Fairs, music, elves draw crowds to mall

BOULDER – Tulips or elves, art fairs or outdoor concerts, Downtown Boulder Inc.’s special events translate into increased traffic on the Pearl Street Mall and hopefully more sales for business owners.

As a result of these successful promotional efforts, the organization’s membership has doubled in the past three years.

Membership has grown to 331, according to Jane Jenkins, executive director. Jenkins attributes the growth of the nonprofit organization that represents downtown Boulder businesses to a staff dedicated to selling and providing services to members of the district.

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“They see good service for their investment in membership,” she says. And of the ever-growing number of restaurants and retailers, about 85 percent of businesses in the district are locally owned and operated.

Downtown Boulder Inc. is the promotional arm of the Downtown Boulder Improvement District. DBI’s $250,000 budget is funded through individual business memberships of $125 and revenues and sponsorships from events. BID represents the private sector within a 40-block neighborhood and is funded by a property tax within the district. The six employees of DBI are under a management contract with BID.

DBI is a nonprofit 501 (c) (6) government entity governed by Colorado law. It has a management contract with BID to carry out its mission as an organizational voice and advocacy arm for downtown businesses. DBI produces events and serves the membership by sponsoring monthly networking events both after work for socialization as well as morning educational lectures.

The group provides members with advocacy information on issues discussed at public hearings, such as a recent city recommendation to increase metered parking rates, and publishes a newsletter to make sure “the powers that be hear their voice,” Jenkins says. BID is about marketing, communications, services, maintenance and economic development. Member fees are used to fund specific services.

DBI is probably best known for events such as Munchkin Masquerade, Tulip Parade, Art Fair and Bands on the Bricks, among others.

“Every event we produce as an organization will bring people and build traffic for downtown,” Jenkins says.
Measuring success

To measure its success, the DBI staff is preparing for a pedestrian study this summer. “We have done demographic research at bigger events,” she says. “We know we are weather dependent. For example, we had a beautiful day for the Tulip Fairy and Elf Parade. Most children attended with about three adults each. We knew we had more than expected when we ran out of chocolate tulip lollipops before the event was over.”

Staff members also measure the popularity of events by monitoring occupancy of parking structures. If structures are full, staff members direct people to other parking areas with openings. Jenkins also explains that the increase in tax revenues from downtown businesses is another measure of event success.

Sometimes membership benefits are hard to measure in dollars. “Being involved in DBI has allowed me to meet the merchants and workers in downtown Boulder. I can understand the business challenges and then give us some opportunities to serve them better,” says Maureen McMackin, president of Boulder Market and manager of two branches of First National Bank of Colorado.
“DBI has allowed us opportunities to donate our time and resources for events and other activities that benefit the community, giving us good exposure as organization and benefiting the downtown as a whole,” she says. “The public sees our name as a sponsor for Band on the Bricks, and the goodwill given to the bank is equal to our investment,” she says.

Coordinated PR
Chris Toomey, owner of the Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop, says he benefits from DBI by networking to “pick the brains” of more experienced business owners. He believes the activities and events coordinated by DBI bring more people downtown, although since he moved his store in January he hasn’t determined if the traffic has directly helped his business.

“Having that one body speak for everyone and do marketing for downtown is key. They are trying to act in the best interest of all businesses as whole,” he says.

Better public relations, through placement of human-interest stories about the people who work downtown, has had a positive impact, says David Bolduc, owner of the Boulder Book Store. Bolduc has been a member of DBI, and its predecessors, since 1973 and sees major improvement from earlier times. Putting in more money for professional staff of the organization, he says, shows other communities how to revitalize their downtown.
DBI’s meetings and newsletter allow business owners to understand and influence what’s going on in the community.

“If you want to change things and to be engaged, it is very possible,” he says. “The scale of Boulder is very workable if you put in the time, understand issues and fight for what you want.”