The Leitchfield Tourist Convention Commission (TLCC) is accepting grant requests up to $2,500 for local events for the 2023-2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024).
The Leitchfield Tourist and Convention Commission (LTCC), via Kentucky Revised Statute, is charged with promoting tourism and convention business in Leitchfield.
“Events and projects proposed by qualified organizations will be considered based on their potential to directly increase tourism business,” said Ilsa Johnson, Leitchfield Tourism Executive Director. “Generally, all projects conducted or considered by the commission should have a high potential to impact the local, regional and state economies by attracting visitors from outside the city. The direct relation to tourism promotion should be immediately obvious.”
Johnson said the LTCC will use a standard guideline, which all proposed events will be subject to. Grant requests are to be submitted between March 1 and April 30. The requests are reviewed by the Grant Committee with recommendations given to the commission before the May LTCC meeting.
The procedure for proposing and obtaining funding for tourism promotion projects are as follows:
- Description of event and statement of work — This should be a clear statement of the event so that someone not closely familiar with the event can understand what is being proposed. Time frames, number of participants, manpower estimates and bidding procedures should be included here or in attachments.
- Budget and funding — This should give a sufficient breakdown by major functional categories so that the costs of the project are clearly understandable. Include an income/expense breakdown. Is there an additional source of funding, or will the project generate partial funding?
- Marketing Strategy — What type of advertising and promotion will be done for the event? How much funding will be set aside for marketing? Include distribution strategies and note that if printed material the LTCC should be mentioned or have a logo present.
- Justification — If you have received a grant in the past, include follow-up from the previous year. If this is the first time applying, include plans for obtaining feedback and measurement of the results of the event: Ex. customer surveys, questionnaires, analysis of lodging registrations. A full follow-up report is required at the end of the event, and must be turned in to the LTCC. Also, the LTCC may request a pre-registration list of participants for follow-up surveys. If the grant request has been approved in the past, the above follow-up information must be included with the upcoming request.
Minimum requirements to qualify for grant money
All event proposals must meet the minimum requirements to be considered for funding. The requirements are:
- Proposals must be received during the submission period. The event must take place in Leitchfield. No event will receive funding from the LTCC if these requirements are not met. In addition, events meeting the requirements are not guaranteed funding from the LTCC.
- At a regular or properly called special meeting, the board will review and discuss the event proposal and act on it.
- If the event or project is approved, the LTCC will specify any requirements it deems appropriate and will indicate how funding will take place. Items eligible for the grant would include: printing material; advertising (newspaper, magazine, radio, etc.); postage and signage.
- Direct payment of bills and expenses to vendors may be specified, or the proposing group may be directed to pay bills when due and then submit invoice copies and copies of cancelled checks for reimbursement. Reimbursement will only happen during the fiscal year the grant is approved for.
(Photo: Ilsa Johnson, Executive Director Leitchfield Tourism)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
