You’re still Dutchtown Proud, right? You should be! Even in the face of a nationwide crisis, Dutchtown neighbors pulled together, supported each other, and kept our neighborhood moving forward. We should all be proud to see our neighborhood keep going and growing.
Last year, we wanted to demonstrate the sense of community and togetherness that might not be readily apparent to outsiders or passers-by. To do so, we started distributing Dutchtown Proud yard signs in exchange for a name-your-price donation to DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown. The campaign was a huge success, with 200 signs distributed all over Dutchtown.
Order Your Dutchtown Proud Sign
We’re bringing back the Dutchtown Proud campaign in 2021. We have more neighbors than ever ready to organize their blocks, clean up the streets, participate in committees, support our local businesses, and show off what makes the Dutchtown community strong, resilient, and ready to take on the challenges our neighborhood faces. Let’s let everyone know!
Get Your Dutchtown Proud Sign!
This year, we’re offering the same deal—order a sign, name your price, and we’ll come drop one (or two or ten) off to you!
Order Your Dutchtown Proud Sign
We suggest a contribution of around $15. The signs cost us about $5 each to produce—a big thanks to A Big Difference Signs and Graphics for helping us make these sturdy, union made signs affordable! Any funds in excess of the cost go straight to DT2 to help continue the work of building a unique, diverse, and thriving Dutchtown for everyone.
Can’t afford $15 right now? No problem. We’ll even give you one for free. Just go through the ordering process, name your price at $0, and we’ll still be happy to have another neighbor displaying their Dutchtown pride.
Free Dutchtown Proud Sign for Sustaining Donors
New for 2021, we’re giving out Dutchtown Proud signs to anyone who becomes a sustaining donor to DT2. Set up your monthly recurring donation and we’ll send you a sign. Just let us know where to drop it off.
Any contribution helps—$5, $10, $25, or $50 a month goes a long way to support the exciting work DT2 has planned for 2021 and beyond. This year, our goal is to raise $10,000 through sustaining donations. With nearly $3,000 already committed for 2021, we still have a long way to go, but we hope you can help get us there.
Where Do the Funds Go?
After covering the costs of the signs, all proceeds go to DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown, our 501(c)(3) community development non-profit. DT2’s mission is to promote a thriving community and shared prosperity by facilitating economic development and fostering opportunity in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Through this mission, we aim to attract diverse ownership, promote places, spaces, and faces, and increase occupancy.
Established in 2005 as a neighborhood business association, DT2 has always run on a shoestring budget with an all-volunteer staff. In 2020, we were able to hire our first part-time employee, Dutchtown Growth Manager Jessica Payne. Jessica brings years of experience in neighborhood development and non-profit management, and her skills are helping to raise funds, secure grants, plan projects, and attract and retain volunteers.
DT2 recently partnered with Missouri Main Street Connection to participate in the UrbanMain program, the first such program in Missouri. Following Main Street’s four point approach, DT2 established new committees led by neighborhood stakeholders to more effectively plan for Dutchtown’s future. The committees are already planning and executing projects such as neighborhood cleanups, business support programs, and activities to activate Marquette Park.
Even with limited ability to gather regularly in person, the last year has brought more engagement than ever between DT2 and the community. New volunteers, new and long-time residents, and new and established businesses continue to team up to move Dutchtown forward. Dutchtown has momentum like never before.
Keep Building Dutchtown—Get Your Sign Today!
If you’re new to the neighborhood, stake your claim with a Dutchtown Proud sign! If you’ve recently felt inspired by the growing sense of community rising in Dutchtown, show off that spirit with a Dutchtown Proud sign! If your sign blew away over the winter, get a new Dutchtown Proud sign! If you want to show unity on your block, get a few Dutchtown Proud signs and share them with your neighbors!
