Our Village United — Amplify: Main Street Forward

Overview
Amplify: Main Street Forward, formerly known as HER Pro Bono, is a business development program operated by Our Village United. It is designed for experienced businesses that maintain brick-and-mortar locations or are seeking boutique placement opportunities. The program provides one-on-one technical assistance across operations, marketing, branding, finance, and sales, with the stated aim of strengthening infrastructure and preparing participants for capital access. The program spans eight months and carries a stated value of $12,000. Participants work with two dedicated service providers at no additional cost, and are supported by a dedicated program manager alongside the broader OVU team. A membership fee of $125 applies. Applications are currently being accepted for the 2027 cohort, with a deadline of January 1, 2027. This is not a grant, exhibition, or publishing opportunity. It is an operational and strategic support structure for founders navigating growth challenges. The curatorial logic is one of capacity-building: the program positions itself as a scaffold for businesses that already have a physical or retail presence and need to scale confidently and sustainably. Creative practitioners whose work intersects with commerce—designers with product lines, artists with studio-storefronts, makers with boutique retail ambitions—may find the program's focus on infrastructure and capital readiness relevant to their practice.