Community Investment Grant Program

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 but 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 approval of grant applications.
• The Community Investment Committee (CIC) will not review or approve any multi-year funding requests.
• Applicants may be asked to appear before and present in greater detail 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 for that given year in order to be eligible.

Event/Activity Eligibility:

Funds allocated from Louisville Tourism's Community investment program shall be used solely to market tourism-related projects (new festivals and events, studies, media assistance, etc.) that occur within Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky. These projects must draw out of market visitors (100+ miles), contributing to overnight stays. In addition, the grant applicant must agree to an economic impact survey conducted by Louisville Tourism (if it so desires) 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.

Grant monies are to be used as start-up funds for projects less than three years old in Louisville/Jefferson County, KY unless the existing project changes in some significant way or wants to try 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 contact Convention Development for more information.

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 for salaries, awards, prizes or gifts. The funds are to be strictly used for out-of-market advertising and promotions, which would be 50 miles or greater from Louisville/Jefferson County, KY. 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 prior to 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 30 days after the event, the grant recipient will forward a copy of invoices supporting amounts spent using Louisville Tourism CIC grant monies to their office. The balance of the approved grant will be distributed upon verification of reported expenses.

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

4. Organizations receiving grants from the Bureau must semi-annually submit a written report documenting the activities and the tourism impact pertaining to their grant. Within 30 days of completion of the project, the recipient will forward to the CIC staff liaison a final report and copy of printed materials for which funds were used. Failure to file this report can result in forfeiture of the balance of the grant. The report must include a summary of the event and information, including success metrics, impressions, attendance, dates, description, financial report, copies of receipts, and a short evaluation.

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

Important Dates

The application window for the FY 2023-24 is two cycles, January 15 deadline and July 15 deadline for consideration. To download the complete grant application, click here.