By Keily Alfonzo, Interning Correspondent for The Apopka Voice
For years, Apopka residents have yearned for a plan to improve its downtown. Now, that plan may be a little closer.
At its August 28th Budget Workshop, the Apopka City Council awarded Main Street Apopka a $50,000 grant.
According to its website, Main Street Apopka's mission is to create a program to strengthen small businesses through historic preservation, events, and partnerships. The program is divided into four committees: design, economic vitality, organization, and promotion. Each plays a vital role in the City's development.
"Our approach is to try to support the existing businesses that are currently there to help give them more traffic through their doors and get more business flowing through their cash registers," said Caitlin Kasheta, Main Street Apopka's Executive Director. "At the end of the day, we are an organization that is built by the residents and for the residents of Apopka. We want to do what they want us to do."
Kasheta says Main Street Apopka was asking for more than money from the City.
"It was a partnership to support the City's efforts and help build all the improvements they are trying to make," she said.
However, receiving this grant didn't come without its challenges. During the workshop, the Council expressed concerns over more technical aspects of awarding this grant.
Commissioner Diane Velazquez wanted to know about the 501(c)(3) designation.
"I've gotten a few phone calls, and of course, we've gotten several emails supporting it, we support it, but what's important is the designation of the 501(c)(3)," Velazquez said.
The purpose of a 501(c)(3) is to make all donations made to a nonprofit organization tax-deductible. According to the Foundation Group website, the US Department of Treasury regulates and administers this money through the Internal Revenue Service.
Kasheta explained that Main Street Apopka has yet to receive approval from the IRS regarding the 501(c)(3) designation, mainly because they had to complete an extended 1023 form. According to her, this document is where organizations present a projection of how much money they believe they'll receive. It was because of this that the application has taken so long. However, Kasheta anticipates receiving approval before October 1st.
"A 501(c)(3) certificate provides that element of legitimacy that the community wants to see and transparency," she said. "It allows the community to rest a little easy knowing that you've gone through the steps of legitimizing yourselves and that you truly are that nonprofit entity."
Commissioner Alexander Smith thought Main Street Apopka had already been funded through the American Rescue Plan.
"I thought we set $50,000 of that coronavirus money aside for Main Street Apopka," Commissioner Smith said.
Mayor Bryan Nelson and Smith also had concerns about how Main Street Apopka's plans for the City duplicate the efforts of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
"I don't see a duplication of the CRA," said Apopka's Finance Director Blanche Sherman. "We've been sitting as a board with the CRA in it, and it hasn't presented anything compared to what Main Street has been offering, so I see two different things."
Smith also expressed that during the initial meetings with Main Street Apopka, he believed it would be a joint effort.
"It was my understanding that they were going to work in conjunction with the CRA and that it was going to be something that they could complement each other," Commissioner Smith said.
Kasheta said that they are not planning to duplicate existing activities or programs. Instead, they want to partner with those programs and provide nonprofit services to help them promote other businesses.
But not every council member had reservations about the grant. According to Kasheta, Commissioner Nick Nesta was its biggest supporter.
"He has supported what we have planned since our first meeting in November of last year," Kasheta said.
During the budget workshop, Sherman mentioned that Nesta requested the Council to provide $50,000 to Main Street Apopka.
For Kasheta, the City funding was critical to its nonprofit accreditation status through Main Street America. It will also help advance their work plans in a professional and well-funded manner. However, the most important thing for the Main Street Apopka program is to have diverse sources of income. That is why they plan to hold fundraising events, gather sponsors, and receive more grants.
"We will certainly not rely on this money to be the only money that keeps our program afloat," Kasheta said.
