Nevada Division of Tourism

Nevada Division of Rural Tourism Marketing Grant Guidelines
FY2024 One Year Cycle 

The Nevada State Legislature has appropriated funds for the Nevada Division of Tourism to make available as matching grants for this fiscal year as follows:
1. Grant funds are intended exclusively to develop, promote and improve tourism to and within the State of Nevada. Funds may be used for no other purpose and must be obligated and/or expended for invoices due in the same fiscal year as awarded.
2. Each grant recipient must provide as match an amount of money, at least equal to the amount of the grant, for the same purpose, except the Division of Tourism may, if convinced that the recipient is financially unable to do so, award a grant with less than equal matching money provided by the recipient. Organizations requesting a waiver of any portion of the matching funds must submit a verifiable statement of need at the time of application.
3. Only one application will be accepted from any organization, excepting territories, who may submit one administrative application and one program application. Applicants are encouraged to look comprehensively at their marketing needs for the year and develop one application inclusive of the marketing projects that will be undertaken during the grant period.
4. Grant funds will be used by the Division of Tourism on behalf of a grantee or distributed to political subdivisions of the state, to fair and recreation boards, and to local or regional non-profit organizations, which promote travel and tourism. Eligible projects include:
a. Developing plans and programs for marketing and advertising which are consistent with the state Travel Nevada’s Brand Pillars;
b. Promoting specific events and attractions in their communities including adventure, arts, cultural, history and others that have potential to generate out-of-area tourism;
c. Membership in and attendance at conferences/conventions of professional tourism organizations;
d. Providing educational workshops and seminars on topics such as marketing, hospitality, event management skills or facility improvement in local communities;
e. Providing for unique research and model projects which would inventory, assess, compare, plan or assist development or demonstrate feasibility of non-profit attractions in rural Nevada;
f. Platforms, applications, and/or qualified consultants for evaluating the impact and effectiveness of programs and events.
5. Applicant Eligibility:
a. Applications from any of the territory organizations that involve territory-wide or statewide impact.
b. Applications from local government entities representing Nevada communities of less than 100,000 population (2020 U.S. Census) regardless of the county in which the community is located.
c. Applications from non-profit organizations based in Nevada communities of less than 100,000 population (2020 U.S. Census) regardless of the county in which the community is located.
d. Applications from Tribal entities in Nevada.
e. The Division of Tourism WILL NOT consider applications from communities with population exceeding 100,000 residents. Communities with a population exceeding 100,000 may participate as a partner when submitted as part of a territory application as specified in "a" or as part of a multi-jurisdictional application with one or more eligible communities as specified in "b", in which a community meeting eligibility in “b” is the lead applicant.
f. The Division of Tourism WILL NOT consider applications from any entity not in compliance with a current contract, policy or agreement with a State of Nevada department, division or business unit.
6. Priority in Scoring:
a. Best Practices. Projects which utilize marketing data and campaign best practices to improve reach, increase brand recognition, identify target audiences, and generate metrics.
b. Collaboration. Projects which demonstrate involvement and material support from multiple partners within the community/territory/jurisdiction being served by the grant. Partners may be other agencies, non-profit organizations, for-profit businesses, or others, provided that the lead applicant is an eligible entity.
c. Sustainability. Projects which demonstrate a plan to become self-sufficient and less reliant on grant funding over time.
d. Multi-Jurisdictional. Projects which develop, promote and improve tourism for several political subdivisions of the state to have the largest impact economically and in media exposure for many jurisdictions.
e. National or International Impact. Projects which are unique unto themselves or unique to Nevada which help to create media exposure nationally and internationally for the project and the state, and thus help to promote tourism to and within the state through increased awareness and interest. A statement should be included with the grant application as to how the number of visitor/tourist visits and the financial impact on the local economy will be measured.
f. Destination. Projects focused on the development, promotion and improvement of tourism to attract visitors to stay in rural Nevada, preferably for several nights.
g. Regional Impact. Projects which attract tourists from other states, and/or projects, which draw non-local attendance such as: organized tours, FAM tours, educational workshops and seminars, model projects, and marketing plans. A statement should be included with the grant application as to how the number of visitor/tourist visits and the financial impact on the local economy will be measured.
h. Events. Events, which are new, and being developed or annual events which do not qualify in any of the above categories.
i. Lodging Tax. Projects submitted by jurisdictions which collect transient occupancy taxes where taxable lodging exists.
7. How to Apply: Applications for grant funds should be made on the official on-line application form to include a statement of the project goals, how the grant funds will be used and an itemized budget. A statement on how project results will be measured should be included, and will, upon completion of the project, be used as a tool in evaluating the project's effectiveness and in evaluating future grant awards for similar projects.
8.  Eligible Expenses:
a. Administration of Territories. The marketing territories set up by the Division of Tourism may apply for up to $5,000 per fiscal year under regular application procedures. Administration funds may be used for:

• long distance phone calls related to territorial business (meetings or follow- up to ads and inquiries); must be logged and backed up with a phone statement;
• postage for meeting notices, territory business and inquiry response;
• photocopying costs related to territory business;
• stationery supplies for territorial mail;
• mileage or reimbursement for the cost of airfare for travel to territory meetings by a member of each political subdivision within the territory. The amount allowed for mileage reimbursement shall be the official state rate based on current year GSA rates. The maximum amount for mileage reimbursement to attend territory meetings shall not exceed 50% of the funding provided in the grant and must be specifically requested in the administrative grant application. The chairperson of each territory will be responsible for the administration of the mileage reimbursements. State of Nevada forms must be used and procedures for mileage reimbursement must be followed.

b. Advertising. The purchase of advertising space or time, the reasonable fees of a recognized advertising agency, production or fulfillment costs on a project-based contract. Priority will be given to advertising in state-sponsored cooperative media buys.
c. Audio-Visual Presentations. Printing, photography, separations, art services, services of a recognized advertising agency or audio-visual firm on a project-based contract. Project must have a plan for use in targeted regions, organizations and trade shows outside the local area and/or use in a local area.
d. Destination Marketing Plans. Five-year tourism destination marketing plans which include a market review, establishing specific objectives and strategies for marketing, advertising, sales promotion, execution, measurement and evaluation. Destination marketing is intended to attract more tourists to stay in an area for longer periods.
e. Events. Non-local advertising, promotional literature, measurable publicity outside the local area. Events that attract significant non-local attendance will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Advertising must encourage attendance from out of town, county and/or state. Overnight stays are preferable when possible.
f. Familiarization Tours. Reasonable expenses for transportation, food and lodging for invited travel professionals, provided the result is measurable publicity for the area and/or development of saleable tour itineraries within the area or the state.
g. Research. Projects related to developing statistical information or background for the further development of marketing and advertising programs, attractions and economic impacts upon areas within the state. Projects must complement and/or supplement ongoing research undertaken by the Division of Tourism.
h. Travel Promotion Literature. Printing, layout, design, typesetting, color separations, photography and distribution of literature. General promotional brochures should conform to Division of Tourism standards for brochure size and distribution. Consideration will be given to other literature that may not need to conform.
i. Travel Shows. Booth rental, equipment and services rental, reasonable shipping costs for booth and literature, travel expenses, per diem, mileage, airfare, or car rental to attend.
8. The following are NOT eligible expenses for the purpose of these grant funds:
a. Capital investments or improvements.
b. Salaries, cost over-runs, overhead, staff food or lodging, staff benefits, entertainment or transportation, supplies (except as authorized in Item 7f).
c. Equipment purchase.
d. Communications by telephone, telegraph, telex (except as authorized in 7.a.1).
e. Administrative postage and bulk permit fees. Other postage that is specifically expended on direct mail or bulk rate mail related to the application project is acceptable provided a postmaster's receipt is presented.
f. Non-budgeted expenses.
g. Expenses incurred or commitments made prior to the grant award.
h. Ongoing, recurring or operational costs, including website maintenance, reprints, or retainer fees, which are considered part of a standard operational budget.
9. Deadlines will be set by the Division of Tourism for the submission of new applications.
10. Expenditures by a grantee can commence upon Commission approval as specified in the Grant Agreement and must be within the grant fiscal year boundaries. Reimbursement cannot be made until after the execution of the Grant Agreement and all billing procedures are followed.
11. For Photography and Video funded projects the Division of Tourism retains the rights for unlimited usage with no expiration date. It is the responsibility of the grant recipient to provide photography and video files to the Division of Tourism prior to any final disbursement payment.
12. Projects funded for print, excepting those which will appear in Travel Nevada publications, will require the recipient to include an official Division of Tourism logo and travelnevada.com website URL.
13. Projects funded for website development and online advertising will require the recipient to include a reciprocal link to travelnevada.com which will be provided to the recipient.
14. Upon notice of the grant award a Grant Agreement will be sent. This agreement must be signed by the project director and returned to the Division of Tourism within 30 days of receipt. Reimbursement requires the submission of two Outlay Reports and Request for Reimbursement forms, each with original signatures, along with two copies of bills, contracts, invoices or purchase orders, copies of the materials for which the grant was used, and evidence of the required matching funds 30 days upon completion of project. An Evaluation Form must be fully completed online before final payments can be made.
15. Grants may be audited at any time by the Division of Tourism or its representatives. Performance on past and pending projects will be considered before further applications by the organization will be considered.
16. Upon completion of a project, the grantee organization must complete and submit the online evaluation to receive final reimbursement.
17. Pursuant to NRS 231.260, the Division of Tourism is empowered with the authority to provide and administer grants of money or matching grants to political subdivisions of the state, to fair and recreation boards, and to local or regional organizations, which promote travel or tourism. These guidelines have been established to assist grant applicants in developing proposals for grant funds. The Division of Tourism hereby reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. This rejection may be based on the availability of funding and the number of proposals submitted. The Division of Tourism further reserves the right to waive any irregularities in any proposal if it is in the best interest of the Division to do so.
18. If a grant cycle is funded through a Federal award, before the Subrecipient undertakes any work they must enter into a written subaward agreement with the Division of Tourism that requires that the Subrecipient comply with all terms and conditions of the Award, including but not limited to the Standard and Specific Award conditions and the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. The Division of Tourism shall be responsible for monitoring the Subrecipient’s performance under the subaward in accordance with the requirements of 2 C.F.R. § 200.332, and for reporting to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) at www.FSRS.gov, on all subawards over $30,000.
You can find a copy of these guidelines and more information at  travelnevada.biz/rural-marketing-grants/