National Main Street Accreditation
National Main Street Accreditation
The Main Street program accreditation process evaluates local Main Street programs according to 10 performance standards and provides national recognition to those that meet these standards. The national accreditation program strives to:
- Provide local and national visibility to local Main Street programs that understand and fully utilize the Main Street Four-Point Approach® and eight Main Street principles and that continue to evolve organizationally to meet new challenges;
- Provide national standards for performance for local Main Street programs; and
- Provide realistic goals and a tangible incentive for local Main Street programs that do not yet meet the criteria for national recognition.
Receiving National Main Street Program status is a prestigious designation. While every designated local Main Street program can work toward accreditation, not every Main Street program receives it. Main Street coordinating programs evaluate their local programs every year and submit their eligible programs to the Main Street Center. We annually release our list of accredited programs. Because the Center works with our coordinating partners to determine accreditation status, only local programs affiliated with a coordinating program are eligible.