Tourism Grant Policy
I. Introduction
The Village has established a Tourism Grant Program through which organizations can apply for assistance from the Village to offset the costs of conducting community events. The purpose of the Tourism Grant Program is to promote visitors, tourism and conventions within the Village and to otherwise attract nonresident overnight visitors to Morton. These policies and procedures have been developed to provide guidance for the administration of the Tourism Grant Program and the award and disbursement of funds.
II. Grant Applications
A. Applications for assistance shall be made using forms provided by the Village. Applications made in any other manner shall not be considered.
B. Applications must be properly completed and executed and must include all requested information and materials in order to be considered.
C. Applications for assistance shall be accepted twice a year. The Spring round of grant applications shall be accepted from February 1 through March 31. Such grant applications shall be reviewed by a committee, which shall make recommendations to the Village Board of Trustees regarding approval or denial of such grant applications. The Village Board of Trustees shall make the final decision regarding the approval or denial of such grant applications at the second meeting in May. The Fall round of grant applications shall be accepted from September 1 through October 31. Such grant applications shall be reviewed by a committee, which shall make recommendations to the Village Board of Trustees regarding approval or denial of such grant applications. The Village Board of Trustees shall make the final decision regarding the approval or denial of such grant applications at the first meeting in December of the Village Board of Trustees.
D. Applications for assistance for events which have not previously received funding through the Tourism Grant Program may be submitted outside of the established grant rounds if circumstances warrant their consideration; however, every effort should be made by the organization conducting such events to appropriately plan ahead so as to submit an application for assistance during one of the established grant rounds. Applications for assistance submitted outside of the established grant rounds shall be considered by the Village Board of Trustees using the scoring system set forth herein.
E. Applications for assistance for events which have previously received funding through the Tourism Grant Program shall not request more than 110% of the amount most recently awarded for such event.
F. The Village reserves the right to limit the number of grants awarded and the amount of the grant awards based on the quantity of applications for assistance submitted and the amount of grant funds available.
III. Scoring System
Applications for assistance shall be evaluated using the following scoring system:
Will the Event promote significant overnight stays?
10 Points - Over 250 Room Nights, 8 points-151-250 Room Nights, 6 points - 101-150 Room Nights, 4 points -51 -100 Room Nights and 2 points for 1-50 Room Nights
Will the event increase significant restaurant traffic? 5 points-no Concessions, 4 points-other reasons for restaurant use, 3 points-1 meal served, 2 points-2 meals served, and 1 point-3 meals served or no option for people to eat off site
Will the organization be purchasing items or trophies in Morton? Score 1 to 5 points
Is this an Inaugural event or was a follow up report filed with the Tourism office within 2 months of the event? Score 1 to 5 points
Do the funds from this event impact Morton, IL in a tangible way that benefit a large portion of our community, such as building or improving facilities for the citizens or that will bring more people to visit the community? Score 1 to 5 points
Score Funding Levels
6 points or below -0% funded
11-7 Points-30% funded
15-12 Points-50% funded
19-16 Points-70% funded
24-20 Points-90% funded
25+ Points 100% funded
IV. Grant
Awards
A. No grant amount shall exceed $10,000 for one event. Events shall be considered as a whole. All activities involved shall be considered part of the same event. Applications for assistance for separate activities of the same event shall not be accepted. For example, an application for assistance for a track and field event may be accepted, while separate applications for assistance for broad jumping and pole vaulting shall not be accepted, even if occurring at separate times, days, and/or locations.
B. No applicant shall receive more than $20,000 per fiscal year.
C. The Village Board of Trustees shall set the total amount of grant funds annually as part of the annual budget process. The Village Board of Trustees are in no way obligated to budget any amount of money for the Tourism Grant Program. The amount budgeted for the Tourism Grant Program may be amended at any time by the Village Board of Trustees at their sole discretion.
V. Administration
The Tourism Grant Program shall be administered by the Director of Tourism under the supervision of the Business Manager.
Adopted: Date Of Adoption December 20, 2010
Revisions Adopted February 4, 2013
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