The Inspire Iowa Cultural Tourism Grant program will support a limited number of highly visible and high-impact arts, culture and heritage events, performances, productions or exhibitions.
Donor Name: Iowa Arts Council
State: Iowa
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/31/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Projects will attract new visitors to Iowa communities and showcase state as a cultural tourism destination.
Inspire Iowa is a partnership between the Iowa Tourism Office and Iowa Arts Council and is administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Funding is made possible through the Iowa Tourism Office.
Program Goals
The goals of the program include to:
- Create enhanced visitor appeal to Iowa communities and elevate the perception of Iowa as a cultural destination.
- Promote out-of-county and out-of-state visits and extended stays, which in turn can generate additional local spending and support economic growth.
- Encourage Iowa’s creative sector to develop new and unique experiences, events, and attractions that appeal to tourists.
- Collaborate with recreation, hospitality, travel, and entertainment partners to amplify the impact of arts, cultural and heritage experiences, events, and attractions.
Funding Information
- A total of $250,000 in program funding is available.
- Individual awards are expected to range from $25,000 to $50,000, though higher individual awards may be considered for especially impactful projects. The maximum award amount is $100,000.
Project Eligibility
Projects must focus on the presentation of a significant cultural event, performance, production or temporary exhibition and include a specific tourism marketing strategy. Projects should relate to one the following categories:
- Visual Arts: Art Centers, Museums, Local and Community Arts Organizations
- Performing Arts: Live Music, Opera, Dance or Theatrical Productions
- History and Heritage: Historical Societies and Sites, Historical Museums, Heritage Sites
- Science and Nature: Zoos, Aquariums, Science and Nature Interpretation Centers
Eligible projects may include, but are not limited to, the following types of projects:
- Presentation of a major live performance, production or event that has significant visitor appeal and can increase tourism to an arts, cultural or heritage attraction and the surrounding community and/or region.
- Presentation of a major traveling or special exhibition that has significant visitor appeal and can increase tourism to an arts, cultural or heritage attraction and the surrounding community and/or region.
- New marketing initiatives that seek to increase visitor appeal to, or elevate the visitor/guest experience within, an arts, cultural or heritage attraction to increase tourism to the attraction and the surrounding community and/or region.
Note: A project may be a single event or a limited series of cultural events but may not be the applicant’s entire season of cultural programming.
Eligibility Criteria
All applicants must meet these requirements. Entities who do not meet these requirements are not eligible to apply.
- Must operate a facility open to the public for regular hours and provide programming of interest to a tourist for a minimum of 4 months per year.
- Organization must maintain a cash operating expense budget, exclusive of other IEDA grant support, of no less than $250,000 per year.
- Identify as either an Arts Organization, Cultural or Humanities Organization.
- Arts Organizations are defined as an organization whose primary mission and purpose is focused on the arts.
- Cultural Organizations are defined as organizations whose primary mission and purpose is culturally focused or meets the definition of the interpretive sciences.
- Humanities Organizations are defined as an organization whose primary mission and purpose is focused on the humanities.
Eligible applicants must also be one of the following types of entities and meet all the related requirements:
Nonprofits
- Federally tax exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization incorporated and physically located in Iowa. An organization will be considered physically located in Iowa if the organization maintains a current home office and primary staff presence in Iowa.
- Organizations that are partly located in, or serve residents of, a border state in addition to Iowa may be considered eligible. An eligible border state organization must demonstrate that the funding request significantly impacts cultural tourism in Iowa and predominately serves Iowans.
- An organization whose primary purpose is to channel resources (financial, human, or other) to an affiliated organization may only apply if the affiliated organization does not submit its own application. This prohibition applies even if each organization has its own 501(c)3 status. For example, the “Friends of ABC Museum” may not apply if the ABC Museum applies.
Communities
- Unit of local, county or federally recognized tribal government physically located in Iowa
For more information, visit Iowa Arts Council.
