Special State Tourism Events Grants Available to Montana Communities, Organizations and Tribal Governments

Governor Brian Schweitzer is inviting Montana communities, organizations and tribal governments that are sponsoring or planning new annual events to apply for state tourism grant funds available from the Montana Department of Commerce, Travel Montana Special Events Grant Program (SEGP). The Department of Commerce has $80,000 available in SEGP funds. The deadline for SEGP applications is December 7, 2007.

“This is an excellent opportunity for our non-profit organizations to use the SEGP grants to draw more of Montana’s 10 million annual visitors to their area of the state,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer.

Events or festivals established prior to May 30, 2005 are not eligible for funding under the program. Grants will be awarded based on a 3-tier approach that ranks counties on the basis of lowest per capita income, slowest population growth and highest unemployment. The grants are designed to be matching funds for non-profit organizations involved in developing new annual events.

“This grant program is a wonderful resource to create and sustain economic development through event development which not only benefits our communities but also provides an enhanced experience for our visitors,” said Commerce Director Tony Preite.

For more information about the SEGP, or to request an application, contact Carol Crockett at Travel Montana, 406-841-2796. SEGP application materials can be downloaded from Travel Montana’s Intranet site: http://www.travelmontana.mt.gov/forms.

Tourism and recreation is one of Montana’s basic industries. In 2007, Montana hosted close to 10.4 million non-resident visitors who spent over $2.9 billion during their visits. Over 36,000 jobs are directly supported by nonresident travel, resulting in $747 million in total personal income for Montana residents.