Foley Main Street Designated as a 2025 Accredited Program by Main Street America

Foley, AL  June 27, 2025 - For the 5th year in a row, Foley Main Street has been designated as an Accredited Main Street America program for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of designated programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.

Main Street America recognizes two tiers of national designation — Affiliate and Accredited. These designations are a powerful advocacy tool, signaling to local stakeholders, as well as city, state, and national funders, that a Main Street program has an established position within a nationwide movement with a 45-year proven track record of generating impressive economic returns, building local capacity, creating welcoming and inviting communities, and creating lasting impact.  

“Main Street America is proud to recognize this year’s 821 Accredited Main Street America programs for their commitment to building strong and vibrant communities,” said Erin Barnes, President and CEO of Main Street America. “Their tireless efforts show what’s possible when engaged leaders work together to shape places that reflect the people they serve. The continued impact of our network shows that the Main Street movement remains a powerful force for positive transformation.” 

Foley Main Street’s performance was evaluated through assessments conducted by the organization’s personnel and board of directors, and Main Street Alabama, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify local programs that meet rigorous national community evaluation standards.  “We are thrilled to announce that Foley Main Street has achieved the prestigious status of a 2025 Accredited Program through Main Street America. This recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of local leaders and community members who have consistently met the rigorous 6 standards for revitalization. Since its designation in 2018, Foley has shown remarkable progress and commitment to enhancing its economic landscape. Congratulations to all involved in this achievement!”  commented Mary Helmer Wirth, Executive Director of Main Street Alabama. 

These standards provide the Main Street America network with a strong foundational framework to review progress, recognize strengths, understand trends, and identify strategies that move Main Street programs forward. To quality for Accredited status—Main Street America’s top designation tier—communities must demonstrate a proven track record of achieving outcomes in alignment with the Main Street Approach and exceptional performance in six areas: broad-based community commitment to revitalization; inclusive leadership and organizational capacity; diversified funding and sustainable program operations; strategy-driven programming; preservation-based economic development; and demonstrated impact and results. 

In 2024, Main Street America programs generated $7.65 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 6,324 new businesses, facilitated the creation of 33,835 new jobs, rehabilitated 10,126 historic buildings, and logged 1.9 million volunteer hours. On average, for every dollar that a Main Street program spent to support its operations, $21.73 was reinvested into its downtown and commercial corridor communities.  

“You work at this every day, and it's something we needed. It was a missing component that we didn't have.  Foley Main Street is interacting with businesses to help them be better than what they are,”  Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said. “We count Foley Main Street as an important partner here in downtown.”

Wes Abrams, volunteer president of Foley Main Street said, “Accreditation adds accountability and credibility to our organization, the board and I are proud to work side by side with Darrelyn Dunmore our executive director,  our other volunteers and partners to preserve and improve Downtown Foley, the heart of Foley.” 
 

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ABOUT FOLEY MAIN STREET
Foley Main Street is committed to increasing the economic vibrancy of Downtown Foley by working on recruitment, facilitation, and the aid to businesses and investors interested in the downtown. The primary focus of this initiative is to increase awareness of the Foley Main Street district and its businesses, as well as to work with the existing businesses to improve their strength and vibrancy.  For more information, visit foleymainstreet.com.

ABOUT MAIN STREET AMERICA
Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, the Main Street Movement has resulted in $115.42 billion reinvested locally, 181,647 net new businesses, 815,895 net new jobs, 345,801 buildings rehabilitated, and 37.3 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.