Community Investment Grant Program

Goal

Supporting the development of new events and tourism infrastructure that drives visitation to Jefferson County and enhances the visitor experience.

The Community Investment Committee is comprised of three Louisville Tourism Commissioners, with support from the Louisville Tourism leadership team. The CIC oversees and awards grant opportunities, which are approved by a full vote of the Louisville Tourism Commission.

Deadline/Rules

• You must be a non-profit organization to apply for a Louisville Tourism Community Investment Grant.
• Established conventions, meetings, trade shows, and events seeking funds to support their event in Louisville would not be considered for a CIC grant. Still, they should contact Convention Development for more information.
• Grant requests may be submitted at any time to Louisville Tourism, Attention Community Investment Committee, 401 West Main Street, Suite 2300, Louisville, KY 40202. Please refer to the CIC timetable for submission review and grant application approval.
• Applicants may be asked to appear before and provide more detailed information regarding their application to Louisville Tourism. Community Investment Committee at the discretion of the CIC.
• Each year, a new grant request form must be submitted to be eligible for that year.
• A W-9 must be submitted with the application.
• If the grant is approved, Louisville Tourism reserves the right to have a complimentary physical presence at the special event supported by the CIC grant (through a booth, activation space, etc.) or a digital presence in the event's marketing materials.

Event/Activity Eligibility

Funds allocated from Louisville Tourism's Community investment program shall be used solely for tourism-related projects that occur within Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky, including:

• Festivals/Events- funds to offset event production & marketing/advertising
• Attraction/Experience Programming and Exhibits- funds to offset programming production & marketing/advertising

Requirements for Submission Consideration Include

• Projects must have the potential to draw out-of-market visitors (100+ miles) and contribute to overnight stays.
• Projects must have the potential to draw a minimum of 1000 people in attendance.
• Projects/applications must be submitted before the actual date the event takes place, exhibit, campaign or experience launches to be eligible for consideration. No application will be accepted for grants requested after the event or project is completed.
• All projects will have a maximum of three consecutive years of funding by the CIC.
• If a project is considered for funding three consecutive years in a row, the funding will include a step down in dollar amount with each consecutive year in the three-year cycle- (Year 1-100% of grant award; Year 2- 75% of the previous year’s grant award; Year 3- 50% of the first year’s grant award).
• After a project has received support for three consecutive years, a two-year moratorium will be imposed before it can be resubmitted for consideration.
• Grant monies can be used as start-up funds for projects less than three years old in Louisville/Jefferson County, KY.
• Grant monies can also be used for existing projects that have changed in some significant way or in trying to implement new advertising/promotion activities to reach a new market, thus attracting overnight stays.
• This grant program is not available to incoming associations and organizations planning conventions, meetings, trade shows and events in Louisville. For funding inquiries related to these areas, please don't hesitate to contact Convention Development for more information.
• In addition, the grant applicant must agree to an economic impact survey conducted by Louisville Tourism (if desired) as part of the terms of receiving funds from the Louisville Tourism Community Investment Committee. Louisville Tourism will be responsible for staffing and funding the Economic Impact survey.
• Projects with a proven track record in other markets will be given strong consideration and are strongly encouraged to bring their event to Louisville/Jefferson County, KY.
• Tourism grant funds shall not be used to pay salaries, awards, prizes, or gifts.
• The organization will be strongly encouraged to work closely with the Louisville Tourism Marketing Communications Department.

Procedures for Expending Funds

1. Once a grant has been approved, notification will be made. A check for the approved portion (50%-80%) of the grant amount will be cut and mailed to the organization one week before the date the funds were requested. The remaining portion of the granted funds will be mailed upon receipt of the final report from the organization.

2. Within 90 days after the event, the grant recipient is required to complete the online CIC Grant Tracking report provided by Louisville Tourism about their grant. The balance of the approved grant will be distributed upon completion of this report. Failure to file this report may result in forfeiture of the grant balance. The report must include a summary of the event, as well as information such as zip code details for attendees/visitors, success metrics, impressions, attendance dates, a description, a financial report, copies of receipts, and a brief evaluation. This completed report will be weighted heavily in future grant application review processes. All completed reports will be included in future LT Commission Meeting packets and in future CIC Committee Meeting packets for review and information purposes. A link to fill out the summary report is available here.

3. The recipient will be responsible for completing the project. The CIC and Louisville Tourism will not assume any responsibility for ensuring project completion.

4. Any cost over the amount of the grant will be the sole responsibility of the grant recipient.

Important Dates

• Application Deadline: January 15
• CIC Board Review: February
• Notifications: March