City of Bellingham- Standard Tourism Grant

City of Bellingham- Standard Tourism Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: City of Bellingham
Amount: US $5,000 - US $30,000
Last Updated: September 09, 2025

Summary

The City of Bellingham offers the Standard Tourism Grant to promote cultural activities and tourism. This program supports events that attract visitors, enhancing local economic activity. Funded by a lodging tax, grants typically range from $5,000 to $30,000, targeting well-established events. Open to both for-profit and non-profit organizations, it requires adherence to city business regulations. The grant helps fund marketing and operations for events that enrich Bellingham's cultural landscape.

Overview

Promoting Tourism and Cultural Activities The purpose of the Tourism Grant Program is to promote tourism and cultural activities in Bellingham. Activities funded through this program increase economic activity by bringing visitors to Bellingham. A “visitor” is defined as a person who travels from a place of residence to a different town, city, county, state, or country, for purposes of business, pleasure, recreation, education, arts, heritage, or culture. This grant program has supported events such as Fire and Story (photographed at the top of this page; photo by Mataio Gillis). About the Grants This program is supported by the City’s share of a special excise tax collected on overnight stays within the city limits (lodging tax). These funds support many programs and projects, including two annual grants: the Standard Tourism Grant and the Start Up Tourism Grant. Each year, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) – a sub-committee of the Tourism Commission – provides recommendations for how to use funds. The grants provide seed money for new events or marketing funds for ongoing events. Funding is limited to activities that draw tourists to Bellingham. Standard Tourism Grant The Standard Tourism Grant is for well-established events and activities, typically over three years running. In some cases, newer events backed by a well-established and experienced team may still rank well in this category. There is no expressed limit for fund requests in the Standard Grant category; however, generally the funding ranges between $5,000-$30,000.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. All activities and events funded by the Tourism Promotion program must be open to the public.  This grant opportunity is available to for-profit or non-profit organizations. If awarded, you must meet requirements to do business with the City of Bellingham which include W-9 and a business license that allows you to do business in the City of Bellingham.  For purposes of this grant program, the lodging tax funding may be used for the following as outlined in RCW 67.28.1816: Tourism marketing;    The marketing and operations of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists;    Supporting the operations and capital expenditures of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by a municipality or a public facilities district; or    Supporting the operations of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by nonprofit organizations. A “tourist” or “visitor” is described as people traveling:For business or pleasure staying overnight in paid accommodations,;    To a place 50 miles or more one way from their place of residence or business; or    From another country or state outside of their place of residence or their business.