Deadline: 30-Sep-21
The State of Illinois is offering Tourism Attractions & Festivals Grant Program to help reinvigorate tourism in Illinois, and putting businesses in this industry and beyond on a path to economic recovery from COVID-19.
Tourism Attractions are defined as fishing and hunting areas, State parks, historical/cultural sites, areas of historic or scenic interest, museums, recreation areas, botanical gardens, theme/amusement parks, interpretive programs and other facilities or businesses that attract or serve visitors that are open to the public for a minimum of 100 days per year and are marketed and promoted to visitors from more than 50 miles away.
Tourism Events are defined as an event, such as a major convention, trade show, sporting activity or festival, with potential to attract visitors from outside a 50-mile radius and to produce significantly increased economic impact for the State of Illinois through overnight stays.
Tourism Festivals are defined as an organized series of public activities for a specific duration which may include, but is not limited to the following activities: fairs, carnivals, exhibitions, musical and cultural performances with potential to increase economic activity within the tourism, travel and hospitality industries while generating foot traffic in neighborhoods and business corridors which have experienced a decline in economic activity due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Funding Information
- A total of $10,000,000 is available for projects located in any county in Illinois.
Activities
- Expenditures and activities for which grant funds can be utilized by Grantees include, but are not limited to, the following for Tourism Attractions:
- Capital projects – land and building acquisition, construction and renovation of buildings for the purpose of creating or enhancing a Tourism Attraction;
- Equipment – purchase and installation of machinery and equipment designed to create or enhance the Tourism Attraction;
- Training – development and presentation of hospitality, quality service and/or other types of tourism training programs intended to provide a competitive workforce for the tourism industry of Illinois; and,
- Interpretive Programs – creation, implementation and staffing of, and fabrication of exhibits for, interpretive programs located within historic/cultural sites.
- For Festivals/Events, expenditures and activities for which grant funds can be utilized by Grantees include, but are not limited to:
- Transportation & Housing;
- Building or equipment rental;
- Receptions/banquets;
- Entertainment/programming;
- Photography
- Audio Visual equipment; and
- Temporary staff for the festival/event
Eligibility Criteria
- Units of local government, counties, municipalities, not-for-profit organizations, local promotion groups and for-profit businesses for the development or improvement of tourism attractions and festivals/events located in Illinois.
- The Department complies with all applicable provisions of state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to nondiscrimination, sexual harassment and equal employment opportunity including, but not limited to: The Illinois Human Rights Act, The Public Works Employment Discrimination Act, The United States Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and The Age Discrimination Act.
- An entity must be registered in the the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal. The portal will verify that the entity:
- Has a valid FEIN number;
- Has a valid DUNS number;
- Has a current SAM.gov account;
- Is not on the Federal Excluded Parties List;
- Is in Good Standing with the Illinois Secretary of State, as applicable;
- Is not on the Illinois Stop Payment list; and
- Is not on the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Provider Sanctions list.
For more information, visit https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/AboutDCEO/GrantOpportunities/Pages/2645-1997.aspx