DBA PROJECTS

Bringing Our Community Together

So much is happening in Brattleboro and we are at the center of it!

PROJECTS LED BY THE DBA

From feeding our community, to creating much needed bike parking DBA always has some creative initiative in the works.

COLLABORATIONS

Working in community is all about fun. Check out some of our collaborations like the Handy Stations you see around downtown.

Handy Stations

Sanitize your hands while listening to 20 seconds of locally-made music!

Mask Makers

Who are all the mask makers and sellers in Brattleboro. Wear a mask and stay safe!

Gift Cards

All available downtown gift cards in one easy spot!

ACHIEVEMENTS & COMPLETED PROJECTS

The DBA wants to support our downtown community! Check out some of our recent achievements and completed projects.

Everyone Eats!

Everyone Eats! leverages federal and state funds to buy to-go meals from local restaurants to distribute, for free, to anyone in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Putney, Marlboro, Guilford, Vernon, and the West River Valley who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. In the first 22 weeks of the program 80,387 meals were purchased and distributed, that is an average of 3,904 meals per week. We did this by partnering with 20 organizations in Windham County and working with 85 volunteers.

Brattleboro Merchants Facebook Page

Ongoing: DBA is in the digital age! We made DBA services and information more accessible for many people. Now local merchants can digitally ask questions, share ideas and simply talk shop with their peers. This is a big accomplishment since in the past this only happened at a monthly meeting.

Facade Program

Ongoing: The DBA has organized this program, in which businesses can get up to a $500 matching grant to make improvements to their storefront. These funds have been used for painting, signs, awnings and other street front improvements.

Nourishing Artists

May 2020: DBA & New Chapter teamed up to create the Nourishing Artists program. Community members purchased gift certificates anywhere downtown and donors matched the amount spent in gift cards with funds to purchase meals at local restaurants. In 24-hours we funded 300 meals to feed our incredible vibrant artist community and provide much needed economic support for our restaurants and our downtown shops.

48-Hour Gift Card Challenge

May 2020: In collaboration with the Nourishing Artists program, this challenge infused cash into our local economy during a time of need (the onset of COVID). For 48 hours, all retail and service gift-cards purchased downtown were matched by incredibly kind anonymous donors. Together we infused over $75,000 into our local economy and fed more than 150 artists.

Flowers Program

Year-Round: Flowers, Flowers, Flowers! To ensure that downtown is beautiful, the DBA budgets $23k for all the flowers downtown for 3 seasons. We are fortunate to have Dick DeGrey vision and plan all the plantings. He tirelessly makes it all happen with a truck and alot of love for this town. In 2020 we partnered with the town’s Work Today program to support Dick with hired hands. Also new in 2020 we fundraised more than $11,000 from our community through $1 donation up to a generous donor of $7,000. Thank you!

Brattleship

October – December 2020: A game of engagement with downtown with each new Brattleship board being distributed at Gallery Walk each month. Remember this vintage game well this time around you are trying to sink your own ships by making purchases downtown. The more ships you sink the better prizes you win!

Pay by Card Parking Meters

No more digging in your car for that quarter you know is somewhere! We worked with the town to ensure that new parking meters and kiosks would accept credit cards.

One-to-one Project

When the COVID-19 pandemic first started we realized that large group webinars with local businesses weren’t enough to help them to learn how to manage all the new steps they needed to take to stay in business. There was an overwhelming amount of new processes that businesses had to understand and follow, and new types of decisions to make, and because of this, folks needed one-to-one contact throughout the learning process. We picked up the phone and talked with each business owner, helping them through these processes, with the goal of seeing 80% biz stay open.

Bike Parking Parklet

Summer 2018: Ride into town! We worked in coalition with BCAT, Human Connections Project and 350 Brattleboro to improve bike accessibility downtown with a bike parklet in front of People’s Bank and VT Artisans.

Short Term Rental Summit

May 19-20, 2019: Vermont’s first Short-Term Rental Summit was held in Brattleboro. With more than 6,000 Vermont hosts operating short-term rentals, the Summit was an opportunity to learn, be inspired, and connect with other hosts and industry experts.