Thriving Communities Program

Thriving Communities Program is sponsored by U.S. Department of Transportation, Build America Bureau. Aims to ensure communities have the technical tools and organizational capacity to compete for federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects.

U.S. Department of Transportation Thriving Communities | Main Street America USDOT Thriving Communities Program Community Development Grants Supporting Thriving Communities The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Main Street America $ 5 . 9 million as part of the Thriving Communities Program, to provide technical assistance and capacity building for 20 communities to advance transportation and community development priorities.

Main Street America served as a Lead Capacity Builder under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Program ( FY 22 ) from June 2023 through December 2025 . USDOT selected 20 communities to form the Main Streets cohort.

Main Street America and its partners led programming to advance the cohort’s transportation and community development goals: Conducted 20 on-site transportation assessments, reaching more than 500 stakeholders to understand local priorities and refine individual work plans for each TCP community.

Provided 14 , 000 hours of direct technical assistance in community engagement, partnership development , project visioning, grant writing, and more. Facilitated 30 virtual and in-person workshops to expand TCP communities’ knowledge, understanding, and capability to take on transportation infrastructure work. Invested $ 1 .

8 million in subgrants —representing $ 90 , 000 for each TCP community — to procure professional services and build staff capacity. Over the course of the program, these TCP communities secured over $ 17 . 7 million in infrastructure funding and managed another $ 67 million to plan, design, or build projects — with another $ 7 million in applications still pending .

They also learned to align transportation work with the needs of their community, ending the program with a stronger capacity to apply for additional grants and funding in the coming years.

Transportation and Main Street Transportation is an essential issue affecting Main Streets, and Main Street America will build on experience in the Thriving Communities Program to equip communities and states to make transformative investments in Main Streets.

Main Street America shared experience, tools, and practices from the program in the Thriving Communities Toolkit: How local changemakers can turn bold transportation ideas into lasting improvements for people and places. The toolkit is designed for Main Street leaders who want to be more effective partners alongside local, tribal, regional, and state entities in the transportation planning landscape.

Learn about Thriving Communities Main Street America’s team throughout the Thriving Communities Program and the development of this Toolkit include Equiticity , National Association of Development Organizations , Project for Public Spaces , Rails to Trails Conservancy , Rural Community Assistance Partnership , and CTL Engineering (contributing CTL Engineering team members are now with the firm Benesch ).

Special thanks to the dozens of local leaders from Thriving Communities Program cities and tribes, who participated in this program and shaped the insights that emerged: Bois Forte Band of Chippewa | Minnesota City of Cedartown | Georgia City of Independence | Oregon City of Macomb | Illinois City of McAlester | Oklahoma City of Milford | Delaware City of Monroe | Louisiana County of Henry | Virginia First Tennessee Rural Planning Organization Forest County Potawatomi Community | Wisconsin North Central Regional Planning Commission | Kansas Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation | Washington Standing Rock Sioux Tribe | North Dakota and South Dakota Town of Elizabethtown | North Carolina Trinidad Rancheria | California Village of Indiantown | Florida This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by Federal award number 69 A 6212350001 awarded to National Main Street Center, Inc. by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. Neither the United States Government nor any of its employees make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately-owned rights.

Reference herein to any individuals, agencies, companies, products, process, services, service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the author(s), contributor(s), the U.S. Government, or any agency thereof.

Opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a position that is endorsed by, USDOT or any Federal agency. $ 1 . 8 Million Awarded in Sub-Grants Through USDOT Thriving Communities Program Main Street America is pleased to announce the launch of a $1.

8 million sub-grant program as part of our partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Thriving Communities Program. USDOT Awards Main Street America $ 5 . 9 Million to Support Equitable Rural and Tribal Commercial District Development Main Street America was awarded $5.

9 million to support 20 communities in the Main Streets Community of Practice through the Department of Transportation's Thriving Communities Program over the next two years. All official communication about our grant programs will come from verified email addresses ending in @mainstreet. org or our trusted partner domains.

If you receive an unexpected message, always double-check the sender’s email address before clicking any links or replying. When in doubt, feel free to contact us directly through our website.