The Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau (JCVB) budgets grant funding for the marketing of events and attractions that exhibit positive tourism potential to the Joplin area. These funds are to assist qualified organizations with the promotion of tourism activities striving to directly increase hotel/motel occupancy and create positive image building publicity for Joplin.
Qualifying Applicants
- Not-for-Profit and For Profit organizations may apply.
- Marketing effort must take place between November 1, 2018 & October 31, 2019.
- Applying Event or Attractions must hold all activities within 20 miles of Joplin city limits.
- Applying Event or Attractions must be open to the general public.
A qualifying Event is defined as:An EVENT is a single or multi-day gathering typically organized and staged by a civic organization or local business. The event is centered on celebrating some unique aspect of the community, the services of an agency, a historic person or milestone, culture or tradition, or local/national holiday. Events showing the greater ability to attract visitors from 70+ miles (one-way) outside of Joplin and retain a visitor in this area for at least 3 hours will have the better success at being funded.
A qualifying Attraction is defined as:A TOURIST ATTRACTION is a physical or cultural feature at a particular place that individual travelers or visitors experience for their specific leisure-related interests. These attractions typically offer natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or formed beauty; offering amusement, leisure, adventure or educational value. A tourism attraction must have the ability to attract visitors from 70+ miles (one-way) outside of Joplin and retain a visitor in this area for at least 3 hours. This is to assist in broadening Joplin’s tourism reach by offering more destination experiences..
Grant Specifics
- The JCVB awards $110,000 annually for this program.
- Funding is awarded once throughout the year.
- A maximum of $15,000 can be awarded per event.
- All funding is on a reimbursement basis only.
Reporting
If an applicant cannot complete any or all portion(s) of the approved project for which funds have been allocated funding, the JCVB must be notified in writing immediately. Failure to comply with the required grant reporting may impact future funding decisions and allocations.
- If an applicant cannot complete any or all portion(s) of the approved project for which funds have been allocated funding, the JCVB must be notified in writing immediately. Failure to comply with the required grant reporting may impact future funding decisions and allocations.
- Marketing Ad Approvals – All printed and online materials used for marketing and promotion that are being submitted for funding reimbursement must be approved by JCVB staff PRIOR to printing or submission to publication. Applicant must submit artwork with the art approval form and allow 5 business days for approval. Materials that have not received prior approval from JCVB staff may not be eligible for reimbursement.
- Budget Revisions – Budget revisions for grant funded items are allowed. However, the number of revisions per application is limited to 2. All budget revisions must be submitted in writing to Patrick Tuttle at ptuttle@joplinmo.org. Budget revisions must be approved by JCVB director. Revised budget items that have not been approved may not be eligible for reimbursement.
- Reimbursements – All items that are being submitted for reimbursement must be submitted with a reimbursement form. Reimbursements may be submitted intermittently throughout the planning process or in one package at the end of the event. Reimbursements must be submitted with proof of payment, a copy of the original vendor invoice and a copy of the ad or material (if applicable). NO DOCUMENTATION, No Reimbursement. In most cases, reimbursement requests submitted to the JCVB staff on a Tuesday before 11:00 a.m., a check will be ready the following Friday.
- Hotel Tracking – The purpose of this grant program is to market Joplin as a tourist destination and ultimately generate overnight hotel stays. The Hotel Tracking component of an Event is vital to the reporting process. Applicants are encouraged to keep the hotels informed of their event.
- Grant Summary – All Event applicants must submit a Grant Summary Form within 60 days of their event. All reimbursement requests must be submitted prior to submitting the Grant Summary Form. NO reimbursements will be accepted after the Grant Summary Form has been submitted. Submission of the Grant Summary Form indicates the conclusion of the contract between the JCVB and the Grant Applicant. Failure to comply with the reporting guidelines may jeopardize the Applicant’s ability to receive future funding through JCVB.
- Surveys – If funding is awarded, the grant recipient will be required to survey attendees either on site during the or at hotel locations, electronically in the form of a post-event survey. Sample question can be provided by the JCVB. Event grant recipients are required to submit 50 completed surveys with their post-event summary.
Questions regarding the Grant Program offered by the Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau please contact:
Patrick Tuttle, Director
ptuttle@joplinmo.org or 417-625-4789