Tourism Grants

The Morehead-Rowan County Tourism Commission (MRCTC) administers the funds collected from, four percent tourism development tax on occupied transient lodging sales within the city of Morehead, three percent tourism development tax on occupied transient lodging sales in the county and three percent restaurant tax in the city of Morehead.

MRCTC has designated a portion of its budget to a grant program designed to aid events that promote tourism activity in Morehead and Rowan County.  The purpose of the grant program is to increase visitation, enhance the visitor experience, contribute to the overall economic impact of the community, and increase overnight stays in our area.  The number and extent of these grants will be dependent upon the availability of funds.  The funds dispersed from MRCTC are strictly for marketing and advertising funding.  Any funds granted will be subject to audit by auditors retained annually by MRCTC.

Grant funding excludes an auction, sale, personal sale or yard sale, real estate, land sale, animal sale, estate sale, or etc. We recommend if you are in doubt, contact us to discuss eligibility. The event attendance must be for the general public so that all are welcome to attend and participate.

This grant funding application may be terminated with 24 hours written notice by MRCTC for a breach or failure of the applicant to perform pursuant to any of the provisions or requirements set forth herein.  If grants funds have already been disbursed, and breach occurs, the applicant will be responsible for full repayment to MRCTC.

Grants are eligible for renewal once a year for up to three (3) years.  Before the application for year three is submitted, grant recipients must meet with MRCTC staff to discuss future planning and funding of the event.  Any funding provided by MRCTC should not be interpreted as an on-going means of funding an event.  The ideal scenario is lending more funds to ‘new’ or ‘young’ events and gradually decreasing the amount as the event moves toward becoming self-supporting and profit-making.

When MRCTC provides a grant, we are only assisting your event, not hosting your event.  This means you will need to obtain event insurance for your group and/or activity.  You will also need to be the coordinator of the event or designate a coordinator for the event and perform all other duties necessary to make the event a success.  Please keep in mind, we are a resource for you so please reach out to us for guidance, tips, solutions and ideas.

Applications may be submitted anytime throughout the year. 

The MRCTC will consider the following factors regarding grant requests, but shall not be limited to:

  1. Availability of funds
  2. The scheduled date(s) and time(s) of the event
  3. Estimated number of out-of-town visitors and their estimated length of stay with supporting documentation
  4. Detailed descriptions of the following:
    1. Detailed description of how you plan to promote the event
    2. Detailed marketing plan including descriptions, budget and advertising run dates including per item use of the funding based on the amount of funds requested.
      1. Media planning is the most crucial piece of planning an event.  Our funding is very specific to only be used for marketing and advertising, so we ask you to be as detailed as possible when developing a successful media plan for your event.  (If this is your first time hosting the event, we would be happy to assist in the development of a media plan for your organization, please feel free to contact us to set up a meeting.)  We have included below some helpful pricing “estimates” for a successful media campaign.  These numbers are not quoted verbatim by advertisers but are typically in price range.
        1. Logo design - one time design fee $500
          Website development - one time design fee $1,500-2,000
          Website hosting - annual fee (*) $100
          Poster, Flyer design and printing $75-150
          Social media development (**) Free
          Print advertising (magazines, newspapers etc.) $500-2,000
          Press releases Free
          Website domain registration - annual fee $100
          Radio Advertising $100-500
          Television Advertising $1,000-5,000
          Social media advertising (boosts) Varies
          Emal blasts Varies
          * only if you develop a website specifically for the event.    ** we suggest a social media event page​

Detailed cost estimate of the event, including an itemized budget:

  1. Location where the event will be held, including a map to better determine the total impact the event will have on the local economy.  (Historically events have grown and have more sustainability by including more businesses and organizations.)   
  2. Revenue estimates, if any
  3. The amount of funds requested

Criteria:

  1. The event must be an annual event or have the potential to be an annual event
  2. The event must have a direct impact on the growth of visitors to Morehead and Rowan County
  3. The event must have visitor appeal and growth potential
  4. The event cannot be political in nature
  5. Overnight lodging stays give events greater value therefore overnight stays are preferred
  6. This application must be fully completed when submitted or the application will not be considered
  7. This application must be accompanied by a cover letter
  8. Any additional supporting documents, such as letters of support, or designs should also be included

Other:

  1. The following statement must be incorporated on all printed material and/or television/radio marketing.  “Marketing and Advertising funding provided by Morehead-Rowan County Tourism.”  Failure to include statement or logo will be noted in the evaluation of future grant applications.
  2. The official Morehead-Rowan County Tourism logo shall also be used on printed and electronic materials (this will be emailed to you in any format needed.)  Failure to include statement or logo will be noted and evaluated with future grant applications.
  3. Morehead-Rowan County Tourism shall have the right to attend and photograph and/or video the event for promotion purposes. 

Dates to remember:

  1. Submit completed grant application a minimum of 2 month prior to the event.
  2. Submit post event report 25 days after the event completion.

Organization Information

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(We recommend 5-7 people minimum.)

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Event Information

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Is the above listed event an annual event or do you have plans to make this an annual event?

Website address of event/project.

Social media handle(s) of event/project.

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Marketing Information

List your media plan in detail including how the marketing/advertising will be used to attract visitors. This is a required section and this must include dollar figures. (100 word minimum required)

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MRCTC must use grant funds to increase visitation and develop the local economy (100 word minimum required).

Please list any additional sponsor details here including: name, in-kind amount, what they will take care of in lieu of financial contribution.

Award Information

* Indicates a required field.