JEM Grant Frequently Asked Questions

Your application will first go through an internal review at the Department of Tourism. Following the internal review, the applications are then reviewed by a panel of tourism partners throughout the state selected by the Council on Tourism who bring a balance to the process in terms of geography, expertise and tourism segments. The final review is made by the Secretary's office.

It's important that the project description and goals make a big first impression. Write passionately about your cause. Make sure your concept is creative, well thought out and different from what already exists. Provide a compelling reason to fund your request based on sound marketing principles that tie back to visitor counts and spending, which means you'll need a solid tracking plan. It may help to think of your application this way: The Department of Tourism is upholding the taxpayers' trust in dispersing grant money, and we must demonstrate that it's indeed good "investment marketing."

Read about tracking your project expenditures.

Applications must be submitted before 11:59 PM on the first day of the review month.  An email confirmation will be sent to the applicant when submitted through the electronic grant system.

New Events, Existing Events, Sales Promotions and One Time/One-of-a-Kind Events applications are due by 11:59 PM on February 1, April 1, August 1 and November 1 each year.

Destination Marketing applications are due by 11:59 PM on April 1 and September 1 each year. 

Grant decision will be made 30-45 days following the grant deadline. The Grant Coordinator will contact you regarding the result of your application.

No more than two or three reimbursements should be requested. You should receive the reimbursement check about a month after requesting reimbursement and submitting paid project invoices. Write the payment information, including date, on the invoice as proof of payment. Also remember to include proof of your organization’s matching funds for each reimbursement. For example, if you are requesting a $7,500 reimbursement for a first-year grant, you must also include proof of $2,500 in matching dollars from your organization. 

With your final request, be sure to send in your evaluation, along with all remaining project invoices and materials. The final 10 percent of your reimbursement will not be released until the evaluation has been submitted and reviewed by the Grant Coordinator.

We have grant recipients report back after the event or the promotion so we can learn what marketing tactics worked best, which media outlets delivered the most visitors, and to track traveler spending results. The Department must report the increased visitor expenditures that result from our grant programs on a yearly basis.

1. Provide a final media synopsis that includes measures showing the success of the marketing strategy.

2. What were the actual results achieved for each of the project goals?

3. What was the actual dollar figure of the increased visitor expenditures generated by the project and how did you calculate this dollar amount?

4. How would your organization modify these goals in the future?

5. Provide an actual income/revenue or profit-loss statement for the project.