Making a major impact on Main Street

HOPE – Hope Downtown Network (HDN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to downtown business revitalization and historic preservation, publicly acknowledges a major gift from Steve and Celia Montgomery to support HDN’s plans to open the first ever Retail Business Incubator in historic downtown Hope.

“The Hope Downtown Network board of directors and I are incredibly grateful for this transformative gift from Steve and Celia,” affirmed Beckie Moore, Executive Director of Hope Downtown Network. “Their support will allow us to complete the HDN building remodel and launch the retail business incubator, which will greatly impact downtown development.”

Steve and Celia Montgomery are long-time community members, and they fully understand and continually demonstrate what it means to create and support partnerships for the betterment of the city and county.

“I believe in Hope’s (downtown) future,” stated Steve Montgomery. “With HDN working alongside the EDC, the Chamber, the City of Hope, and our numerous civic organizations, a difference can be made. The work that individuals make within HDN makes this contribution worthwhile. While this contribution from Celia and me will help with the completion of the HDN building, it is the time, effort, and hard work that these individuals give of themselves that will truly make a difference. We want to invest in the opportunity for new entrepreneurs to have a chance to start their journey, and with the business incubator part of the building, they can have that opportunity to start their business and help Hope grow. We are excited to see the success stories that will come out of this project.”

This major gift will enable Hope Downtown Network to achieve concrete results, such as offering free workshops pertaining to small business development and launching a retail business mentorship program to assist all entrepreneurs participating in the incubator project.

Hope Downtown Network is an Associate level program under Main Street Arkansas. HDN follows the Main Street Four-Point Approach, which is a unique, preservation-based economic development tool that enables communities to revitalize downtown districts.