A spinoff from the Downtown Investment Grants (DIG) is available for property owners in downtown Washington through Main Street Washington. Each year, $100,000 is earmarked for building improvements in the Main Street district with a 3-to-1 match and a minimum of a $100,000 project. The program is made possible by the City of Washington with their allocation of dollars from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, and the grant program is managed by Main Street Washington.

Main Street Washington Director Samantha Meyer explains the new branch is called Micro-DIG, “There’s been a really big need for just smaller grants. Not everybody has a $100,000-plus project to work on, because since 2008 really since Main Street started, so many of the buildings have been renovated downtown. The facades have had work, so we are really fortunate in that. And so we’re seeing fewer of those large projects that need to happen each year. So we asked if we could allocate $25,000 of that $100,000 to micro-grants. So we have Micro-DIG this year, so that’s a minimum project of $5,000 and these are a one-to-one match.”

She explains how the funds can be used, “They can be used for anything really exterior related: facade work, windows on the front, we included some funding for public art, so if you have somewhere to put a mural on your building or a way to put a sculpture maybe out front, that would apply as well.” They are not to be used for general maintenance of a building. And the organization promotes historical preservation of the district.

To apply, businesses should contact Meyer at Main Street Washington to begin the application process. Applications can be submitted now and the window will be open until all funds are allocated.