The City’s Explore Elmhurst Community Grant provides funding for local events and cultural activities that promote attracting visitors and overnight nonresidents to the City of Elmhurst
Donor Name: City of Elmhurst
State: Illinois
City: Elmhurst
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 02/01/2022
Size of the Grant:
Details:
The City of Elmhurst has provided this program to provide support for local tourism programs, attractions, and events that will enhance the marketing of the City of Elmhurst to visitors. Increased hotel occupancy positively impacts the economic vibrancy of the community and supports the local economy. Events and activities that have the potential to attract overnight nonresidents increasing local hotel occupancy as well as events that provide economic opportunities for Elmhurst businesses and organizations will be considered.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants for the Explore Elmhurst Grant must be organizations seeking to produce and promote a clearly defined festival, program, event, or cultural activity that promotes attracting visitors and overnight nonresident visitors to the City of Elmhurst. All events must show the potential to generate overnight hotels stays, provide economic development opportunities to Elmhurst businesses and organizations, and increase the visibility of Elmhurst tourism, attraction, and events.
- The Explore Elmhurst Grant is geared towards funding non-for-profit 501c(3) organizations, not private businesses.
Grant Guidelines and Requirements:
- The overall budget for a particular event or promotion must accompany the application in the format provided through the grant application.
- The event must occur within the City of Elmhurst.
- Projects should promote Elmhurst as a destination by promoting local dining, shopping, attractions, and lodging. Events should not promote the use of lodging facilities located outside of the City of Elmhurst.
- A representative from the group applying for the grant must be willing to attend an application review meeting held at City Hall. Applicants may be asked to attend a City Council Committee level meeting.
- All grant recipients are encouraged to purchase goods and services from businesses located in the City of Elmhurst whenever possible.
- All printed material and/or other advertising media paid for with the Explore Elmhurst Grant funds must include the Explore Elmhurst logo along with the following credit line: Financial support provided by the Explore Elmhurst Grant Program.
Assessment:
Applications will be assessed based upon criteria including, but not limited to the following:
- Demonstrate collaboration, support, and cooperation among Elmhurst organizations
- Introduce new events or activities to Elmhurst
- The ability of the event to attract overnight visitors in past or present year(s)
- The ability of the event to grow over two or more years
- Food, beverage, and retail expenditures by out of market visitors and the extent to which the event provides economic opportunities for Elmhurst businesses and organizations
- The ability of the event to project a positive image of the City of Elmhurst and to increase the visibility of Elmhurst tourism, attraction, and activities
Criteria and Evaluation Process:
The City of Elmhurst will consider factors such as the type and scope of the applying organization or project, the applicant’s resources, the impact of the project, the timetable, the number of applicants received, and the amount requested when evaluating the grant applications. Additional considerations regarding the grant award include:
- The grant committee may choose to fund a portion of any request based on the availability of funds.
- The grant committee may not support event/attraction advertising outside the area for an event/attraction that has shown a decrease in attendance over the past year(s).
- Applicants who file projects yearly are encouraged to consider new promotions or new approaches to support or upgrade their events. Applicants submitting the same qualified projects year after year after may receive a lower percentage of funding or possibly no funding at all.
- The Explore Elmhurst Grant is geared towards funding non-for-profit 501c(3) organizations, not private businesses. Organizations may file joint projects.
For more information, visit 2022 Explore Elmhurst Community Grant Program.
