Member Benefits

You are a member of our CID (officially BID –business improvement district) if your business is located within our boundaries and by way of a tax levy passed on to you through your rent.  As a member of the Village on Main, you are eligible for a number of services and can use the association to express concerns or ideas for community development and improvement.  Some opportunities available to member or businesses include, but are not limited to:

PROMOTION:

Take advantage of our social media presence @VillageOnMainNS.  We have over 5000 followers, and encourage you to “like” and follow us as well as send us information and news to promote about your business or organization. We also offer a complimentary mentoring meeting with Sandra Conrad our social media expert, to help you with your social media.

PLACEMENT IN OUR BUSINESS DIRECTORY:

You are included in our online directory (villageonmain.ca) on our website.

MEMBERSHIP GROUP RATES:

We are able to access opportunities for our members at group rates.  We access provincial funding to offer quality professional business skills training specifically designed for small business.

HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS:

We have partnered with a health insurance representative to offer the choice of a Health Spending Account Plan or traditional group health option for our members. 

NETWORKING IN YOUR LOCATION: 

Each month we hold a public networking event at various member locations in The Village on Main with complimentary Tim Hortons coffee and door prizes.

ADVOCACY:

On your behalf, we are working with partners to make improvements to our district.  We have partnered with the city to make changes to our land use bylaws to allow for mixed use development that will bring more residents into the area.  We are now working with an HRM-wide coalition of community partners for better transit and are working with other business districts on tax reform. 

EVENTS:

We host a signature event each year; a Parade and Festival in Tribute to Veterans and Those Who Serve. We offer free tent canopies to our members on a first come first serve basis to promote your business at the festival and can provide carnival games for you to use at your booth. 

We hold a yearly Community Clean Up in June and invite you to participate with your team for a great photo-promotional opportunity as we work together to maintain a clean community.

Our Annual General Meeting is held every year in June and you are invited to join us for lunch and hear about our progress and news.

VILLAGE VOUCHERS:

We offer $10 vouchers toward member businesses as door prizes and gifts for special events. When redeemed, we reimburse member businesses. Please let us know if you would like your business listed on the voucher. 

UPDATES AND RESOURCES:

As a member of the village, you will be added to our email and newsletter list and will receive updates on community news, our progress on projects and resources, business-training opportunities, among other business resource information, events and opportunities. Let us know if you have anything to add!

AGE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY PLAN:

We have the only Age Friendly Community Plan in HRM! We have a steering committee of community, business and non-profit members guiding our plan to promote and encourage the transformation of a community that welcomes people of all ages and abilities. The full plan is available on our website.  We invite you to review the plan and join the steering committee if you support any of the goals.