Main Street Skowhegan received $7,000 grant

SKOWHEGAN — Main Street Skowhegan recently received a $7,500 grant from the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund to help implement its strategic plan for community transformation.
“We’re grateful to Weyerhaeuser for believing in Main Street and our mission to revitalize Skowhegan,” said Executive Director Kristina Cannon. “Everything we do is driven by the goal of improving the quality of life in Skowhegan, and these funds will support our efforts and benefit our community.”

In 2015-16 Main Street led a community-wide process to craft Skowhegan’s strategic plan, completed and approved by vote at the 2016 annual town meeting. The plan’s goal is to make Skowhegan a thriving economic, cultural and recreational destination, where residents enjoy a high quality of life. The Weyerhaeuser grant will help Main Street continue to facilitate implementation of the plan and tackle many of its action steps.
These include using Skowhegan’s business incentive package to launch an “open for business” campaign to encourage new businesses to open in town; planning and executing seminars for business owners and budding entrepreneurs, with topics such as marketing, business development, and best practices for web design; and offering services — including web and graphic design, email marketing, writing and editing — to local businesses to help them boost their professional profile, enhance their marketing efforts, and make them more successful.
This will build on Main Street’s 2017 achievements, which included completing a business plan and creating a website (RunofRiver.org) for the Run of River Whitewater Recreation Area; launching the second Main Street Skowhegan Savings Entrepreneur Challenge; submitting a successful proposal to Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W) for Skowhegan to host the 2018 Moose Permit Lottery, which will come to the Skowhegan Fairgrounds Saturday, June 9; beginning to plan the accompanying Skowhegan Moose Festival from June 8 through June 10; collaborating with the Wesserunsett Arts Council to craft a cultural plan for Somerset County; creating a brochure highlighting the 22 sculptures on Skowhegan’s portion of the Langlais Art Trail; partnering with the Skowhegan Area Chamber of Commerce to develop a 44-page visitors’ guide; and planning and executing a number of events such as the second annual Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival, which drew more than 1,000 attendees, and the 25th annual Holiday Stroll.
Main Street Skowhegan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on the ongoing revitalization of the community.