8 Our Purpose The job of the Economic Vitality Committee (EVC) is to identify new market opportunities for our downtown district, find new uses for historic commercial buildings, and stimulate investment in our downtown properties. The five major responsibilities of our committee are as follows: • Learn about the downtown business district’s current economic condition and identify opportunities for market growth; • Strengthen existing businesses and recruiting new ones; • Find new economic uses for traditional Main Street buildings; • Develop financial incentives and capital for building rehabilitations and business development; and • Monitor the economic performance of the district. Our Performance BUSINESS INFORMATION The Committee surveyed and gathered data about all current brick and mortar businesses in the Village at the end of 2024, and early in 2025 that information was assembled into a master list that not only contains contact information, but the data will assist in formulating strategies for business support. Additionally, the survey identified, at the time, six vacant storefronts in the downtown business district. That specific information can now be used to share with prospective business owners who are seeking retail space. Of note: As of November, one of the vacant storefronts has been purchased by a prospective business owner and another is being developed into usable retail space. A follow on to the initial business data gathering is input of that data into the Business Opportunities On Mainstreet (BOOMS) Tracker. BOOMS was developed by Main Street America in 2024 as a tool to empower communities with real-time data to tackle vacancy challenges and unlock development opportunities. Partial input of business data is complete with updates ongoing. In early 2026 the BOOMS Tracker should be updated on a regular basis and access given to all Revitalize Board Members. BUSINESS EDUCATION In 2024 the EVC made initial contact with Cedarville University’s Berry Center for Free Enterprise in hopes of engendering business training opportunities for our local business owners in 2025. Although there was no substantial follow-up from initial contact, the EVC will attempt to reestablish liaison with the Berry Center in 2026. An attempt was made early in 2025 to initiate professional business education through The Ohio Department of Development, specifically targeting woman-owned businesses. Nearly 50% of the businesses in Cedarville are woman-owned and assisting those particular businesses in getting certified by the state would open up further opportunities and resources for those businesses. A major roadblock in organizing any type of group training is the difficulty of gathering business owners in one venue at one specific time that meets the requirements of the Dept. of Development trainers. Subsequently, the EVC placed a hold on pursuing that group training and instead made connections with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Springfield (also part of The Ohio Dept. of Development). The SBDC offers FREE, one-on-one training to entrepreneurs, business Economic Vitality Committee
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