Kankakee County Convention and Visitors Bureau Community Tourism Action Plan Grants applications due September 15, 275 E. Court Street, Suite 102, Kankakee, IL 60901; 815-935-7390; VisitKankakeeCounty.com.
The Kankakee County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s (KCCVB) mission is to market and develop branded Kankakee County destination experiences to enhance community economic growth and quality of life. To achieve this mission, the KCCVB is pleased to unveil a newly structured Community Tourism Action Plan (CTAP) Grants Program for 2023.
In late 2022, the KCCVB board met and discussed its desire to continue investing in Kankakee County tourism efforts by expanding on the good work that had been done to drive visitation. Since the bureau’s inception, Kankakee County and its municipalities have benefited economically from growth in tourism visitation, but the board wanted to stimulate even more progress as its communities emerged from the pandemic.
To achieve this, the board updated its CTAP grant program and increased its capacity to work cooperatively with governments, businesses, and community organizations on both small and large projects that will have an impact on the community’s visitor economy.
The primary purposes of the KCCVB CTAP grants are to add vibrancy to communities in Kankakee County and to generate new economic impact through visitation by non-residents.
Additional purposes include: To expand the tourism products in Kankakee County; expand existing or create new visitor experiences in Kankakee County to attract new visitors and extend the stay of current visitors; provide co-op marketing assistance to support new signature events that will generate overnight visitation to Kankakee County; and generate overnight visitors and measurable hotel room nights in Kankakee County
CTAP grants are investments in tourism-related projects that will foster and stimulate increased visitation and visitor spending within Kankakee County. They are not intended to be a project’s primary source of funding, but rather an incentive to assist the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in bringing worthy projects and great ideas to fruition in a timely fashion.
Examples of desired projects include, but are not limited to, the development or expansion of visitor attractions and venues, hands on experiences and activities, high impact traveling exhibitions, public shows uniquely qualified to extend a visitor’s stay, and multi-day new signature events likely to generate overnight stays.
Grants are not intended for general operating expenses, annual fund drives, endowment funds, research, travel, staff salaries, or other overhead expenses. CTAP grants are not intended for projects where they would be the first funds committed, either. It is the strong desire of the KCCVB board to consider projects where “but for” this grant, the project could not move forward.
After discussion and reflection, while also taking into consideration current economic conditions, the board significantly revised the program to better meets its goals and increase its investments in the community. Moving forward, KCCVB will offer two different grant programs through a competitive application process:
Kankakee County Product Enhancement Grant – Grant Amounts: $5,000 to $24,999, with required minimum applicant match – 25 percent cash, plus matching funds must be secured before a grant is awarded.
Kankakee County Major Investment Grant – Grant Amounts: $25,000 – $500,0000, with required minimum applicant match – 50 percent cash, and matching funds must be secured before a grant is awarded.
Assuming the continuation of current funding, the board expects to dedicate as much as 25 percent of its annual budget toward grants, to be divided between two grants: Product Enhancement Grants ($5,000 – $24,999) and Major Investment Grants ($25,000 – $500,000). The board may choose to expend any amount of its grant funds within a specific grant cycle or fiscal year and retains the exclusive right to set the amount and criteria for each grant program as it sees fit. If grant monies are not fully expended during the fiscal year, at the board’s sole discretion, funds may be rolled into the following year’s grant programs or returned to the general fund. For complete specifications of each grant program, please refer to the FAQ attachment.
Applications currently are available, with the application deadline scheduled for September 15. Applicants will be notified September 29.
Direct additional questions to Executive Director Nicole Gavin, at nicole@kccvb.com.