Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance

Filing Period

Jul 1, 2011 to Jun 30, 2012

Signed

Feb 4, 2013

Return Version

2011v1.5

Gross Receipts

$761,872

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Marketing, events, and communications: encourages the scheduling of quality events that showcase the downtown community, bring people into the downtown businesses, and promote a positive image for downtown. Accomplishments include: - created tools to encourage people to come downtown, and to make it easy to come downtown. The website includes information on businesses, parking, events, directions, and cultural opportunities. We publish a monthly email newsletter to encourage people to come downtown, and printed 45,000 free directories/maps of the downtown that were distributed through downtown (see schedule o) businesses, venues, and tourist destinations. We increased marketing in the areas of social media, welcoming diverse audiences, website traffic, email newsletter recipients, directories, and event assistance. - assisted 11 events through a mini grant program. This program is directed towards new and emerging events that expand the downtown event calendar and attract a diverse audience. - encourage or supported other events with staff, promotional or financial assistance. This includes events of all sizes and focuses, from art to comedy to music. The downtown hosted many new events in the last year; these events add to the vitality of the downtown and its position as a gathering place for the west michigan community. - collaboration and communications with the downtown merchant businesses through the merchants council to provide information, discussion and consensus on a variety of issues that affect them from road closures and panhandling, to events and marketing. - there is a notable increase in the activity in the downtown, the talk about the downtown and the people out on the streets. Events draw record crowds. We are receiving national attention on a regular basis.

Filer

EIN

30-0083388