Room Tax Tourism Grant Information & Application
Beginning January 1, 2017, the State Law mandates the Village forward to a tourism commission any room tax revenue exceeding the amount the municipality may retain. The Commission must spend room tax revenue on tourism promotion and tourism development.
Tourism Promotion and Tourism Development is defined in the Wisconsin Statutes to mean any of the following that are significantly used by transient tourists and reasonably likely to generate paid overnight stays at more than one establishment in the municipality on which room tax is imposed:
- Marketing projects, including advertising buys, creation and distribution of printed or electronic promotional tourist materials, or efforts to recruit conventions, sporting events or motor coach groups.
- Transient tourist informational services.
- Tangible municipal development, including a convention center.
Transient tourist means any person residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a hotel, motel or other furnished accommodations.
The Tourism Commission is obligated to submit on an annual basis a detailed report of its room tax expenditures to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
The Room Tax Tourism Grant program is designed to promote tourism-related activity within the Village of Mount Pleasant with specific emphasis on tourism that is reasonably likely to generate overnight stays in hotel facilities.
Eligible Projects & Use of Funds
The Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission will consider funding for projects and events that benefit the Village or the surrounding area. Items that can be funded by the Commission include:
- Design, production and placement costs for marketing that targets visitors from outside the Village of Mount Pleasant and its surrounding communities. This includes but is not limited to: brochures, fliers, posters, direct mail, registration materials, print ads, radio ads, television ads. Website enhancements that are reasonably likely to increase tourism and overnight hotel stay. Web and social media marketing that increase traffic of visitors from outside the Village of Mount Pleasant and its surrounding communities.
- Purchase of marketing lists, search engine marketing ad words, Google Ad Words
- Offsite signage such as billboards targeting visitors that live outside the Village and its surrounding communities.
- Fees must be payable to a third party vendor. In-kind fees are not eligible.
- NOTE: Payroll, positions or organizational operating costs will not be considered.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, any funding to a qualified tourism entity, as defined by Wis. Stat. §66.0615(1)(f) shall be considered eligible under this application.
Grant Limits
- Grant limits are subject to Tourism Commission discretion.
- Grants are limited based upon available room tax funds.
Eligible Applicants
- Not for Profit Organizations with an IRS determination.
- Not for Profit Organization is in good standing with the Village.
- Project/event is located in or near the Village of Mount Pleasant and offers verifiable economic benefits to the Village of Mount Pleasant through increased room nights.
- The project/event or promotional opportunity should demonstrate economic impact as it relates to tourism and is reasonably likely to generate multiple hotel stays.
- Repeat grant applicants have filed timely post project/event reports.
- Organization is a qualified tourism entity as defined by Wis. Stat. §66.0615(1)(f).
Grant Recognition
All awarded marketing projects must include the Village of Mount Pleasant logo and where space allows, the following grant recognition: “Sponsored in part by the Village of Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission.”
Application Submission Deadlines
Applications are reviewed and granted throughout the year. To submit your application electronically, contact the Village of Mount Pleasant at: mprochaska@mtpleasantwi.gov.
Additional Information
- All grants will be evaluated on established criteria and ranked competitively by the Village Staff and approved by the Tourism Commission.
- The grant application will serve as a grant agreement and must be signed by an authorized official within the organization.
- The grant expires one year after awarded by the Tourism Commission.
Evaluation Criteria
- Completeness and quality of the application. 10 points
- A well-developed marketing strategy that can reasonably be expected to generate multiple hotel stays. 30 points
- The project/event and application substantiate local economic impact from:
- Local visitors. 5 points
- Day trip visitors. 15 points
- Overnight visitors. 30 points
- Expected/historical project/event attendance:
- 0-1,000 attendees annually. 5 points
- 1,000-5,000 attendees annually. 10 points
- 5,000+ attendees annually. 15 points
- Project/event located within the Village of Mount Pleasant. 5 points
- The project/event is unique, unduplicated and creative. 20 points
- The methodology proposed to survey attendees is well developed and will likely generate good quality information regarding project/event attendees and whether they are local or non-local. 10 points
Review & Award Process
- Timely grant requests will be reviewed by Village Staff and one member of the Tourism Commission, who will score and rank proposals based upon the Evaluation Criteria.
- The Tourism Commission will review the recommendations and make a final grant determination.
- Grant applicants will be informed of the grant determination via email.
- The Tourism Commission reserves the right to deviate from the scoring, review and award process and act in the best interest of the Village of Mount Pleasant in its discretion. This application shall not be considered a contract with any entity, expressed or implied.
- Grant funds will be paid over the life of the project based on benchmarks reached and reported to the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission through the Village Communications & Tourism Coordinator. As benchmarks are met and reported to the Commission future payments will be made. No further payments will be made on grants if benchmarks are not met or reported to the Village Tourism Commission. It is expected that for projects that are not completed the funds paid out by the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission will be returned to the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission. Failure to return funds to the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission from failed projects will likely result in future grant requests not being considered or funded. The balance of the award will be dispersed upon completion of the Post Project/Event Report, and approval by the Tourism Commission. Grantees should request final funds with completed Post Project/Event Report via email request to tourism@enjoymtpleasant.org.
Eligible Projects & Use of Funds
The Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission will consider funding for projects and events that benefit the Village or the surrounding area. Items that can be funded by the Commission include:
- Design, production and placement costs for marketing that targets visitors from outside the Village of Mount Pleasant and its surrounding communities. This includes but is not limited to: brochures, fliers, posters, direct mail, registration materials, print ads, radio ads, television ads. Website enhancements that are reasonably likely to increase tourism and overnight hotel stay. Web and social media marketing that increase traffic of visitors from outside the Village of Mount Pleasant and its surrounding communities.
- Purchase of marketing lists, search engine marketing ad words, Google Ad Words.
- Offsite signage such as billboards targeting visitors that live outside the Village and its surrounding communities.
- Fees must be payable to a third party vendor. In-kind fees are not eligible.
- NOTE: Payroll, positions or organizational operating costs will not be considered.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, any funding to a qualified tourism entity, as defined by Wis. Stat. §66.0615(1)(f) shall be considered eligible under this application.
Grant Limits
- Grant limits are subject to Tourism Commission discretion.
- Grants are limited based upon available room tax funds.
Eligible Applicants
- Not for Profit Organizations with an IRS determination.
- Not for Profit Organization is in good standing with the Village.
- Project/event is located in or near the Village of Mount Pleasant and offers verifiable economic benefits to the Village of Mount Pleasant through increased room nights.
- The project/event or promotional opportunity should demonstrate economic impact as it relates to tourism and is reasonably likely to generate multiple hotel stays.
- Repeat grant applicants have filed timely post project/event reports.
- Organization is a qualified tourism entity as defined by Wis. Stat. §66.0615(1)(f).
Grant Recognition
All awarded marketing projects must include the Village of Mount Pleasant logo and where space allows, the following grant recognition: “Sponsored in part by the Village of Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission.”
Application Submission Deadlines
Applications are reviewed and granted four times per year. Submit your application electronically to the Village of Mount Pleasant: tourism@enjoymtpleasant.org. The Tourism Commission may deviate from the application submission schedule below at its discretion.
Deadlines are:
- Second Wednesday in January
- Second Wednesday in April
- Second Wednesday in July
- Second Wednesday in October
Additional Information
- All grants will be evaluated on established criteria and ranked competitively by the Village Staff and approved by the Tourism Commission.
- The grant application will serve as a grant agreement and must be signed by an authorized official within the organization.
- The grant expires one year after awarded by the Tourism Commission.
Evaluation Criteria
- Completeness and quality of the application. 10 points
- A well-developed marketing strategy that can reasonably be expected to generate multiple hotel stays. 30 points
- The project/event and application substantiate local economic impact from:
- Local visitors. 5 points
- Day trip visitors. 15 points
- Overnight visitors. 30 points
- Expected/historical project/event attendance:
- 0-1,000 attendees annually. 5 points
- 1,000-5,000 attendees annually. 10 points
- 5,000+ attendees annually. 15 points
- Project/event located within the Village of Mount Pleasant. 5 points
- The project/event is unique, unduplicated and creative. 20 points
- The methodology proposed to survey attendees is well developed and will likely generate good quality information regarding project/event attendees and whether they are local or non-local. 10 points
Review & Award Process
- Timely grant requests will be reviewed by Village Staff and one member of the Tourism Commission, who will score and rank proposals based upon the Evaluation Criteria.
- The Tourism Commission will review the recommendations and make a final grant determination.
- Grant applicants will be informed of the grant determination via email.
- The Tourism Commission reserves the right to deviate from the scoring, review and award process and act in the best interest of the Village of Mount Pleasant in its discretion. This application shall not be considered a contract with any entity, expressed or implied.
- Grant funds will be paid over the life of the project based on benchmarks reached and reported to the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission through the Village Communications & Tourism Coordinator. As benchmarks are met and reported to the Commission future payments will be made. No further payments will be made on grants if benchmarks are not met or reported to the Village Tourism Commission. It is expected that for projects that are not completed the funds paid out by the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission will be returned to the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission. Failure to return funds to the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission from failed projects will likely result in future grant requests not being considered or funded. The balance of the award will be dispersed upon completion of the Post Project/Event Report, and approval by the Tourism Commission. Grantees should request final funds with completed Post Project/Event Report via email request to tourism@enjoymtpleasant.org.