Business Mixer FAQ — Rediscover Downtown Peru

RDP Overview

What are the 4 points of the Indiana Main Street approach?

RDP is an Indiana Main Street organization, so our work is built on four connected areas:

Organization — Building a strong, sustainable base: partnerships, volunteers, funding, and board leadership.
Design — Improving the physical and visual character of downtown buildings and public spaces (facades, signage, streetscape).
Promotion — Marketing downtown as the heart of Peru — events, branding, and telling downtown's story.
Economic Vitality — Strengthening the downtown business district: filling vacant buildings, supporting existing businesses, attracting new investment.

Say it like this Everything RDP does fits into one of these four buckets. If you ever wonder why we're doing something — Second Saturday, the facade grant, the newsletter — it traces back to one of these four points.

Who's on the board?

RDP is led by a 10-member volunteer board. Committee chairs are noted below — those committees map directly to the four Main Street points.

Terry SmithPresident · Organization Committee Chair

Sarah BenedictVice President · Design Committee Chair

Kevin ComerfordTreasurer

Jaeden BrownSecretary

Sandra TossouEconomic Vitality Committee Chair

Anne Kennedy

Rebekah O'Neil

James Sager

Abigail Smith

Paul Forman

Say it like this We're an all-volunteer board — ten neighbors who serve because we care about downtown, not because it's a job.

Why focus only on the downtown district?

RDP's defined district is Broadway Street from the train overpass to the Wabash River, between Wabash Street and North Miami Street. We focus here because:

Downtown is Peru's front door — it's what visitors, new residents, and businesses see first and judge the whole community by.
A concentrated focus lets a volunteer-led organization actually move the needle, instead of spreading thin across the whole city.
Downtown is disproportionately historic and walkable — the kind of asset that's hard to rebuild once it's lost.
A stronger downtown lifts property values and tax base for the whole city, not just the district.

Say it like this We're not the only organization doing economic development in Peru — we're the one that specializes in downtown, the way a cardiologist specializes in hearts. The whole body still matters.

What about the rest of the businesses (outside downtown)?

RDP's charter and Main Street designation are specifically for the downtown district — that's a requirement of the Main Street program, not a judgment about other businesses.
Businesses outside the district are well served by other partners — MCEDA and the Chamber of Commerce — who work city- and county-wide.
A healthy downtown benefits businesses everywhere in Peru indirectly: more visitors, more events, more people talking about Peru as a destination.

How are we different from MCEDA, the Chamber, and the City?

Geography

RDPDowntown district only

MCEDACounty-wide

ChamberCounty-wide

City of PeruCity-wide

Focus

RDPHistoric preservation, downtown vibrancy, small-business support

MCEDABusiness/industry attraction & retention

ChamberBusiness networking & advocacy

City of PeruInfrastructure, ordinances, public services

Structure

RDPVolunteer-led nonprofit board

MCEDA[staff-led econ. dev. org]

Chamber[staff-led membership org]

City of PeruElected/appointed government

Volunteer-led. RDP is run by volunteer board and committee members who live and work here — not paid economic development staff. It's personal: we're neighbors doing this because we care about downtown, not because it's our job.

Downtown focus. We're the only one of these four groups whose entire mission is the downtown district specifically. The others all touch downtown, but none are dedicated to it the way RDP is — and we coordinate closely with all three so efforts don't overlap.

Say it like this The City builds and maintains the infrastructure, the Chamber connects businesses to each other, MCEDA recruits and retains employers county-wide, and RDP is laser-focused on making downtown itself a place people want to be.

Events

What's the outlook for 2026/2027?

Here's what's on the downtown calendar for the rest of the year:

City Wide SalesSept 12
Boo BashOct 31
Downtown Christmas Open HouseNov 21
Small Business SaturdayNov 28

Say it like this We've got a full lineup ahead — City Wide Sales in September, Boo Bash on Halloween, our Christmas Open House in November, and Small Business Saturday right after Thanksgiving. Come find us downtown at any of them.

What's happening with Second Saturday?

With our leadership transition this past January, the board took a hard look at Second Saturdays. After several years, engagement was declining — especially business participation — and we made the call not to keep spending public money on a format that was losing its audience.

That doesn't mean we stepped back from events — we retired a declining format, not events themselves. Those same dollars now work year-round and fund bigger events, like the lineup above.

We're getting feedback directly from downtown businesses on how to move forward in a way that actually produces results.

Say it like this We retired Second Saturday because the format had run its course — not because we stepped back from events. The same budget now funds bigger events year-round, and we're shaping what's next with direct input from downtown businesses.

Design

What are the facade program details?

RDP offers a Facade Improvement Grant to help downtown property/business owners improve the exterior appearance of their buildings.

Match: 50% matching grant
Maximum award: Up to $5,000 per property
Eligible district: Properties within RDP's downtown district (Broadway Street, train overpass to the Wabash River, Wabash Street to North Miami Street)
Application window: Opens in October — applications accepted through January 31
Review & announcement: The Design Committee reviews applications and announces grant recipients by March

Say it like this If you own or lease a building downtown, RDP will match half of what you spend on exterior improvements — up to $5,000. Applications open every October and are due January 31, with recipients announced by March — so if you're planning a project for next year, now's the time to start thinking about it.

Promotions

Newsletter

RDP sends a monthly newsletter covering our work across all four Main Street points — Organization, Design, Promotion, and Economic Vitality — along with downtown news, upcoming events, and ways to get involved.

Say it like this We send out a monthly newsletter with downtown news, upcoming events, and ways to get involved. It's a great way to stay in the loop even if you can't make it to every event — you can sign up at [link/QR code].

Website

Say it like this (template) Our website, downtownperu.com, is the hub for everything — the downtown business directory, our event calendar, the facade grant application, and ways to volunteer or donate.

Volunteer

How can someone get involved?

RDP has a committee for each of the four Main Street points — Organization, Design, Promotion, and Economic Vitality — plus always-needed hands for our event lineup (City Wide Sales, Boo Bash, the Christmas Open House, Small Business Saturday, and more).

Say it like this RDP runs entirely on volunteers — we always need more hands for events, and we have committees if someone wants an ongoing role. The easiest way to get started is [sign-up link/contact].

Geography

Focus

Structure

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