Tourism Cares' first and more common grant program is called the Worldwide Grant Program. It is designed for "worthy tourism-related non-profit organizations worldwide" to improve capital and educational programs through funding. "Capital ('brick-and-mortar') improvements that serve to protect, restore, or conserve sites of exceptional cultural, historic, or natural significance,* [and] the education of local host communities and the traveling public about conservation and preservation of sites of exceptional cultural, historical, or natural significance," are the two primary considerations to obtain Tourism Cares funding.
* "Note: Brick-and-mortar projects do not include administrative overhead, events, marketing, public relations, audiovisual, website type projects" (www.tourismcares.org).
The 2010 Worldwide Grant Program goals are to distribute a beneficial amount of money to U.S. and non-U.S. recipients. In the past, grants have ranged from $7,500 to $10,000. "To date, Tourism Cares has granted funding to 120 organizations, including a dozen national parks, in 37 states and 25 countries. These grants, when combined with matching funds, total nearly $2 million" (www.tourismcares.org).
Tourism Cares gives preference to "projects or programs that allow our grant funding to be leveraged to provide increased philanthropic support, through vehicles such as matching grants or challenge grants that have already been secured from an external source; are endorsed by the local, regional, or national tourism office; and demonstrate strong support from and involvement of the local community" (www.tourismcares.org).
To apply for the Worldwide Grant Program, the U.S.-based organization in question needs to verify that it has IRS non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status; the project or program in question fits Worldwide Grant Program's goals and preferences; submit a Grant Letter of Inquiry Packets by June 1st, 2010; wait for Tourism Cares to review to packet and ask for a full proposal for further consideration (if the organization is not contacted by Tourism Cares after submitting their first Inquiry Packet, then they are not eligible to receive the grant); and if selected, follow the requirements that include "spending the grant funds within 12 months of receipt, unless otherwise stated in the grant agreement [and] submitting a report at the end of the grant term documenting the use and outcomes of the Tourism Cares investment," among a few other stipulations described in detail on their World Wide Grant Program: Grant Recipient Compliance webpage (please visit for more detailed information).
Tourism Cares will review the applications for six to eight weeks and respond to the applicants accordingly. It might take anywhere from six to nine months for the organization to receive the grant after the Letter of Inquiry Packets have been submitted.
Tourism Cares' second grant program is called the Special Grant Program and is determined through "internal selection, rather than by application as with the Worldwide Grant Program" (www.tourismcares.org). There are two categories that fall under this program; the Globus American Icons Program for preservation and restoration funding, and the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund Program to to "'make a difference'" in the rebuilding and restoration of the Gulf Coast's historic and cultural sites" after Hurricane Katrina (www.tourismcares.org).
A few past recipients of this grant have been Save America's Treasures National Trust for Historic Preservation for Mesa Verde National Park; Ellis Island Ferry; and President Lincoln's Cottage; Patronato Huacas del Valle de Moche for Huacas del Sol y de la luna, Pera; Lough Gur Environmental and Conservation Trust for Early Christian Stone Forts; Plimouth Plantation; and the George Spangler Farm.
"Grant recipients must be classified as non-profit, tax-exempt organizations under section 501©(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, or the equivalent in the case of non-U.S. organizations. If you feel your organization's project or program fits Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant Program's Funding Goals and Preferences, we encourage sites to submit a Grant Letter of Inquiry Packet by the specified deadline" (www.tourismcares.org).
Please visit Tourism Cares' Frequently Asked Questions website for more in-depth information on which organizations are eligible for which grant program.
