Downtown isn’t just another shopping district; it’s truly the heart of our community. And it’s the support of businesses and individuals alike that make our work supporting downtown Minot possible. So, if you’d like to join, we’d love to have you!
That said, we imagine you’ve got some questions, so here you go…
Great! We may be able to take care of your membership registration right now, online, or we may suggest a get-together to talk further. We have a membership for every person, professional, and business, so it’s really a matter of choosing what degree you want to support our work!
We view ourselves as the stewards of downtown. We don’t own it, but we accept responsibility for it — for its past — both good and bad, for its current, exciting progress, and for its future.
We accept this responsibility because we believe downtown matters more than people realize. Downtown is quality of life through events and everyday activities. Downtown is uniqueness, Minotness — it is all those things that can only be found here. It is history and tradition. It is for people, first. It’s our community’s living room, it’s where we take our friends and family when they come to visit. It is financial viability and resilience with the DNA of a time and sensibility that had to survive without the hidden subsidies that drive current development practices.
And perhaps most importantly, downtown is community. It is the place where the path between customer and friend is the easiest to travel, it is the place where it is easiest to become a part of Minot.
Obviously, we’re passionate about downtown 🙂 If you join us, you’ll get a regular dose of our enthusiasm for Minot and downtown!
And if you’d like to keep learning about why we believe downtown matters more, there’s more to discover here.
We’re the ones doing the doing and doing the fighting for downtown Minot. Here’s a few of the items we’re proud of!
- Pretty Things! Ever wonder how the Christmas tree gets done each year? Or what about the flowers during the summer? That’s us.
- Events & Fun! From fun on Thursday’s to Christmas Tree lightings and all the Wine Walks and Festivals in between. We’re always on the lookout for a fun way to bring people downtown!
- Political Stuff! We’re there behind the scenes and in the rooms letting elected leaders and others know both why downtown is more important and how to help us prosper. This work is central to the slow, steady progress that will lead to Minot’s long-term success and sustainability.
- Stuff for Members! From essential information to education and training to merchant access to our Go Downtown Gift Card program, we’re always working to provide value to our members!
I Want the Stuff, Let me Join!
Honestly, member benefits are more intangible than tangible, but just because you can’t hold it doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Here are a few ways we believe your membership makes sense:
- Help. You need someone to talk to about an idea or problem? We’re a great place to start.
- Information. It’s the grease that keeps the world turning, and it’s probably our most important role. You can’t keep up with everything happening in Minot because you’re running a business. Part of our job is knowing what’s going on or being able to find out quickly, so when the information matters to you, you’ll have it.
- Relationships & Connections. We cross paths all over town in all sorts of circles, and it’s our job to know you and your business. That’s because when someone calls asking, we have the ‘Information’ they need.
- Organized. Influence grows when we join together. One voice alone is easy to ignore, but when we combine our voices together we can make ourselves heard to influence and shape decisions that impact every aspect of life and business in Minot.
- Independent Advocacy. The dollars that keep our lights on come from our members, events, and services we return to the community for a fair price. In other words, we’re not beholden to public dollars. It’s a fact that frees us to always act in the best interest of downtown, our members, and Minot.
- Education & Training. Sometimes it’s as simples as a five minute aha! lesson. We’re building a library of them!
- Events & Fun. It’s been a rough run for events the past few years, but there’s a bright future on the horizon. Our members get first looks at participation and sponsorship in all our activities.
- Gift Card Merchant Access! We’ve just added this and are very excited about a great program that’s going to be beneificial to both our downtown mission and our members!
- Publishing & Promotion. Our website was built as a publishing platform to help you share your businesses critical information with our members and audience. From events, to jobs, to homes for people and businesses, this tool and its reach are available to all members who take the initiative to use it.
- Behind the Curtain. Your membership gets you access to our member’s area. It’s a place with a diverse and growing resource set and a clear picture of or vision for downtown and the issues shaping it.
- Involvement. Want to be more engaged with the work of organization? We’ll get you in the game!
- Ask! What do you need? Recruiting help? Advice on where to go to dinner? The history of a building? Maybe we can’t help, but maybe we can!
- And We’re Adding Strategically! We’re always looking for new opportunities to provide services to members and our community that directly supports or enables work toward our mission.