid Main
Street leaders steered their communities through the explosion of online
shopping, the Great Recession, the dot-com bomb, the proliferation of big box
stores, and much more.

So I have every faith our Main Street leaders are rising to—and will rise
above—today’s challenge, too. To do so, they will need the help of Americans to
support them through this challenging period.

Warm regards,

Katherine Malone-France
Chief Preservation Officer


Pictured above: The spectacular gardens at Filoli, a National Trust Historic
Site. Photo by Gretchine Nievarez


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