Tribal Tourism Grant Program – US

Deadline: 06-Aug-21

The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), through the Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED), Division of Economic Development (DED), solicits proposals from federally recognized Tribes to receive grants to support Tribal tourism feasibility studies and/or Tribal tourism business plan development.

The Program supports Tribes to increase capacity of Tribes to plan, develop and manage tourism and related infrastructure in support of economic development and the NATIVE Act.

The Program will provide funding for Tribes to conduct tourism feasibility studies that will empower them to make informed decisions on potential tourism project(s).

The Program will also provide funding for Tribes to develop business plans on completed tourism feasibility studies.

In addition to the feasibility study, tourism grants may fund business plans for Tribal Tourism businesses recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of TTGP grants is to fund feasibility studies and business plans for proposed tourism projects. An application can request funding for a feasibility study and a business plan. Applications may also request either feasibility or a business plan, depending on the Tribe’s needs.

Funding Information

Award Ceiling: $75,000
Award Floor: $25,000
Number of Awards: 20-35
Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,000,000

Eligibility Criteria

Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
The applicant determines who will conduct its feasibility study or business plan. An applicant has several choices, including but not limited to:
- Universities and colleges, including but not limited to Tribal colleges and universities;
- Private consulting firms; or
- Non-academic, non-profit entities.

Ineligible

TTGP awards may not be used for:

Establishing or operating a Tribal office;
Indirect costs or administrative costs as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR);
Purchase of equipment that is used to develop the feasibility studies, such as computers, vehicles, field gear, etc. (however, leasing of this type of equipment for the purpose of developing feasibility studies is allowed);
Creating Tribal jobs to complete the project. An TTGP grant is not intended to create temporary administrative jobs or supplement employment for Tribal members;
Legal fees;
Application fees associated with permitting;
Training;
Contract negotiation fees;
Feasibility studies of energy, mineral, energy legal infrastructure, or broadband related projects, businesses, or technologies that are addressed by OIED’s Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP), Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC); and
Any other activities not authorized by the grant award letter.