The homes and buildings of downtown Selma provide the city with plenty of personality. But sometimes those homes need a little boost to help them provide an attractive backdrop.

The Downtown Selma Association did its part this week to help two buildings along in their improvement projects with $1,000 grants. The association, president Shebra Kidd said, awarded the grants to the Selma Art Guild and ArtsRevive as a 2-to-1 match for their efforts.

Securing the grants, which are provided by the Dallas County Commission, is based on paperwork and plans, Kidd said.

“People get an application and do what it tells them to do, which is submit the paperwork,” she said. “They have to be a member of the Downtown Selma Association and they have to spend enough to get the 2-to-1 match.”

Fran Pierce, who accepted the grant for ArtsRevive, said the money will help tremendously with their current improvement project.

‘We were putting up the framework for the art wall and that is what the money is for,” she said. “This will allow us to enhance it with art.”

Any assistance downtown business owners and merchants can secure is great, Pierce said.

“Every bit helps to improve the façade of our city,” she said. “That’s what we are doing. That’s what this program is all about.”