Visitors Committee Announces New Grant Guidelines

The Phelps County Visitors Committee has announced its revised grant applications starting December 1.

The PCVC awards grants to Phelps County organizations to improve visitor attractions or bring new attractions to the area and to promote special events that encourage overnight hotel stays in the county. The grant funds are made possible through lodging taxes collected at local hotels.

The committee awards two types of grants, promotional grants and improvement grants. Promotional grants are available to both for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations in the county. Improvement grants are only for non-profit or public entities.

The promotion grants provide funds for special events, sporting events and activities that encourage and attract visitors and overnight stays. Examples may include radio, television and newspaper advertising that reaches visitors outside a 100-mile radius of the county. It could be to promote an event or the organization in general. It may also include brochure, flyer or poster design and printing, social media marketing campaigns and direct mail fees.

The promotion grant maximum is $1,500 for events that attract more than 500 people and $500 for events that attract less than 500 people. Promotion grants are matching grants with PCVC funding up to 50 percent of the costs. Promotion grants are considered monthly at the PCVC meeting. Organizations or businesses may apply for the grant up to once each quarter.

Improvement grants help expand and improve existing visitor attractions, construct new attractions or expand and acquire exhibits for new attractions. Projects that encourage overnight stays at local hotels will be given priority as the funds collected to provide the grants come from county lodging taxes paid by hotel guests. The committee recently voted to increase the grant maximum amount from $5,000 to $7,500. A major change to this grant program is that grants will be considered twice a year with deadlines of Jan. 1 and July 1. These grants are also 50/50 matching grants up to the maximum grant amount.

Grant applications are available on the Visit 37 website at https://www.visit37.com/grants/ or at the Holdrege Chamber of Commerce/Phelps County Visitors Center at 504 4th Ave. Holdrege.  Email info@visit37.com with any further questions.