Grant Application

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PURPOSE
The purpose of the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Grant Fund is to provide funding to new and/or growing meetings/events that will provide economic impact through increased hotel room nights and other spending within the Missoula community.
GOALS
- To fund meetings/events that generate NEW hotel room nights, preferably in non-peak months (October-April).
- To fund meetings/events that reach potential visitors outside of Missoula, preferably 100+ miles.
- To fund meetings/events that have potential to increase the number of visitors or to extend the visitors stay.
- To fund meetings/events that economically benefit the Missoula community.
FUNDING SOURCE
These funds are made available through the support of the 39 Missoula TBID properties (hotels and motels). For every occupied room night, guests are assessed $2.00 that is returned to the Missoula TBID to aid in marketing, promotion, and tourism support within the district.
NUMBER OF GRANT AWARDS
There is no set number of grants that may be awarded in any fiscal year. However, the total dollar amount of grant funds awarded may not exceed the total amount of funds allotted each year by the TBID board. To date the TBID has awarded grant funds as small as $1,500.00 and as large as $15,000.00 per event.
FUTURE FUNDING
Funds should be viewed as money to assist with meetings/events in the formative years and should not be viewed as a guaranteed continuous source of funding. Applicants will not be guaranteed funding after the first year of the award and will need to reapply in subsequent years.
*
- I have read the basic information about the Tourism Business Improvement Districts (TBID) Grant Fund.

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ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Any organization or individual presenting an event that supports the TBID Grant purpose and goals is eligible to apply for funding. Applying organizations or individuals must be prepared to meet the following criteria:
- Provide proof of dollar for dollar match for the requested grant funds.
- Proven ability to generate, track and report hotel room nights and economic impact of the event. A minimum of 100 NEW room nights is required for all meetings/events.
- If 75% of the committed new hotel room nights listed on the application are not realized, 50% of potential grant funds will not be awarded.
- Marketing plan, budget form and event planning timeline must be provided with application submission.
- Existing meetings/events must submit event history (up to 3 years), including number of hotel rooms booked, attendance and financial reports.
- Communication with hotels regarding hotel arrangements must begin with the TBID Sales Manager.
CRITERIA

MISSOULA TBID HOTELS USAGE
- Missoula TBID hotels will be used exclusively as the official event hotels until such time as room blocks at the participating hotels are filled.
- Event website and attendee communications must include an "Accommodations Page" providing direct links to all chosen Missoula TBID hotels.
- A hotel room block is required to be established with at least one Missoula TBID hotel. Please keep a copy of all hotel agreements made for the Post Event Report. Assistance from the TBID Sales team is available.
- Final actualized hotel room nights (final pick up numbers) must be tracked and collected based upon reporting from chosen Missoula TBID hotels, i.e. Group Pick-Up Reports.
EVENT MATERIALS
- Event materials to include acknowledgement of TBID grant ("produced with support from Destination Missoula & the Missoula Tourism Business Improvement District") and approved Missoula TBID and Destination Missoula logos.
- The Missoula TBID and Destination Missoula will receive advertising opportunities in premium position relative to cash investments made by other sponsors. Event Owner is responsible for providing the Missoula TBID with ad specs and due dates with at least 30 days notice.
MARKETING

Marketing efforts should include, but are not limited to:
- Use of Destination Missoula and Missoula TBID logos on all materials.
- Use of the Destination Missoula website – DestinationMissoula.org on materials and link on event website.
- Acknowledgment of TBID grant ("This event was produced with support from Destination Missoula & the Missoula Tourism Business Improvement District").
- Event Owner must track all media advertising placement for the marketing performance report.
EVENT SURVEY

Conduct a survey to event attendees collecting data on room nights generated from the event and estimates on spending in the local economy.

At a minimum, survey questions to include:
- Where did you stay during your visit?
- How many rooms did you book? How many nights did you stay? How many people were in your group?
- What were the highlights of your visit to Missoula?
- What would have made your Missoula visit better?
- Will you return to Missoula? If not, why?
- Estimated total cost for your trip?
POST EVENT REPORT CONTENT

Provide a written post event report to the Missoula TBID staff no later than 30 days after the event end date. The Post Event Report should include, but is not limited to the following:
- The total number of hotel rooms blocked and picked up at TBID Hotels compiled in the Event Owner Hotel Report
- Hotel room block agreements and pick up reports from Missoula TBID hotels to reconcile the Event Organizer Hotel Report
- Total number of local and out of town event participants and spectators
- The percentage of spectators that live in Missoula
- The percentage of out of town participants and spectators that traveled by air
- The average daily hotel room rate paid by participants and spectators
- Event attendee survey responses
- Level of event growth as a result of grant funds received
- Examples of sponsorship recognition, including copies of ads and images of event collateral
- Provide a summary of all marketing. Event Owner must provide a performance report including media advertising placement performance metrics
APPLICATION DUE DATES
- March 1st by 5pm MST: Application deadline for meetings/events taking place the following October or beyond.
- September 1st by 5pm MST: Application deadline for meetings/events taking place the following April or beyond.
*
- I have read all of the eligibility requirements for this grant and my event does qualify.

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Event Information (Worth a maximum of 55 points)
Please note: ALL form fields are required.
Event Organization*
Event Title*
Event Location*
Start Date*
End Date*
Number of Out of Town Participants/Spectators*
Number of Total Participants/Spectators*
Event Type*
New= New Event or New to Missoula
Number of Rooms*
Number of NEW Rooms Generated*
*Room nights generated from the previous year should not be included in Total New Room Nights. Please show room nights generated in addition to the previous event year.
Number of Nights*
Number of Nights*
Potential NEW Hotel Rooms Nights Generated
Potential NEW Hotel Rooms Nights Generated
Applicant Information
Name*
First Last
Phone*
Email*
Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country
Financial Information
Estimated Total Event Cost (Please ensure value matches event's attached budget)*
Grant Amount Requested*
Application Questions (Worth a maximum of 24 points)
All questions have a limit of 200 words.
1. Provide a concise summary of this event (200 words or less)*
2. How will this event benefit the Missoula community/economy (200 words or less)?*
3. What other funding sources do you plan to pursue or have secured (i.e. sponsorships, ticket sales, other grants)? Please include sponsorship tiers if available.*
4. As the grant funds come from visitor paid fees collected at Missoula TBID properties, how will you ensure accommodations booking are made exclusively at these properties (and not vacation rentals, campgrounds, etc.)*
5. If awarded a TBID event grant, how will the funds be used?*
6. How would the event be affected with partial or no funding from the TBID?
7. How do you plan to gather event statistics and what measurements will be used to evaluate the success and economic impact of this event?*
8. If this is an existing event, please provide the actual hotel rooms booked and economic impact history (up to 3 years, if possible)*
9. If this is an existing event, explain the growth plan - how will additional funds increase the event attendance and hotel room nights?
10. How did you hear about the TBID Event Grant and how can you help us promote the grant to other event organizers in the future?
The following documents are required with application submission (Worth a maximum of 36 points)
Please use downloadable templates provided by the TBID.
Marketing Plan Template
Event Planning Template
Grant Budget Template
Budget Plan*
Marketing Plan*
Event Planning Timeline*
Please Note: All form fields are required.

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Step 1 of 3

PURPOSE

GOALS

FUNDING SOURCE

NUMBER OF GRANT AWARDS

FUTURE FUNDING

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

CRITERIA

MISSOULA TBID HOTELS USAGE

EVENT MATERIALS

MARKETING

EVENT SURVEY

POST EVENT REPORT CONTENT

APPLICATION DUE DATES

Event Information (Worth a maximum of 55 points)

Applicant Information

Financial Information

Application Questions (Worth a maximum of 24 points)

The following documents are required with application submission (Worth a maximum of 36 points)