GM on Main Street Grant Program

The GM on Main Street Grant Program, led by Main Street America, focuses on enhancing the safety and vibrancy of downtowns through innovative road safety and traffic calming projects. Funded by General Motors, this program seeks transformative ideas that promote pedestrian safety and accessibility, making downtown areas more inviting for residents and visitors. Eligible applicants include non-profits and local governments in designated counties, with a strong emphasis on projects that are inclusive, feasible, and easily replicable.

Main Street America
Main Street America (MSA) leads an inclusive, impact-driven movement dedicated to reenergizing and strengthening older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts through place-based economic development and community preservation.
Main Street America was founded in 1980 as the National Main Street Center®, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Over the past 40 years the MSA network has helped to generate over $115.27 billion in local reinvestment, rehab 345,801 buildings, create 815,894 new jobs, and start 181,647 new businesses in over 2,000 communities.
GM on Main Street Grant Program: Road Safety Innovation for Downtowns
The GM on Main Street Grant Program aims to enhance downtowns through transformative and innovative road safety and traffic calming initiatives in communities near GM facilities. The program provides funding for innovative road safety and traffic calming projects that will improve the safety, accessibility, and vibrancy of downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. We’re looking for ideas that will make your downtown more walkable, safe, accessible, and attractive for both visitors and residents. Proposals should focus on projects that promote pedestrian safety and traffic calming initiatives to improve quality of life in our Main Streets. Made possible by General Motors, this grant program prioritizes applications that are focused on road safety and traffic calming, innovative, inclusive, feasible, and replicable or easily scalable for other Main Street programs.
What types of grant expenses are eligible?
Requested funding must be for a physical road safety project.

Eligibility

Applicants must be located within an eligible county. Eligible counties feature or are adjacent to a GM Facility. View the list of eligible counties.
Applicants must be 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) non-profit organizations or local government entities.
Applicants may submit up to one (1) application per organization.
Previous GM on Main Street grantees are eligible to apply again for the 2025 – 2026 grant cycle. Previous GM on Main Street grantees must demonstrate successful completion of their prior grant project in their application.
Eligible Grant Uses:

• Construction/​installation supplies and materials
• Equipment
• Labor costs for construction/​rehabilitation/​installation/​artist fees

Artist’s supplies and fees associated with a community engagement design process (i.e. artful bike racks or traffic calming features informed by facilitated community discussions)
Other physical items
One-off event costs/​programming for initial activation of the space
Engineering and architectural plans or fees (up to 20% of $60,000 grant budget)

Ineligibility

Ineligible Grant Uses:

• Staff salaries (labor beyond initial construction/​rehabilitation/​installation costs)
• Operational and maintenance expenses
• Reimbursement for projects that are already completed