What to do with a Community Action Committee

I love getting emails from small town folks who have seen or heard us speak, especially when they form committee action committees as a result! Rebecca wanted some next step help, and I was happy to share!

Here’s her email:

I was so inspired by your story and how you were able to change your town.  I, along with several others, came together and started a Community Action Committee. 

Right now, I have about 15 volunteers, and 10 of them show up faithfully to each meeting.   We have been able to do some great things in a short amount of time.

We formed in late September 2025 and put on a fall festival where we had about 70 show up, the town has a little less than 600, we provided ornaments for the kids to decorate for the lighting of the tree.  In April, we started a free community breakfast on one Saturday a month.

We have so many other things we would like to see happen here.  We have zero business on Main Street and want to bring business and interest to revive this dying small town!  

Any guidance you can offer is so greatly appreciated. 

Rebecca   

Community Action Committee 

 

Hi Rebecca,

I took a look at your downtown (Main Street – which I assume is downtown), and the first thought that popped into my head was that those big overhead doors on some of the buildings are just screaming for murals! Not just overhead doors either, some boarded-up windows would look better with murals. How about that fence around the basketball courts? You could decorate that as well.

Here’s a PDF you can download that outlines the first 10 steps for any small town. https://saveyour.town/what-are-the-first-ten-steps-a-small-town-should-take-to-become-idea-friendly/

When you and your crowd get together, are you meeting at a place where you’ll do some work (plant flowers, paint something, talk about an empty building)? Get out of the meeting rooms and go be the ninjas that you are and work and talk at the same time! Invite anyone in town to join you there. If they can’t always make it, and many won’t, it doesn’t matter. Those small but meaningful steps matter in that moment.

Take a look at some of the towns with real results here https://saveyour.town/results-real-people-real-towns/.

Look at what Highmore SD did around sunflowers – https://buildingpossibility.com/articles/sunflower-festival-is-idea-friendly/

Crafters are great entrepreneurs and make for a good pop-up at an event. Maybe they can try a one-month trial in an empty building where several of them can come together. https://buildingpossibility.com/articles/turn-your-crafters-into-entrepreneurs-and-a-new-choice-for-shopping-during-the-holidays/

And don’t forget the baby boomers! https://buildingpossibility.com/articles/baby-boomers-as-entrepreneurs/

You’ve got my book, too, right? Lots of stories in there that could be helpful to you as well! https://buildingpossibility.com/buythebook/