Market New York is a grant program established to strengthen tourism and attract visitors to New York State by promoting destinations, attractions and special events.
Donor Name: Empire State Development (ESD)
State: New York
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement
Deadline: 07/31/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Funding is available for tourism marketing initiatives, the recruitment and/or execution of special events like festivals, expos, agritourism/craft beverage events and athletic tournaments, and the recruitment of business events like meetings, conferences, conventions and trade shows. The Market New York program and each funded proposal will work to support the long-term strategic plans for economic growth as put forth by the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs).
Funding Information
- For the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year, up to $7 million will be available through Market New York.
- Only minimum requests of $50,000 or more will be considered, not including the grantee match.
- Any grant requests under $50,000 will be found ineligible and will not be scored.
Eligible Expenses
Eligible costs that may be covered by a grant include direct costs incurred (by the awarded grantee only) for the development and delivery of a regionally-based tourism marketing project and must not include organizational costs that would have otherwise been incurred by the grantee (e.g., financial, legal, office-related and/or operational costs).
In general, eligible tourism marketing costs include, but are not limited to, the following:
- purchase of recognized media advertising
- production costs of print collateral and/or audio/visual
- licensing/talent fees to ensure ownership of finished product
- website design/updates
- reasonable, industry-standard costs for: social media and influencer campaigns; and, participation in co-op advertising created by other organization(s), both subject to the review and approval of ESD
- reasonable, industry-standard fees paid to artists, musicians, performers, special guests & speakers subject to the review and approval of ESD
- rental of event amenities (e.g., chairs, tents, tables, staging, lighting, fencing, etc.)
- consultation/vendor/contractor event(s) services, with fees paid to consultants for administrative services subjected to limitation at the discretion of the department
- site expenses & services (e.g., convention center fees, security, shuttle buses, etc.)
- supplies and materials as approved by ESD
- administrative costs up to a maximum of 10% of the total project cost as approved by ESD. Administrative costs are defined as staff costs to complete the required project/grant program documents, communication and reporting elements, not including general overhead costs of everyday business that are unrelated to the administration of the grant. Administrative costs must be demonstrated at the time that reimbursement is requested through payroll journals, cashed payroll checks and/or other sources deemed appropriate by ESD. While administrative costs may be reimbursable, they are often more effectively applied instead toward the grantee’s required match; and
- other costs deemed reasonable by ESD.
Eligibility Criteria
Entities that may apply for funding include:
- Not-for-profit corporations
- Municipalities
- Tourism promotional agencies (TPAs)
- Public benefit corporations and for-profit companies.
For more information, visit ESD.
