The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is seeking applications for its Tourism Marketing Matching Grant to support tourism marketing and promotional campaigns.
Donor Name: Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)
State: Colorado
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/12/2023
Size of the Grant: $40,000
Details:
Grant goals are to:
- build a robust tourism economy and advance the state’s competitive position through promotion and support for industry partners across the state
- strengthen the tourism industry and state through support for responsible travel and destination stewardship campaigns
- maximize the economic return on public and private investments in Colorado by leveraging funds to optimize marketing impact
Funding Information
The maximum grant amount is $40,000 while the required match is 2:1. For every $1 the qualifying grantee allocates to the proposed project, the Colorado Tourism Office will provide $2 in matching funds. For example, if your total project budget is $60,000, you can request a $40,000 grant and you will need to provide the remaining $20,000 as a cash match.
Eligible Projects
Eligible projects must be new marketing initiatives. Grants will not be awarded to fund existing marketing efforts unless the funds are for new initiatives or outcomes or you are expanding the program into new markets or media.
Eligible activities:
- creative executions specific to the marketing and promotional campaign:
- creative advertising production (print, digital, out-of-home, video, social, and radio)
- content development (written, video, or audio)
- photography
- videography and post-production video editing
- audio development (radio, etc.)
- marketing collateral (print and digital brochures, visitor guides, posters, and maps)
- fulfillment costs
- promotional items (Promotional items must support the grant program goals and contain clear branding such as a call to action (CTA) or logo that features the grant recipient’s destination or organization.)
- marketing executions specific to the marketing and promotional campaign:
- media placement (print, digital, out-of-home, television, social, and radio)
- social media initiatives
- public relations initiatives
- search engine marketing (SEM) initiatives (SEO/paid search)
- Crowdriff Stories
- email newsletter development and distribution
- trade shows
- registration and booth rental fees
- airfare/lodging expenses (up to 10% of the project budget)
- website development, refresh, or restructure
- other approved projects
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible Colorado applicants include:
- nonprofit Colorado destination organizations
- recipients of jurisdictional lodging taxes, such as:
- destination marketing organizations
- lodging tax boards, committees, or panels
- recipients of jurisdictional lodging taxes, such as:
- other nonprofit tourism leadership organizations that are responsible for promoting tourism on behalf of a destination, such as:
- chambers of commerce or chamber resort associations
- Colorado tourism industry associations
- registered nonprofit trade organizations that represent a collection of tourism businesses within one or more tourism-related business sectors
- government entities in Colorado (state entities, local governments, and federally recognized tribes) engaged in tourism promotion
Ineligible applicants include:
- for-profit organizations
- individual attractions, museums, or businesses
- nonprofit trade organizations that do not represent tourism-related business sectors or that provide services only to individuals, though critically important, are not the intended recipients of these programs
Other considerations include:
- Only one application can be submitted for an individual destination
- Multiple organizations within a single destination should collaborate on a single grant application
- Only one application can be submitted per applicant unless prior approval is provided. Lead applicants can be a partner in a separate application.
- Recipients of the Tourism Recovery Marketing Grant are ineligible to apply for a 2024 Tourism Marketing Matching Grant unless prior approval is provided.
- Applicants that failed to fulfill Colorado Tourism Office grant award requirements within the past twelve (12) months may be deemed ineligible.
For more information, visit OEDIT.
