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Downtown Main Street reports ARPA microgrants and cashback app boosted local sales
Summary
Downtown Main Street Inc. told the Economic and Community Development Commission that a $25,000 ARPA-funded GROW microgrant program funded 24 businesses and that an Open Rewards cashback app generated roughly $320,000 in local economic impact before funds were exhausted.
Chad Honeycutt, the new director of Downtown Main Street Inc., and Kathleen Graham, a Downtown Main Street staff member, told the La Crosse Economic and Community Development Commission that two ARPA-funded initiatives produced measurable benefits for downtown small businesses.
Honeycutt said the organization revised its mission to focus on a “clean, safe, attractive, and accessible downtown” and described plans to bring new initiatives to the commission in 2026. Graham outlined results of the GROW microgrant program: “So far, $24,000 have been distributed of the $25,000. Twenty-four businesses have been funded, and six storefront improvements, 14 digital expansions, and 19 new business collaborations came out of that so far,” she said.
Graham also reviewed the Open Rewards cashback app that the city adopted for the ARPA census tract. She said the app — originally launched in Las Vegas and later adopted by La Crosse — allowed users to upload receipts and receive 5%–20% cashback on qualifying local purchases. “Almost $320,000 economic impact, 16 time return on investment, and over 800 users in the La Crosse area,” Graham reported, and she added that the program is paused now because the grant funds have been exhausted.
Commissioners pressed staff on recurring costs and sustainability. Graham said administrative fees run about $295 per month and that program rules (such as per-$100 transaction stipulations and lowering the long-term reward percentage) can help contain reward payouts. “There are some stipulations as well … it is a little more sustainable,” she said.
Commissioners and DMI staff discussed whether the app could be expanded beyond downtown and how any future funding commitment might be structured. The commission treated the item as an informational update and took no formal action.
The commission heard examples of how grants translated to local outcomes, including a downtown gym that used grant funds to buy t-shirts that increased program participation and a general store that hired a local student to expand its online presence. DMI said it will return with strategic-planning updates and potential 2026 initiatives for commission review.
