National Main Street Center to Become Nonprofit Subsidiary of the National Trust

By National Trust Staff | From Forum Bulletin | June 22, 2012 |

As most of you are aware, since the launch of the Preservation10X framework last September the National Trust has been engaged in a focused and inclusive process to assess the current status of the National Trust Main Street program and the Main Street Center, in order to arrive at the best path forward for Main Street.

Main Street is one of the most valued programs of the National Trust. It has achieved unprecedented stature nationwide as a highly successful preservation-based economic development program and enjoys great popularity among a wide constituent base. In many ways it has far surpassed what anyone thought would be the outcome of a small pilot program in the Midwest some 30 years ago. Because Main Street has now achieved mainstream success—and because Main Street needs to evolve in order to remain a leading, cutting-edge model for community revitalization—the National Trust has realized that it must envision a new platform that will allow Main Street to flourish far into the future.

Last Saturday the National Trust Board of Trustees approved a recommendation to transition the National Trust Main Street Center to a new nonprofit subsidiary of the Trust, which will happen in 2013. We believe we are at the point where new growth and direction for the Main Street Center and the Main Street movement will be best accomplished under a subsidiary board focused solely on growing and enriching Main Street. We are excited that we can continue to support Main Street at the National Trust, while providing the program with the space and focus it needs to reach new levels of effectiveness.

Along with this decision about a new future for Main Street come a number of staff changes. Three individuals have graciously agreed to see us through the initial part of this transition and will be leaving in mid-July to pursue other opportunities. These include the current positions of director, assistant director for field services, and the program manager for research and training. We look forward to offering our strongest support to the remaining staff at the Main Street Center who will continue in important functions critical to the new subsidiary.

This summer we will begin a wide search for a new position, the CEO of the Main Street subsidiary, and will appreciate your help in finding the right person for this challenging and exciting job. We will keep you informed as this process moves forward. Valecia Crisafulli, Vice President of Partnerships, has agreed to serve as acting director of the National Trust Main Street Center until the new CEO of the subsidiary is hired.

Finally, we express our most sincere appreciation to all who participated in the Main Street assessment process, serving on working teams, participating in interviews, and contributing feedback on surveys and in focus groups.