Community Organizing Assistance: Many communities and neighborhoods recognize the need to improve their downtown or commercial core but aren’t sure where to begin. This service is completely customized based on your community or need and where your community is in the process of downtown revitalization. The DRC will either send a staff member or a consultant to your community to meet with leaders and help to determine the next steps. Those next steps may include public input sessions, public relations guidance, meeting with elected and municipal officials, a 12-month work plan to rally the community around the needs presented, guidance in forming a non profit organization to propel the downtown work, etc. This service is charged at an hourly rate, but a customized package can be created where volume discounts may apply.
Return to Chart
2 Day Community Assessment: A two day on site visit in your community. The nature of this visit is the same as the four day Community Assessment but will go into less depth based on the shorter time frame for interviews and meetings. If you are a community that has previously had a Community Assessment (formerly called Resource Team Visits), this is a fantastic way to reassess your progress as an organization and compare the current state of your downtown to its state during the earlier assessment. This service includes a 15 -20 page written report of observations and recommendations within 45 days of the visit.
Return to Chart
4 Day Community Assessment (formerly called Resource Team Visits): A four day intensive on site visit in your community with a team of experts in the comprehensive areas of downtown revitalization work. The team, which is selected and contracted by the Downtown Resource Center, typically consists of four members which may or may not include CDFA staff. The team spends four days in your community meeting with the public and stakeholder groups to assess existing assets, market conditions, design elements, organizational structure, and promotional opportunities. This service includes a 40 - 50 page written report of observations and recommendations within 60 days of the visit.
Return to Chart
4-Hour Community Charrette with 2 Renderings: The DRC can contract an architect or other design professional to facilitate a planning charrette in your community. Charrettes are a public input opportunity as it relates to a specific area of your downtown such as streetscape, riverfront, a particular building, a park, or another underutilized space. Charrettes may take on a variety of formats and usually include two renderings of the community’s vision for that specific area.
Return to Chart
Annual Program Assessment/Evaluation: Program Evaluations are an annual daylong or evening visit by the Downtown Resource Center staff to evaluate how your downtown improvement program is working in each of the four comprehensive areas of downtown revitalization. The evaluation team typically consists of one DRC staff person and one hired consultant, but may vary based on availability. This evaluation also serves as the tool for the DRC to determine accreditation status in accordance with the National Trust Main Street Center Accreditation Standards for Performance. This service includes a written bulleted list of recommendations and accreditation status within 30 days of the visit. Two format options are available:
1. The traditional day-long assessment, which includes daytime meetings with all committees, the board chair, and the staff from the program. At the culmination of the day, the team meets with the full Board of Directors in the evening to report on recommendations and/or key areas of focus for the next year.
2. The workshop assessment is held in the evening with the team splitting up to meet with two groups simultaneously for 45 minutes, a full group meeting for 45 minutes, then two more groups simultaneously for another 45 minutes, and finally culminating with a meeting with the staff member and board chair.
On Site Staff Visit/Assistance: The DRC provides on site staff visits (up to four hours in length) to member communities as outlined in the various membership packages. Communities who are non-Members or Member Communities that request longer on site staff visits beyond what is included in the membership package pay the DRC’s hourly fee. These visits can involve special strategy sessions, goal setting, committee training, negotiating with private developers, Board Roles and Responsibilities training, Mission/Vision Development, hiring assistance, training in the Main Street Four Point Approach, workplanning, speeches at an annual meeting or municipal meeting, or specifically to deal with local problems or issues.
Return to Chart
Travel Rate: In an effort to make our services as affordable as possible, the travel rate is at least 50% off the normal hourly consultant rate. The rate includes all mileage expenses and the staff or consultant’s time.
Return to Chart
Downtown Institutes: Institutes will be held four times a year, each time focusing on a different area in comprehensive downtown improvement, providing an effective way to advance one’s knowledge in that key area. Each Institute will feature a nationally known expert in the subject matter and will be offered at the published discounted rates for members and $100 per attendee for non-members. Institutes will typically be day long sessions, although partial day or evening sessions may occur depending on subject matter, presenter, and potential audience.
Return to Chart
Downtown 101 Training Series: 101 trainings are a series of four separate trainings, each one dedicated to the basics in one of the four key areas of downtown revitalization; Organizational Development, Promotion and Marketing, Design and Physical Elements, and Economic Restructuring. 101 sessions will typically be three hours in length and will be offered at the published discounted rates for members and $55 per person for non-members.
Return to Chart
Non-DRC Staff Technical Assistance/Customized Consultant Visits: At any time, any member or non-member community can purchase a customized consultant visit on a wide array of topics. The DRC has access to many qualified consultants in non-profit management and downtown revitalization work and because the DRC contracts with many consultants for a variety of visit types, the DRC is often able to negotiate discounts off the normal consultant rates. Consultant visits can include but are not limited to market analysis training, architectural renderings, brand development, image campaigns, board of director development, strategic planning, volunteer development, community initiated development, business expansion/recruitment, heritage tourism, historic preservation, public relations, conflict resolution, parking issues and management, and more.
Return to Chart
Work Planning Facilitation: Work plans are action plans that lay out a program’s or group’s activities for the coming year and typically includes assignment of responsibilities, measurable outcomes, and budgeting for those activities. A three to four-hour workshop is facilitated by a DRC staff member or hired consultant where public input can be gleaned for the year’s activities. The workshop can also include instruction on effective work planning, using an actual project from the community to demonstrate the process.
Return to Chart
Mission or Vision Statement Facilitation: Mission statements and a vision for your downtown revitalization work are critically important in articulating to your stakeholders exactly what you are in business to do. It is also important to your nonprofit status. DRC staff or a hired consultant will facilitate a workshop where your group will generate a mission and/or vision statement. A variety of format options is available and can be customized for your program.
Return to Chart
Staff Hiring Assistance: Communities seeking to hire staff for their downtown revitalization program may seek assistance from the DRC staff in transition planning, advertising composition, resume review, interviewing, or compensation negotiation. The DRC has sample search calendars, survey results on manager characteristics, sample ads, sample job descriptions, and sample interview questions also available.
Return to Chart
Introduction to Main Street: This ninety minute session covers the basics of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Approach. This nationally successful model for downtown revitalization has helped communities across the state of New Hampshire encourage positive reinvestment in their downtowns. The session will describe how the model came to be and the comprehensive four points that guide downtown revitalization work.
Return to Chart
Why Downtown is Important: This 90 minute session is intended to be used in a public forum or in a meeting with community decision makers. It describes the value of reinvesting in downtown and how a community will experience the benefits associates with that reinvestment.
Return to Chart
Board Roles and Responsibilities: DRC staff or a hired consultant can provide training to your nonprofit board of directors in fiscal accountability, advocacy, staff management, fundraising, and policy setting. Session lengths can range from 90 minutes to three hours.
Return to Chart
Event Evaluation/Management Assistance: This service is designed to take a preliminary look at a special event, festival, fundraising event, or retail promotion that is already existing or the workplan for an event that is going to happen. A DRC staff member or consultant will review the event workplan, goals, outcomes, attendees, site plan, sponsorship packages and any other pertinent information to make recommendations for improving the event to reach its desired goals. A one to two page written list of these recommendations will follow the verbal report to the event team or committee.
Return to Chart
Committee Assistance: Many downtown revitalization programs have committees that focus on one key area of a community’s downtown improvement work. This service involves a DRC staff member meeting with a committee and reviewing their workplan, accomplishments, any long term strategic priorities for the organization, and other pertinent information. Recommendations for improvements in committee projects, refocusing of committee work, new ideas to reach strategic goals, etc. will be presented to the committee in a verbal report followed by a one to two page written list of recommendations.
Return to Chart
Speeches/Presentations: DRC or CDFA staff can be requested to speak at an event such as an annual meeting, selectmen or council meeting, awards banquet, or others, in your community. Speeches/presentations can be used as a staff visit as outlined in DRC membership benefits or purchased as an a la carte service.
Return to Chart
Easy Ware’s Total Info: This software is a constituent management application that has been customized specifically for downtown revitalization programs. The DRC has negotiated a 15% discount on products and services (including purchase of the software, data conversion, and additional training) for DRC members. The discount is not valid on the monthly maintenance fee. To learn more about Easy Ware’s Total Info, please visit their website at www.easy-ware.com
Return to Chart
Louis Karno & Communications Co.: Louis Karno is a strategic communications firm based in the Concord area. After a series of contracts with the New Hampshire Main Street Center, the firm has a working knowledge of downtown revitalization and the Main Street Four-Point Approach as well as an understanding of the political and funding landscape of New Hampshire. DRC members receive a 10% discount off the hourly rate for services at Louis Karno. For more information about the firm, please call 603.224.5566 or visit www.lkarno.com.
Return to Chart
Communities interested in taking advantage of services from the a la carte menu of services can do so by calling CDFA at 603.226.2170 or by emailing info@nhcdfa.org
