Tourism Marketing Grant July 2025

Tourism Marketing Grant Guidelines

Overview
The Tourism Marketing Grant supports Kansas Tourism’s mission by assisting Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s), tourism communities, and travel industry businesses with new or first-time marketing and promotion activities. This grant is not intended to fund or sustain previously established marketing programs, but to support the development of fresh innovative marketing initiatives.


Purpose
This grant is designed to help Kansas tourism businesses and organizations launch new marketing efforts. By partnering with Kansas Tourism, recipients can expand their promotional reach, attract more visitors, and contribute to a stronger, more vibrant image of Kansas as a travel destination. The grant leverages Kansas Tourism’s resources and amplifies the marketing reach of Kansas tourism communities.


Goals
· Spur economic growth
· Develop destination-based assets
· Increase visitation to Kansas
· Enhance visitor experience
· Improve the quality of life in communities across the state


Eligible Applicants and Definitions
· Nonprofit Organizations - are defined as Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status or 501(c)(6) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
· For-profit Organizations - are defined as a business that operates with the primary goal of generating profit for its owners or shareholders
· Government Organizations - are defined as State governments, County governments, City or township governments, or Special district governments
· Tribal Organizations - such as Native American tribal governments (federally recognized), Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
· Public or private non-profit organization or association acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of a State

Eligible Applicants’ Requirements
· The applicant organization must be in good standing in other Kansas Tourism programs such as Kansas Travel Guide listings, Co-op Marketing, and Grant Programs.
· Applicants must have a listing on TravelKS.com
· All organizations who are not the primary Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) in their community shall include a letter of support from the local DMO
· Grant funds cannot be used to participate in other Kansas Tourism programs.
· Grants cannot be used in conjunction with any other open grants administered by Kansas Tourism for the same project.


Ineligible Applicants
Applicants that are not in good standing with Kansas Secretary of State.


Timeline
Grant Announcement: July 1
Application Period: July 1 – August 31
Submission Deadline: August 31 at 11:59 PM
Award Notification: October-November


Application Procedures
· The online application link can be found at: https://www.travelks.com/travel-industry/programs-and-resources/grants/marketing-grants/
· Questions and submission of additional documentation should be directed to Babette Dixon at Babette.Dixon1@ks.gov
· Applications that are incomplete or missing documentation will not be reviewed for rating or considered for funding.

Estimated Time to Complete Application:
· Less than 1 hour


Funding Availability
 

• Total Funding Available: $100,000
• Minimum Award Amount: NA
• Maximum Award Amount: $10,000
• Expected Number of Awards: 10-15

Period of Performance: Maximum of 18 Months

Kansas Tourism expects to announce selected grantees in October-November. If selected, you may only incur eligible expenditures when the grant contract agreement is fully executed, and the period of performance date has started.

Eligible Projects & Costs
1. Media Placement
a. First-time print and broadcast advertising should focus on out of state or markets over 100 miles from the event, attraction, or community. The application must address the expected economic benefit to the community through the attendance generated by the media placement, such as meals purchased, overnight stays, and so on.
2. Graphic Design and/or Printing of Promotional Materials
a. A detailed description of the promotional materials shall be submitted for all design work. An example of the design shall be included in the application. A distribution plan shall be submitted with all requests for brochure and guide design and printing.
3. Strategic Marketing Plan
a. A copy of the marketing plan must be submitted with the final reimbursement request
4. Regional Collaborative Marketing initiatives
a. New marketing programs between multiple entities.
5. Trade Shows
a. The grant will fund an organization’s first-time attendance at consumer out-of-state trade shows, including booth space fees and marketing materials. Travel expenses are not eligible.
6. Website Design or Enhancement
a. The grant will fund website design and enhancement.
7. Digital Marketing
a. The grant will fund the purchase of email list, mobile marketing, and ad agency support for digital marketing.
8. Market Research
a. The grant will fund first-time tourism market research. A copy of the research results shall be given to the Tourism Division prior to or at the time the request for grant payment is submitted.
Sports Marketing
a. The grant will fund bid fees, event marketing, and other appropriate event activities that directly support the cost to set up and run the event. The grant will not fund event management salaries or event prizes.
3. Brochure and Guide Distribution
a. The grant may fund out-of-state brochure or guide distribution that is done through a professional distribution company. The distribution schedule for the planned regions and dates shall be included in the application.
4. Billboards
a. The grant will fund first-time billboard rental and production. Billboards funded through this program are intended as a marketing activity. Billboards used solely as directional signage will not be considered.
5. Public Relations & Media Activities
a. The grant will fund first-time PR Media activities such as a first-time press event or FAM trip etc.
6. Direct Mail Marketing
a. The grant will fund the first-time printing and the cost to mail a “direct mail” piece. Pre- application must provide details of intended economic benefit of the promotional piece and include why the particular target market was chosen.
7. Video and Photography
a. The grant will fund the asset gathering of video and photography for tourism promotion and media use.


Ineligible Projects & Costs
The following are projects and costs that are non-fundable through the grant program:
· Marketing of local community events that promote mostly to local citizens and are attended predominantly by local citizens
· Association memberships
· Salaries and wages
· Entertainment and honorariums
· Items for resale
· Local and state beauty pageants and parades
· Bumper stickers, stationery, and membership solicitation literature
· Promotional items, prizes, trophies, plaques, decorations, trinkets, hats, shirts, banners, flags, and floats
· Highway signage
· Fundraising
· Taxes, except sales tax on goods and services and payroll taxes
· Lobbyists, political contributions
· Bad debts, late payment fees, finance charges, or contingency funds
· Parking or traffic violations
· Out-of-state transportation and travel expenses. Kansas will be considered the home state for determining whether travel is out of state.


Match Requirement
· 60% Match from the Grant Applicant. Kansas Tourism will pay a maximum of 40% of associated project costs.


Funding Priorities
· Projects that will increase out-of-state visitation will be given priority.

Application and Submission Instructions
The list of application questions, including supporting materials can be found at: https://www.travelks.com/travel-industry/programs-and-resources/grants/marketing-grants/
 
Required Attachments
Attachments and support materials must be uploaded into the application.  Attachments and support materials will not be accepted by any other method. Required attachments are required for eligibility. The required attachments are:
1. A signed copy of the State Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment Acknowledgment Form.
2. A signed copy of the Certification of Company Not Currently Engaged in the Procurement or Obtainment of Certain Equipment, Services, or Systems Form.
3. If requesting more than $100,000 in grant funds, a signed copy of the Israeli Anti-Boycott Form is required.
4. A signed W-9 for the organization. The W-9 must be signed and dated within the last 12 months.

Budget Narrative
A budget form is required to be submitted with your application. Budget form can be found at: https://www.travelks.com/travel-industry/programs-and-resources/grants/marketing-grants/


Submission Instructions
The day the application opens, a link will be provided at: https://www.travelks.com/travel-industry/programs-and-resources/grants/marketing-grants/
The application is submitted using Submittable. The applicant will need to create a Submittable account to submit the application. For more details on what questions will be asked and what additional documents and forms that will be requested, please review our application questions here.

Late Applications
To maintain a fair application process, the Kansas Tourism will not accept late grant applications.


Application Review Information
Kansas Tourism strives to review grants through an objective and unbiased process. Grants will be reviewed based on rubric criteria by a panel. Rubic can be found in the application guidelines at: https://www.travelks.com/travel-industry/programs-and-resources/grants/marketing-grants/


Scoring
The maximum number of points an application can earn is 100. Reviewers will individually score each application or each section that is assigned to them. A scoring rubric will be published with the grant opportunity and on the grant webpage.
Applications must earn enough points for their application to fall under “Meets Expectations”, “Exceeds Expectations”, or “Exemplary” to be recommended for funding. Meeting one of these values does not guarantee funding for a project.


Selection Criteria
A committee will be selected to review all applications and make recommendations for grants.
The evaluation used to assess the Project’s economic impact on tourism development will depend primarily on adequate documentation of the following criteria:
1. Detailed description of the grant project to include, when applicable, the following information:
• A design copy
• The distribution plan
• The sign and billboard locations
• The market research target
• Quantity of promotional pieces to be printed, distributed, and/or mailed
• Any other supporting documents
2. Grant project schedule to include, when applicable, the following information:
• The proposed media placement and schedules
• The event and trade show date
• Any other dates related to the project work
3. Letters of Support:
• The applicant’s DMO
• Multiple community participants’ letters of involvement to include the dollar amount the community will provide to the project
• Other community letters of support
4. The estimated project cost includes copies of professional service bids such as creative design, print, Website design/enhancements, video, photography, etc. (Continued)
5. Provide a copy of your organization’s annual marketing plan for the prior and current year.
6. What do you expect the economic benefit will be to your community or region as a result of this marketing activity?
7. Do you expect an increase in overnight stays in your community as a result of this marketing activity?
8. How will you measure your return on investment?
Kansas Tourism will announce the amount of funds available for the Tourism Marketing Grant, subject to funding availability. All grant applications approved by Kansas Tourism will be funded according to the process set forth in the following:
All applications received by the deadline will be reviewed for eligibility and threshold criteria, as outlined in the guidelines. Eligible applications will then be reviewed and rated according to the established rubric and scoring matrix.
Kansas Tourism may determine which grant applicants will receive state grant funds based on a number of factors, including:
• Grant reviewer scores
• Geographic distribution of grant applicants
• History of the grant applicant as a state grantee
• Applicant’s capacity to perform the work
• Pre-award capacity assessment of the applicant
All awards must be approved by the Secretary of Commerce.


Award Notification
Kansas Tourism strives to notify applicants of awards in a timely manner.
· Awardees will be notified by phone.
· Non-awardees will be notified by email.

Grant Performance Expectations
In addition to Applicant Eligibility, all grantees are expected to:
Complete all proposal activities within the grant period
Include only allowable expenses in the proposal budget
Comply with all grant administration requirements:
· Provide the required information for grant award agreement
· Sign and return the grant award agreement to Commerce within 30 calendar days of receipt.
· Request approval for any changes to the grant award agreement.
· Complete a final report no later than 18 months after beginning date on agreement.
· Maintain complete and accurate grant records, including all documentation, for a minimum of three years after the end of the grant period.
· Comply with the requirements of the State of Kansas Policy Against Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation established by Executive Order 18-04.
· Use the appropriate credit line or approved logo to acknowledge grant funding in all publications. See grant contract for credit requirements.


Accountability and Reporting
The Grantee will submit semi-annual reports to the Kansas Tourism. The schedule of semi-annual reports will be as follows: Report #1 on June 15th of the award year, Report #2 on December 15th of the following award year. Semi-annual reports must be submitted even if work on the project has not taken place during the reporting period. Failure to submit reports on a timely basis will result in a reduction in evaluation scoring for future requests for funding. The Final Report is due with the final payment reimbursement request.


Grant Payments
Grant funds will be disbursed on a cost reimbursement basis for actual, reasonable and necessary costs based on the grant budget, not to exceed the maximum award amount. Kansas Tourism reserves the right to require non-complying grant recipients to pay back the previously awarded money within one year of contract end date.


Release of information
Information submitted to the Kansas Department of Commerce relating to the application may be subject to the Open Records Law (K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.). Confidentiality will not be guaranteed.


Contact Information
For more information about this grant, please contact:
Babette Dixon
Grants Manager
1000 SW Jackson Street Ste. 100
Topeka, KS 66612
Email: Babette.Dixon1@ks.gov
Phone: 785-496-0230