The Bend Cultural Tourism Commission announces the sixth year of the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund with the opening of its online grant application for cultural tourism grants. The complete application is due by April 30 at 5pm. Guidelines and instructions are available at visitbend.com/about-us/bend-cultural-tourism-fund. The Commission will make its decisions in May, and forward them to the Visit Bend Board for approval in June. The BCTF could grant up to $300,000, funding projects following proper COVID safety precautions starting no earlier than September, 2021.
Due to the uncertainty of planning programing and cultural tourism activities in the COVID era, applicants should have contingency plans in place should current regulations prohibit or restrict their proposed activity.
The program was placed on hold for the 2020-21 cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “With festivals, performances and almost all indoor gatherings prohibited, the BCTF went on hiatus until we can safely resume these activities again,” said Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend. “With the vaccine roll out and a current decline in the spread of the virus, we are optimistic that we can begin safely funding cultural tourism activities following proper COVID precautions knowing many of the activities won’t take place till the fall.”
In 2019, the fund awarded ten grants, a total of $200,000, to help local organizations leverage marketing resources to attract more cultural tourists during the shoulder seasons and winter months — a time of year when the city’s tourism industry is down yet the vibrant cultural activities so central to Bend’s character are still going strong.
The Bend Cultural Tourism Fund (BCTF) is a grant program dedicated to enhancing the local economy through the promotion and cultivation of Bend’s cultural tourism programs, with an emphasis on activities that help attract cultural tourists during the shoulder seasons and winter months.