State
Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development
09/30/18 5:00 PM MST
Grants to Montana nonprofits, tribal governments, and city and county governments for media advertising of tourism events, digital development, and infrastructure projects that encourage tourism. Examples include, but are not limited to, website design or enhancement, mobile app development, and collaborative digital development initiatives.
Funds will be awarded to tourism and recreation projects that fall within the following general categories:
-Arts / Culture / Heritage preservation
-Visitor facility upgrades / construction
-Niche product development
Eligible projects include:
A. Projects that preserve, protect and improve access to Montana’s arts, culture and heritage treasures. Examples include, but are not limited to:
-Historical restoration of a visitor facility or artifact
-Tribal, cultural or historical interpretation and exhibits
B. Projects that enhance the nonresident visitor experience and increase expenditures. Examples include, but are not limited to:
-Facility construction and upgrades that increase nonresident visitor capacity
-One-time grant fund investment in out-of-state paid media advertising for a destination event created to demonstrate measurable ROI (including lodging)
-Website enhancements that facilitate nonresident visitor expenditures and are accompanied by a marketing strategy
C. Niche product development of interest to nonresident visitors, as identified in “Montana Destination Brand Research.”
GrantWatch ID#: 172624
$750,000
Projects chosen for funding must be completed within one (1) year from the date the contract is signed.
Eligible organizations include:
-Montana nonprofit organizations
-Montana tribal government
-Montana city or county government
Examples of ineligible projects and activities include, but are not limited to:
-Workshops and training
-Market research and feasibility studies
-Applicant's personnel costs including wages, travel, per diem
-Administrative overhead/indirect costs
-Office supplies, including but not limited to, postage, photocopies, telephone, or internet charges
-Costs of promotional items (pens, pencils, t-shirts, hats, general merchandise, etc.)
-Annual subscriptions/membership costs
-Projects that do not contribute to increased nonresident visitor capacity and expenditures
-Projects where the investment could be considered a regular cost of doing business
-Domain registration and Website hosting
-Social media posts, Google AdWords, and press releases
-Routine upkeep and maintenance expenses
No “pass through” entities may be utilized to apply for grant funding. Applicant organization must own and be legally responsible for the project seeking grant funds. No state or federal agencies may apply.
Applications are accepted online beginning July 1st of each fiscal year. The State’s fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30. The application cycle will close at 5:00 pm MST, September 30th. Applicants will be notified of their project’s status on or before December 15th.
The applicant match must be "hard" dollars, an actual money investment in the project. The cash match is $1 grantee: $2 state. In-kind services are not considered a qualified match. The match must be applied to the project as outlined in the grant application:
-Prior work done on a project cannot be used as a cash match. Example – Cash match from Phase 1 of a multi-phase construction project is not eligible if applicant is asking for grant funds for Phase 3 of the project.
-Work done outside the definition of the project, as identified in the grant application, cannot be used as a cash match. Example – Applicant staff time to attend meetings regarding the development of the grant project.
Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates/changes/addendums/conferences/LOIs.
Apply online here:
http://mtot.submittable.com/submit
Carol Crockett, Tourism Grant Manager
406-841-2796
ccrockett@mt.gov
Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development
301 S. Park Ave.
PO Box 201505
Helena, MT 59620-0505
USA: Montana
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