2012 Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant Program Required and Preferred Eligibility Criteria

Required Eligibility Criteria:

The organization requesting grant funding must be located:

• in the United States, and be classified as a bona fide non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service, or be a federally-recognized American Indian or Alaska Native tribe within the United States

OR

• outside the United States, and be classified by the country’s official taxing authority as a non-profit, tax-exempt public charity

Note: Applications from organizations working with, or in, developing countries are welcome.

The site the organization is requesting grant funding for must be:

 • A tourism-related site with actual visitation (not projected future visitation). Funding requests for new sites that have never been open to the public will not be considered.

Note: An exception would be a site that had visitation in the past, but is closed for restoration purposes. If this is the case, the applicant needs to explain why the site is closed, specific timeframe when it will re-open to the public and projected visitation numbers for first year re-opened.

• a cultural, historic, or natural site of exceptional significance, defined as “critical to the interpretation of the local area, or essential to the maintenance of the history or culture of local indigenous peoples”

The project or program the organization is requesting funding for may be:
• either a self-contained project, or an identifiable component of a larger project 

The project or program the organization is requesting funding for must also be for one of the following:
• brick-and-mortar capital improvements that help conserve, preserve or restore the  structures or its contents at the cultural, historic or natural site, such as replacing windows or doors; or heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC), plumbing or electrical upgrades 

Note: Administrative overhead, planning, events, marketing, public relations, advertising or web projects will not be considered. Requests for new construction will not be considered.

• educational programs that will enhance the way the site is interpreted, such as those relating to cultural, heritage, or sustainable tourism, or those demonstrating innovative approaches or best practices. The programs should engage members of local host communities and the travelers to the site in the educational process, for example, responsible guiding. 

Note: Staffing costs, benefits, travel costs, etc. connected to the educational program will not be considered for funding.  

The following component costs may be part of the educational program funding request, if justified:
• cutting-edge technology that makes the program possible or that revolutionizes the way the site(s) is (are) interpreted and visitors are educated
• development of training materials or educational publications (print or electronic) or ready-made off-the-shelf educational programming 

Preferred Eligibility Criteria:  

Organizations with projects or programs at sites that also meet some or all of the following additional criteria have a stronger chance of receiving grant funding:

• secured matching or challenge grant funding from a source external to your organization, such as dollar- for-dollar match, in order to increase the economic impact of the philanthropic support
• the recommendation of the organization and project or program from the local, regional or national tourism office
• the organization’s ability to demonstrate strong support from the local community
• a site offering universal accessibility (both physical and programmatic, such as wheelchair ramps, large print versions of brochures, Braille translations, open-captioned videos, audio descriptive for videos, etc.)
• a site that demonstrates sustainability, such as use of natural elements (i.e. non-chemical paints that do not off-gas), or  recycled and green materials (i.e. wood)

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