[OMS_MANAGERS] News You Can Use

[STUART Sheri * OPRD]

1.     Check out this article from the Harvard Business Review on the four types of small businesses, and why each one matters: https://hbr.org/2015/04/the-4-types-of-small-businesses-and-why-each-one-matters

2.    National Main Street Center launches Main Street Volunteer Toolkit! Along with resources on how to recruit, retain and recognize volunteers, the toolkit also contains a customizable volunteer handbook to introduce new volunteers to your program. To tie in with National Volunteer Month, NMSC hosted a webinar, "Volunteer Management on Main Street."  The handbook and the webinar are available online for all National Main Street Network Members.

3.    Use StatsAmerica to quickly generate profiles for your town.  Profiles include population by age, race, education level, household data, employment and commuting data. Go to http://www.statsamerica.org/ & select the "USA Towns in Profile" link.  Enter the name of your town in the search box, select your choice from the results list. This Web tool, provided by the Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, has several other data sets created from federal and state data sources:  compare county/metro areas; check state profiles for demographic and workforce data; see regional industry clusters; explore Quarterly Workforce Indicators data set using charts and interactive tables.

4.    Save the Date! The Oregon Main Street Conference will be October 7-9, 2015 in The Dalles.

5.    USDA Seeks Applications to Support Rural Businesses and Create Jobs. Applications due Monday, June 1, 2015. Approximately $350,000 is expected to be made available in Oregon under the Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. The grants will be awarded competitively. Eligible applicants include public bodies, government entities, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations. The new program combines USDA's former Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) and Rural Business Opportunity Grant (RBOG) programs. The new program, like its predecessors, is designed to assist with the startup or expansion of small and emerging private businesses and/or nonprofits in rural communities. These grants can be used to provide technical assistance and in some cases to establish revolving loan funds; to support rural distance learning programs that provide educational or job training; to acquire or develop land, buildings, plants and equipment; and to build or improve access roads, parking areas, utility extensions, and water and waste disposal facilities. If you are planning to submit an application in Oregon, USDA encourages you to contact a local Business & Cooperative Program Specialist or the State Office for more details about the application requirements and process: Lisa Siesennop, Business & Cooperative Programs Director, USDA Rural Development, (503) 414-3367, Lisa.Siesennop at or.usda.gov
Sheri Stuart, Coordinator
Oregon Main Street

NOTE: My email address has changed!
503-986-0679
Sheri.Stuart at oregon.gov
725 Summer St NE, Ste C
Salem, OR 97301
www.facebook.com/OregonHeritage
http://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/ - Blog

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