Community Partnership Grant Fund / Event Promotion Guidelines & Instructions
BACKGROUND:
The City of Medford collects an 11 percent (11%) Transient Lodging Tax (“bed tax”) on hotels and short-term vacation rentals (“Intermediaries”) within city limits. The tax is applied upon temporary or short-term overnight stays based on the room rate in which a portion is used for promoting the use of the City of Medford’s recreational, cultural, convention and tourist-related services and programs. Travel Medford serves as the ofcial Destination Marketing Organization for the City of Medford and the greater Medford area, promoting the community as a premier West Coast destination. The organization’s purpose is to drive overnight visitation, increasing visitor spending thereby strengthening the local economy. In this role, Travel Medford established the Community Partnership Grant Fund (CPGF) to promote existing events and help to recruit and assist in attracting new events that would provide activities for both day and overnight travelers. Travel Medford works with the Travel Medford Tourism Council (TMTC) to allocate these funds for local groups, organizations, and businesses to encourage and support special events which generate increased lodging occupancy, add economic activity and market Medford as a tourist destination. A “Tourist” is defned as a person who travels from more than 50 miles from their home or includes an overnight stay. ORS 320.300(10). A “Special Event” is defned as a new or existing organized concert, exhibition, festival, fair, competitive tournament, conference or celebration which is conducted according to a prearranged schedule and with a targeted interest to the general public which may be free or with a predetermined entry or registration fee(s). The Community Partnership Grant Fund is administered by Travel Medford staf with recommendations from TMTC. Each application will be evaluated against established criteria. The number and extent of these grants depend on the availability of designated funds and specifc allocations. Ideally, the funds allocated through the grant will eventually be returned through increased transient lodging revenue in the City of Medford, resulting from these special events and the TLT generated from that revenue. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the Community Partnership Grant Fund is to enhance the overall visitor experience through event promotion, including giveaways and event support, to expand existing events and/or attract new events that would provide activities for both day and overnight visitors.
Term Applications must conform to the guidelines specifed by Travel Medford. Applications that do not conform to these guidelines will not be considered for funding. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed or be accepted to continue for the application process. Funding requests of $4,000 or more are subject to approval by the Travel Medford Tourism Council (TMTC). The application process may take additional time, and the application must be evaluated by the CPGF. Funds received from Travel Medford are highly recomended to be utilized for expenditures associated with marketing and promoting the event to visitors and guests outside of Medford, with the goal of increasing overall economic impact and/or overnight stays. The Travel Medford Community Partnership Grant Fund is not intended to be a sustainable source of funds, to create goodwill within the community or to help boost local awareness of an organization. Please note that with additional events coming into fusion, not all applications may be awarded funding fully or partially. This is a highly competitive process and applications will be reviewed and scored on rigorous criteria.
Applications may not be considered for review if:
● The application is incomplete ● The application is not received on time ● The application fails to include the required attachments
DEADLINE: ALL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE (45) DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR EVENT
ELIGIBILITY A. Any company, group, or organization that meets the objectives is eligible to apply for assistance, sponsorship, or other support from Travel Medford. B. TM and TMTC accepts CPGF applicants from organizations promoting a special event that will increase economic activity and/or overnight stays in the Medford/Southern Oregon region. C. Event attendees are highly advised to utilize hotel rooms and VRBO/AIRBNB located in the Southern Oregon region to generate local Tourist lodging and development tax when applicable. D. Event must show marketing eforts by promoting the event to visitors a. Awarded funds from Travel Medford are recommended for advertising, marketing, and promotion outside of Medford, Oregon attracting out-of-town attendees. PROPOSED APPLICATION COMPONENTS Travel Medford recognizes the value of partnering with other organizations in providing services that beneft the community and tourism visitation. In order to request the CP funds, applicants must complete an application and submit it with necessary documentation to Travel Medford. Components of application include the following: Organization Information – Contact information, type of organization (government, non-proft, co-sponsor, etc.) Event Information – event description, event purpose, list of activities that will take place, list of fees being charged, time and date of the event, indicate the projected attendance, promotion and outreach plans , collaborating organizations, etc. How does the event beneft our region and community, explanation of why Community Partnership funds are being requested, amount being requested and explanation as to why, and how awarded funds will impact and promote Travel and Tourism to Southern Oregon.
VOCABULARY DEFINITION BREAKDOWN: TM : Travel Medford CPA: Community Partnership Application TMTC: Travel Medford Tourism Council CPGF: Community Partnership Grant Fund TLT: Travel Lodging tax
CRITERIA Applicant will provide the following: 1. A brief overview of the event marketing plan (How are you marketing the event? What is the scope of your target audience? etc.) 2. All applications must include a comprehensive marketing plan that includes all in-county and out-of-county advertising and marketing. 3. A complete list of sponsorship packages. 4. A list of event sponsorships secured and the amount. 5. Fill out the Giveaway Request Form (if applicable). 6. Request In-Kind Sponsorship opportunites (if applicable). 7. A copy of the Special Event Permit Approval from the Parks and Recreation Center (If applicable). 8. A completed Post-Event Report that’s returned 45 days after the event date. AGREEMENT Approved projects must provide a concise fnal report to Travel Medford no later than ( 45) days after the event. The report must include the following information: ● Attendance fgures: o Number of out-of-town attendees o Number of local attendees ● Number of room nights generated in Medford ● Final Event Marketing Report ● Visitor Survey SCORING Each application will be scored using identical criteria and can earn a maximum of 100 points . The point distribution is as follows: Criteria Total Available Points Number of attendees 20 Number of room nights generated in Medford 25 Timing of the event 25 Location of event 20 New or existing event 10
ACKNOWLEDGMENT & MARKETING All recipients shall acknowledge the Travel Medford in all publicity relating to the event or activity. Acknowledgement includes Travel Medford logos and statements in all advertising and promotional material, media releases and in other promotional contexts. Promotional opportunities should be detailed in the event application.
Please use the following Travel Medford Logo for all promotional material:
APPLICATION PROCESS 1. Application is open all year round. This is a competitive process and submitting an application does not guarantee funds will be awarded. 2. Travel Medford requires all funding requests to be received a minimum 60days prior to project implementation. 3. Travel Medford staf and select members of the Travel Medford Tourism Council will review the criteria and clarify as needed with applicants. All applications will be evaluated using a standard scoring sheet. 4. Notifcation of Travel Medford’s action will be made in writing to the applicant.
SUBMISSION Completed application and all supporting documents may be submitted electronically (click HERE to access application) or mailed to the address below: Travel Medford c/o Kasey Colangelo 101East 8 th Street Medford, Oregon 97501
If you have any questions, please contact Kasey Colangelo, (541) 218-7045 or kaseyc@travelmedford.or g
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