Invested in You
In 2021, the Livingston County Board of Supervisors announced the launch of the new “Invested in You” Promise and committed new funds towards small business, tourism, and economic development activities to help businesses rebound from the pandemic. The “Invested in You” Promise combines funding and technical support with destination development and visitor attraction that will leverage the region's historic downtowns, natural and cultural assets, and innovative entrepreneurs to enhance Livingston County's quality of life. The ensuing result will create an improved sense of place, new downtown living, retail, restaurants, entertainment, and job opportunities.
Livingston County Economic Development and Livingston County Tourism are invested in providing a future that balances the preservation of community character and natural resources with economic development. The organizations envision the development of a living, working, and learning community that retains and attracts residents, businesses, students, and visitors who want to be part of a place where nature and culture reinforce one another.
Invested in Business
Livingston County’s Offices of Economic Development and Tourism joined forces to oversee the investment and administer a number of programs including:
Back to Business: The Back to Business COVID Relief Fund helped businesses recover and adapt to the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate the post-pandemic needs of customers and employees. This grant helped businesses expand the way they interact with their new and prospective customers by encouraging grantees to innovate and find solutions for conducting business to spur innovation and growth. Businesses that received funding could invest in supplies, training, design, technology, infrastructure, and/or furnishings to adapt their operations.
First Impressions: The First Impressions Program funds projects that promote a lasting and genuine first impression of Livingston County’s businesses and contribute to creating a sense of place for locals, businesses, and visitors while driving the economy for future success. This program provides reimbursement of up to 50% for signage, interior or exterior lighting, facade improvements, public art installations or streetscape enhancements, and digital-first impressions. Reimbursement shall not exceed $5,000 for any individual project.
Dream-O-Vate Competition: The Dream-O-Vate Business Competition increases downtown retail occupancy by recruiting new businesses that will enhance the existing business mix, and assist existing businesses that plan to significantly expand or branch into an additional business concept. This funding is intended to improve the economic climate for businesses through increased resident and tourist traffic in and around our village cores and awards prizes to winners through training, grant funding, and essential resources and tools.
Extreme Makeover: LivCo Edition: Extreme Makeover: LivCo Edition is a building makeover competition where building and/or business owners can completely renovate their space for commercial use. This program is committed to restoring and preserving historic buildings and blocks throughout the county and awards transformational projects that focus on adaptive reuse of space, creation of commercial business space, and construction of residential space on second and third floors. Applicants will need to invest in renderings, assessments, and estimates that will transform the look and feel of their building.
“Invested in You is a recognition by Livingston County that our businesses and culture are worth investing in to make LivCo a great place to live, work, and visit. Post-pandemic, people will be looking for a slower-paced lifestyle and a close-knit community, and we can offer that with the investments we are making in our communities. By partnering and assisting with the evolution of our business economy, we are dedicating ourselves to the future and the process of showing aspiring business owners and prospective residents that we do things a little differently here.”
Invested in Culture
The “Invested In You” Promise includes efforts to grow public art, improve pedestrian connections, support creative businesses, encourage mixed-use developments, and bolster the County and region’s identity as an outdoor recreation destination including:
Destination Creation: As part of our mission to help LivCo businesses succeed in a changing world, four staff members have become certified facilitators to teach Destination Creation, a class designed to help business owners increase their revenue and customer traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The Destination Creation Course teaches the proven 14-point business success strategy developed by internationally-known business consultant Jon Schallert. Businesses that follow Schallert’s process can attract both local consumers and customers from far beyond their typical geographic market. The Destination Creation Course consists of downloadable webinars by Schallert along with interviews from top business authors on topics vital to small businesses. Classes are being offered on a regular basis by Livingston County Economic Development.
County-Wide Wayfinding: An effective wayfinding system, focused on all modes of transportation, will entice residents and visitors to explore beyond their traditional comfort zone. To address the lack of wayfinding signage currently present in the region, our office embarked on a year-long wayfinding master plan to create a unified, consistent impression across nine villages in the County, encouraging effective and safe connections to unique destinations and places of interest. We have developed a Master Plan to improve the pedestrian and visitor experience navigating to and within the nine designated downtown districts. The project inventoried local sites and assets and identified signage types, locations, treatments, and prioritized phases of installation. This study looked at ways to weave together the nine villages of Avon, Caledonia, Dansville, Geneseo, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Mount Morris, and Nunda with a cohesive fabric of vehicular and pedestrian wayfinding signage, guiding people to Livingston County's unique destinations and places of interest. The recently completed plan will help our downtowns improve pedestrian and visitor experience for years to come.
Visit LivCo // Livingston County Tourism: There’s something for everyone in LivCo. We’re always finding new ways to surprise and delight our visitors. No matter the season, you can always find something new to discover, from exploring antique stores to trying local farm-fresh cuisine to retreating outdoors into picturesque landscapes, LivCo doesn’t disappoint. In 2021, Livingston County Tourism rebranded and relaunched a new website, new marketing materials, and new initiatives in an effort to offer the best resources and guides to our visitors and locals. The team works continuously with partners and organizations throughout the Genesee River Valley to provide a variety of high-quality information for every type of visitor coming to the area. Whether you’re visiting us solo, with a partner, or with your entire family, you’ll find inspiration in our one-of-a-kind shopping, dining, lodging, historical, and cultural experiences — all in the Genesee River Valley.
Public Art Initiatives: Many communities are utilizing public art to create a positive impact in their hometown. According to Americans for the Arts, public art engages a community, engenders a sense of pride and community identity, and enhances a community’s quality of life. Investing in arts and culture initiatives creates the environment for this prosperity and growth. In Livingston County, our buildings have space to inspire, our sidewalks are welcoming to all, and our history is meant to be shared. Our public art initiatives have taken many forms including Inspirations Trail and LivCo Walls Mural Festival. The Livingston County Inspirations Trail places 100+ pieces of permanent and temporary art throughout the Main Street corridors of the county’s nine villages, connected by a 90-mile loop. The Mural Festival, known as LivCo Walls, involved the implementation of a group of murals in a condensed timeframe. The festival atmosphere drew media attention and outside visitors while inviting residents to be part of the public art creation.