We are thrilled to announce that the Downtown Sioux City Storefront Grant was reimagined this spring with the help of business owners, realtors, and community members. While the funds have been used and appreciated greatly by our stakeholders throughout the years, we recognized that our Downtown is expanding—and so should our grants!

Since 2018, Downtown Partners have offered a matching grant of up to $2,500 to enhance downtown storefronts. The grant was most often used for signage, which is great! But we felt the grant had untapped potential and our message of wanting to improve every aspect of the storefront was not being communicated well. After assessing the situation, we reevaluated the content and marketing of the program. We are now excited to offer the Downtown Sioux City Storefront Grants. Yes, you read that right, grants, plural. Downtown businesses and property owners can now select one or multiple grant categories and receive up to $4,000. Categories include signage, outdoor dining and seating, safety and security, aesthetic upgrades, and sidewalk improvements.

Signage can be a projecting logo, a window decal, a backlit sign, and more. Signage is the first impression a business makes on a person; and like a great first impression, it can lead to big opportunities and growth! We want that for every business downtown, so we knew we had to include signage in the new Storefront Grants.

As the weather cools down, it’s the perfect time to enjoy a brew on a patio. A patio is fun, casual, and energetic. We want more of that feeling downtown—and we’ll help pay for it! Our Outdoor Dining & Seating category invites businesses to expand into the great outdoors with patio furniture, heaters, planters, and more.

Safety is embedded into every conversation we have about improving Downtown. As much as we want pedestrians to feel safe walking down Historic Fourth Street, we also want businesses to feel safe locking up at night. The Safety and Security category was created to help offset the costs of motion lights, security cameras, and other safety measures that will ease owners’ minds and protect our businesses.

While we have always endorsed Aesthetic Upgrades, we really wanted to market the new, targeted opportunity with our Storefront Grants refresh. We love murals, fresh paint, new windows, and accessibility; and we wanted more of it all! This category was created to increase the number of colorful, useful, and permanent upgrades to downtown storefronts.

We know, Sidewalk Improvements do not sound exciting to some, but they make a huge difference. Broken or cracked sidewalks can be a hazard, or an eyesore—neither of which we want to represent our properties, businesses, and community—so we’ve created this category to encourage sidewalk upgrades and increase foot traffic downtown.

Visit our website downtownsiouxcity.com and click ‘Latest News’ to learn more about our new Storefront Grants. We are ready, able, and excited to put these funds to good use! Apply today! Email info@downtownsiouxcity.com with any questions about the program or Downtown Partners services.