Centre-South Main Streets
Serving the Centre and South Streets Business Corridor
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our business and retail districts have a significant impact on the culture of our neighborhood, and businesses and residents alike contribute to their vitality and strength. When businesses succeed, they introduce new jobs and new opportunities. They support community activities and the arts. Strong retail districts strengthen the neighborhood and increase safety. And in supporting these local businesses, residents end up creating a thriving “main street,” which sustains the culture of neighborhoods like Jamaica Plain. JP Centre/South Main Streets works to support our business district with community placemaking and events, municipal advocacy, and technical assistance.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Technical Assistance
We can help businesses navigate the path of starting a business, managing and sustaining, and then growing bigger. We also act as a resource for services that the City of Boston offers to businesses. Within the Jamaica Plain community, we offer:
Grants for storefront improvements;
Design assistance for signage and storefronts;
Consultants for small businesses such as retail visioning and industry assistance;
Permitting and licensing assistance;
Assistance with finding a commercial space within our district;
and finding resources for legal concerns, such as commercial leases.
Community CleanUp
We host a Community CleanUp two times a year along Centre and South Streets in our district. This includes cleaning and gardening in our public tennis courts and municipal lots and spaces, as well as cleaning along the streets. Businesses and residents are encouraged to work together as a form of placemaking and community bonding.
Holiday Stroll
We promote the local shopping district and organizations for the holiday season by hosting the Holiday Stroll. This includes community events throughout the district, in coordination with the City of Boston's holiday tour and the Mayor's Tree Lighting ceremony.
JP Winter Light Show
JP Centre/South Main Streets presents the JP Winter Light Show - a projection show on a building in our district - every holiday season. This program features dynamic visuals and community-produced graphics and images that celebrate the diversity and spirit of our community.
Where we work
Awards
Neighborhood Champion 2018
AmEx Small Business Saturday
Affiliations & memberships
Boston Main Streets 2018
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
JP Centre/South Main Streets works to support and enhance a vibrant, multicultural business district which contributes to a diverse, welcoming community for people to live, work, and visit. We strive to achieve this through:
ECONOMIC VITALITY: Assisting and attracting both existing and new businesses to achieve a lively, diverse, and equitable center of commercial and community activity.
DESIGN: Using an inclusive design approach to improve access for people of all ages and abilities. Improving the district’s appearance and creating an inviting atmosphere by addressing public safety, litter, and transportation issues, and promoting storefront and public improvement projects.
PROMOTION: Conducting marketing, communications, and events to increase visibility and patronage of the local economy and community engagement.
ORGANIZATION: Fostering an adaptable organization with broad community engagement, robust partnerships, and active volunteers.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Main Streets districts work to provide the tools and support necessary to create, build, and sustain viable commercial districts throughout Boston. From new storefront designs and innovative marketing, to creative events that drive foot traffic and create a sense of community, Boston Main Streets districts are not only helping businesses grow – they attract new businesses and residents to their area, touting a 95% storefront occupancy rate.
The Main Street Approach is centered around Transformation Strategies. A Transformation Strategy articulates a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown or commercial district’s economy. A program’s work on Transformation Strategies should be organized around the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization.
ECONOMIC VITALITY focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economies.
DESIGN supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual assets that set the commercial district apart.
PROMOTION positions the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics.
ORGANIZATION involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, and resources for the district.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our organization has a board of directors consisting of 5 to 12 members of the community, including business owners and residents. We also have additional volunteers who work on an as-needed basis for our community projects, design committee meetings, and business assistance series. We also work with Boston Main Streets, a City of Boston office, to provide technical assistance for economic vitality and design strategies, such as consultant services, signage and facade improvement grants, and permitting/licensing assistance for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
We maintain an office in the middle of our assigned district, and partnerships with community organizations just as JP Business and Professional Association and JP Local First.
Our funding includes reimbursements through our contract with the City of Boston, grants awarded by the Boston Main Streets Foundation, as well as our own fundraising efforts.
The combined resources, outreach, and expertise of our volunteers and partnerships allow us to fulfill our organization's mission.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In the last three years, we have rebuilt our Board of Directors to feature a focus on residents and businesses working together. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had expanded our technical assistance, and updated our online and mobile app presence, and relaunched our brand. Our community initiatives included a trolley service, a "parklet" in conjuction with the City of Boston Transportation Dept, and regular projection shows to promote our community and the holidays.
DURING THE PANDEMIC, our focus shifted to assist our small businesses with financial aid, advocacy, information, and resources. We provided ample communications and networking to reach out to those businesses and employees hit hardest by the shutdowns. We launched a major fundraising campaign to provide cash grants and technical assistance to both businesses and residents in our district. We provided education and guidance on applying for public assistance programs and how to pivot their businesses in the reopening phases. We also redirected our marketing and placemaking efforts to promote safe reopening and encouraging residents to shop our small businesses safely.
Our work has brought city-wide media attention to the Centre/South business corridor. JP Centre/South Main Streets has been featured on Chronicle on WCVB 5, Boston 25 News, the Boston Globe, and the JP Gazette. We have also seen several of our local businesses featured in the same way.
In the next year, we will continue to focus efforts on dealing with the pandemic shutdowns, including launching a jobs board with our business directory; working with our state representative to provide job grants to youth from the Boston Housing Authority and our small businesses; continued placemaking and marketing with reopening efforts; as well as public health advisories for safe reopening and defeating COVID-19. This is in conjunction with exploring creative ways to fundraise for our own organization in the new normal.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Centre-South Main Streets
Board of directorsas of 01/20/2023
Mr. Michael Reiskind
Centre South Main St Inc
Term: 2017 - 2020
Brad Brown
The Blue Frog Bakery
Paul Stamatos
Stamatos Properties
Craig Panzer
Roundhead Brewing
Karen O'Brien
Berkshire/Hathaway
Janet Galloway
TCB The Cooperative Bank
Michael Epp
Nicole Gunn
Cada Dia Drink Master
Brie Pullum
Nckls & Dimes
Deborah Karson
Deborah J. Karson Photography
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/11/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.