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 of Rowan 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 special events that promote tourism activity in Morehead and Rowan County.  The purpose of our 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 sponsorships will be dependent upon the availability of funds.  All 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.

This grant funding application may be terminated with 24 hours written notice by the MRCTC for breach or failure of the applicant to perform pursuant to any of the provisions or requirements set forth herein.  If grant 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 up to three 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.

Applications may be submitted 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 or project
3. Estimated number of out-of-town visitors and their estimated length of stay with supporting documentation.
4. Program of work especially plans for promotion
5. Detailed marketing plan including descriptions, budget and advertising run dates including per item use of the funding based on the amount of funds requested
6. Location the event will be held including a map of the location for better determination of the total impact the event will have on the local economy. (The more businesses involved, the better the event will be and grow.)
7. Estimated cost of the event/project and itemized budget
8. Revenue estimates if any
9. The amount of funds requested
10. Probability of the event recurring annually or the project having a long-term effect.

 Criteria:

1. The event must be an annual event or have the potential to be an annual event.
2. The project must have a direct impact on the growth of visitors to Morehead and Rowan County.
3. The event/project must have visitor appeal and growth potential.
4. The event/project cannot be political in nature.
5. Overnight lodging stays give events greater value therefore overnight visitor stays are preferred.
6. The following statement must be incorporated on all printed material and/or television/radio marketing, “Funding provided in part by Morehead-Rowan County Tourism”. 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.
7. If Morehead-Rowan County Tourism provides a grant we are only assisting your event, not hosting the 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.
8. All applications must be fully completed when submitted or the application will not be considered.
9. This application must be accompanied by a cover letter and additional supporting documents*.
10. 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
    2. Website development – one-time design fee – $1,500-$2,000
    3. Website hosting – annual fee (only if you develop a website specifically for the event) – $100
    4. Poster/Flyer design and printing – $75-$150
    5. Social media development – we suggest a social media event page and folks are welcome to tag @more2morehead with your event to receive additional publicity – Free
    6. Print advertising (magazines, newspapers) – $500-$2,000
    7. Press releases – Free
    8. Website domain registration – Annual fee – $100
    9. Radio advertising – $100-$500
    10. Television advertising – $1,500-$5,000
    11. Social media advertising fees – Varies
    12. Email blasts – Varies

Dates to remember:

• Submit completed grant application: Minimum of 2 months prior to the event.
  • Our deadlines are to ensure a successful timeline for hosting, planning and marketing the event.
• Submit post event report: 10 days after the event completion.

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To apply, please print* the MOREHEAD ROWAN CO TOURISM GRANT APPLICATION.  You can also contact our offices to have an application mailed or emailed to you.  You may also drop by one of our facilities to pick up an application.  Please submit questions to tourism@moreheadtourism.com.

• Morehead Conference Center 111 East First Street – 606.780.4342
• Morehead Visitor Center 150 East First Street – 606.780.9694
• Rowan County Arts Center 205 East Main Street – 606.783.9857

* we do not offer an electronic version of the application as there are multiple attachments we require.