Since 1981, the Downtown Carlisle Association has been striving to enhance the civic, cultural and economic vitality of the entire community – retail, service, academic, government and industry. Currently in our 30th year, Carlisle has the distinction of being one of the longest, continuous running Main Street based programs in the Commonwealth.

The DCA follows the National Historic Trust Main Street Principles for its’ organizational management structure.  Trained by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the DCA provides an array of benefits for downtown business & tourism, and Borough staff augumentation.

The Downtown Carlisle Association’s mission and programs are solely crafted and dedicated to the implementation of various aspects of the Borough of Carlisle’s Comprehensive Plan and the observed need of downtown business owners and stakeholders.  With oversight from a community-based volunteer board of directors, regional liaisons, volunteers, and borough leadership, the DCA provides an array of programs dedicated to achieving the common goals of Carlisle, using the managerial structure provided through the National Historic Trust’s
4-point Main Street Approach, adapted by the DCA to include a 5th point to service the residents of the C1 and the Elm Street Program.

DCA MISSION
The mission of the Downtown Carlisle Association is to market the assets of Carlisle, thus improving the quality of life, and increasing downtown business, tourism and economic development opportunities.

The DCA is a community board managed organization existing to benefit the goals of economic development, increased tourism, managed C-1 land use and housing development, historic preservation, and regional marketing, all of which are embedded goals of the Borough of Carlisle Comprehensive Plan.

Various programs are created and managed by the DCA Board of Directors and are executed by the Board, one full-time executive director, one part-time Retail Recruiter, and one part-time program coordinator/administrative staff person. 

The Downtown Neighborhood Connection is a separate community board which creates Elm Street district neighborhood strengthening programs under the advisement of Borough and County Redevelopment Authority leadership.  These comprehensive goals are implemented by the DNC Board, various neighborhood associations, and a full-time Elm Street Manager which is administratively managed by the DCA.

The Elm Street Program through the Downtown Neighborhood Connection, Borough of Carlisle and Redevelopment Authority continues to show great success in strengthening residential neighborhoods, with an emphasis on encouraging home-ownership, rehabilitating older buildings, improving older neighborhoods and avoiding blight. 

The façade program has provided close to $80,000 in home improvement monies, neighborhood clean-up days have brought neighbors together to reclaim their neighborhood through maintenance and litter control, new lights on West North and North Pitt have seeded the need for additional lighting in other Elm Street corridors, and the trailblazing partnership between the Elm Street program, East Side Neighbors, Borough of Carlisle and the DCA, acting as fiscal agent for the Biddle Mission Park improvement project, has opened possibilities for other such projects within the Elm Street district.  All of these projects show a pro-active interest in the different neighborhoods by residents, borough, county and DNC members. 

These Elm Street projects allow home owners to reclaim their streets through a sense of security with added lighting, improved evening recreational facilities with the Biddle Mission Park project, and increased property values and better building stock through the façade program.

Through the DCA 5-point Main Street approach the Downtown Carlisle Association gives the Borough of Carlisle a cost-effective resource to assist in accomplishing long-range planning goals set by the comprehensive plan and short-term goals designed by the current Borough Council strategic goals. 

The DCA started its aggressive branding and marketing strategy 24 months ago with the launch of the LoveCarlisle.com brand.  As any brand manager, the DCA has put all of its resources and efforts into marketing this brand through traditional and non-traditional mediums and outlets along with supporting and encouraging others to use and embrace the message.

The DCA markets downtown Carlisle as a travel/visiting destination to a 30 mile radius.  Using our brand of LoveCarlisle.com we have utilized all methods of traditional media (television, radio, newsprint, glossy print) along with non-traditional media (internet, social media, sponsorships) in promoting and raising awareness of the relevancy of downtown Carlisle as an entertainment, dining and shopping option comparable to other mid-state destinations. 

With the LoveCarlisle.com brand, we provide free listings and opportunities for upgraded, pay for service, ads in our glossy printed downtown guide and map.  15,000 of these maps are distributed throughout the downtown and mid-state to appropriate lodging and high traffic attraction sites.

Along with the downtown guide is the correlating LoveCarlisle.com website.  With over 40,000 page views in 2011, this site, as intended, is fast becoming the one stop source for information on entertainment, attractions and visitation information for Downtown Carlisle.  In 2012, we hope to secure a part-time web content manager to expand the website information to local, school district, and expanded borough centric news related stories.

The DCA also provides downtown merchants with free advertising in a 1,400 person distributed e-newsletter through Constant Contact.  In 2011, 120,866 recipients have viewed information sent via the DCA’s “It’s Happening in Carlisle” informational email news blasts.

In addition to the aforementioned free advertising we offer to retain businesses and support local entrepreneurship, we also offer a maintain a highly-used social media based Facebook page.  With 654 people keeping track of events and postings daily, this advertising outlet has become an up to the minute way of displaying and retrieving information on local opportunities within and outside of the Downtown.

The DCA also offers free creative services when local businesses owners utilize any of its complementary advertising services.  The DCA executive director creates the proper print or internet ad for the downtown client, submits it for approval and places it in the requested medium whether the printed guide, website or e-newsletters.  (Attachment C) The artwork belongs to the downtown client and they are free to use it in whatever additional projects they choose.

These free services of advertising and creative services provides direct, off the bottom-line cash savings to the merchant in their marketing and creative budget line items.

Embedded within the retail recruitment program, is a retail retention program whereby we network with local businesses and offer management or marketing assistance when an individual business is struggling or the same management or marketing assistance and financial assistance when an entrepreneur is poised to expand within their C-1 business.  Acting as a guide through either process, our retail recruiter would identify needs and solutions for the business owner.  These solutions are countless but could include managerial training from local mentors up to the Small Business Development Corporation, direction to fiscal assistance from local, state, federal or private dollars, navigation through local and county building or business expansion codes. 

We assist in business expansion through a “one stop shop” listing of currently listed properties that are available for purchase or lease, and additional properties that are not listed but are available through private owners or speculation of current tenant turnover.  This list contains a host of information including square footage, utilities, proposed rent or purchase price.

An additional program the DCA offers to support local entrepreneurs are mentor workshops designed to allow business owners to teach other business owners about their successes or pitfalls to avoid.  Our most successful workshop of 2011 was hosted by Steve Berg of Patriot-Surplus where he discussed and provided basic set-up information for diversifying storefronts into online/virtual storefronts.

Along with the introduction of LoveCarlisle.com, the DCA produces one of the most successful special event series dedicated to bringing people into Downtown Carlisle.

Our current list of special events are as follows:

SAVOR THE FLAVOR

Location: Dickinson College Hub
Audience: Carlisle/area residents
Average Attendance: 500 people
Purpose: Provide an expo style location for area businesses to sell/sample/promote product.

FIRST FRIDAY SERIES

Location(s): May -North Hanover Street- North Hanover Street Music & Artwalk
June -South Hanover Street – Broadway on Hanover
August -Pomfret Street – Good Ole’ Summertime
September-West High Street - Community in Motion
Audience: Carlisle/Area residents
Carlisle / Area residents, Ford Show – South Hanover Street (June)
Carlisle/Area residents, War College, Dickinson College – West High Street First Friday
Average Attendance: 500 each
Purpose: Promote and raise awareness of the integral shopping/dining retail neighborhoods in downtown Carlisle.

FORD PARADE

Location: Carlisle Fairgrounds, Downtown Carlisle
Audience: Ford car show enthusiasts, Carlisle/Area residents
Average Attendance: 1,500 (first year)
Purpose: Provide a joint promotional event between the Fairgrounds/Ford car show guests and Downtown businesses. Provide a presence at the Fairgrounds to promote downtown Carlisle to show guests.

CORVETTE PARADE

Location: Carlisle Fairgrounds, Downtown Carlisle
Audience: Corvette car show enthusiasts, Carlisle/Area residents
Average Attendance: 5,000
Purpose: Provide a joint promotional event between the Fairgrounds/Corvette car show guests and Downtown businesses. Provide a presence at the Fairgrounds to promote downtown Carlisle to show guests.
 

HARVEST OF THE ARTS

Including: US Army War College Welcome Jam
Dickinson College Discover Downtown

Location: Downtown Carlisle
Audience: Local and regional consumers of the arts, Dickinson College students/parents, US Army War College students, families, and staff.
Average Attendance: 12,000
Purpose: Harvest of the Arts - Provide a special event dedicated to the promotion of Carlisle being a viable and trendy arts destination.

USAWC Welcome Jam – Provide a the new students of the War College a “Welcome to Carlisle” musical performance along with showcasing of downtown with the Arts Festival.
Discover Downtown - Provide a the students and families of Dickinson College with an event where they can explore downtown merchants along with showcasing the downtown in a festival style atmosphere.

TOYS FOR TOTS PARADE

Location: Downtown Carlisle
Audience: Carlisle/Area residents
Average Attendance: 1,000
Purpose: Provide a parade to launch the holiday season and promote downtown shopping.