For immediate release

Contacts: 
Tosha Daugherty, Visit Morgan County,
 info@visitmorgancountyin.com, 765-346-5611

Morgan County Tourism Office Releases 2016 Grant Information

Martinsville, Ind. – Visit Morgan County, the area’s county-wide tourism office, has released information about available grant opportunities for 2016. Visit Morgan County works to promote the entire Morgan County area to potential overnight visitors and day trippers.  Visit Morgan County executive director, Tosha Daugherty says “Our community grant programs are designed to help create, improve or promote high quality visitor experience to grow tourism throughout the area. These programs allow us to stretch our marketing dollars and support locally-produced events and projects that will attract more visitors.” 

There are currently three grant opportunities available to tourism-related businesses and events based in Morgan County:

Cooperative Marketing Match Program

This program was created to assist visitor-oriented businesses and events in their individual marketing efforts. Providing matching funds allows Visit Morgan County to support these local businesses and events while at the same time building awareness of the area’s tourism office. Eligible businesses can apply for reimbursement for a portion of any visitor-focused marketing campaign that meets the program criteria.

Festival/Event Grant

Created to help local festivals and special events grow through attracting out of town visitors, this grant program is currently available for any event taking place between April 1, 2016 and March 30, 2017. All applications are due to Visit Morgan County by April 1, 2016 in order to be considered. Applications will be graded based on a criteria list and the available funds will be awarded accordingly.

Tourism Enhancement & Development Fund

Visit Morgan County also maintains an ongoing Tourism Enhancement and Development (TED) Fund, which allows the organization to support local projects that would improve both the quality of visitor experiences and the quality of life for area residents. A relatively new program for Visit Morgan County, the TED Fund was launched in mid-2015 and has already been used to award funding to projects from the Link Observatory and Space Science Institute and Rediscover Martinsville. Awards are given at the discretion of the Morgan County Convention, Visitors and Tourism Commission, which oversees Visit Morgan County.

Additional information on each of these grant opportunities, including eligibility requirements and application materials, is now available for download on the Visit Morgan County website at www.visitmorgancountyin.com. Anyone with questions about eligibility or application materials may contact Visit Morgan County at 765-346-5611 or info@visitmorgancountyin.com. Hard copies of the application materials may also be picked up in person at the Visitors Center, 109 E. Morgan Street, Martinsville.

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Visit Morgan County promotes all of Morgan County as a travel destination in order to grow the economic impact of the tourism industry and support local business.