Tourism Attraction Grant Program

Tourism Attraction Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Amount: US $15,000 - US $200,000
Last Updated: October 05, 2025

Summary

The Tourism Attraction Grant Program, offered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, aims to enhance tourism attractions that drive economic growth in Illinois. Grants up to $500,000 are available for eligible entities such as local governments and nonprofits. Applicants must demonstrate matching funds and outline performance goals to measure project success, promoting a thriving tourism sector while ensuring compliance with state regulations and funding criteria.

Overview

NOTE:  For your application to be considered, your entity must be pre-qualified. For more information on pre-qualification, please visit the website here. Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity’s mission is to support and maintain a climate that enables a strong economy. Our grant programs support this mission by providing funds to organizations throughout Illinois for many different purposes. Tourism Attraction Grant Program Intent The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (the “Department” or “DCEO”) is issuing this Notice of Funding Opportunity to provide grants to assist in the development or improvement of tourism attractions that increase the economic impact of tourism throughout the State. Grantees must be able to match grant dollars. The Tourism Attractions Grant program is part of a broader effort underway to help reinvigorate tourism in Illinois, and help the tourism industry on a path to economic recovery and welcome more visitors to Illinois. Grants up to $500,000 will be awarded to develop and enhance Illinois tourism attractions. Program Description Section 8a(1) of the Illinois Promotion Act (20 ILCS 665/1 et seq.) authorizes the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to award grants to counties, municipalities, units of local government, not-for-profit organizations, local promotion groups and for-profit businesses for the development or improvement of tourism attractions in Illinois. Tourism Attractions are defined as fishing and hunting areas, State parks, historical/cultural sites, areas of historic or scenic interest, museums, recreation areas, botanical gardens, theme/amusement parks, interpretive programs and other facilities or businesses that attract or serve visitors that are open to the public for a minimum of 100 days per year and are marketed and promoted to visitors from more than 50 miles away. Performance Goals and Measures Applicant must identify performance measurements they will use to identify successful outcomes as a result of the capital investment; such as: Anticipated number or percentage of increased visitation as a result of the capital investment;Anticipated increase in local hotel tax revenue to the area served after completion of the project;Anticipated increase in local sales tax revenue after completion of the project.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. An entity must be registered in the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal, at the time of grant application.The portal will verify that the entity:Has a valid FEIN numberHas a current SAM.gov registration SAM.gov registrations must be marked as “public” to allow the GATA Grantee Portal to expedite the review of the federal informationHas a valid UEI numberIs not on the Federal Excluded Parties List Is in Good Standing with the Illinois Secretary of StateIs not on the Illinois Stop Payment list andIs not on the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Provider Sanctions listPursuant to the policy of the Illinois Office of the Comptroller, to receive grant funds from the State of Illinois, a grantee must be considered a regarded entity by the IRS for federal income tax purposes.Eligible Applicants include:Units of local government;Counties;Municipalities;Not-for-profit organizations;Local promotion groups; and For-profit businesses.Expenditures and activities for which grant funds can be utilized by Grantees include, but are not limited to, the following for Tourism Attractions:Capital Projects- land and building acquisitions, construction and renovations of buildings for the purpose of creating or enhancing a Tourism Attraction;Equipment – purchase and installation of machinery and equipment designed to create or enhance the Tourism Attraction, or rental of equipment for a Festival;Training – development and presentation of hospitality, quality service and/or other types of tourism training programs intended to provide a competitive workforce for the tourism industry of Illinois;Interpretive Programs – creation, implementation and staffing of, and fabrication of exhibits for, interpretive programs located within historic/cultural sites.Cost Sharing or MatchingMatch amounts required are:If the grantee is a county, municipality, not-for-profit organization, unit of local government or local promotion group, match required shall be no less than 50% of the total project costs.If the Grantee is a for-profit business, match required shall be no less than 75% of the total project cost.Allowable match includes:Term loan proceeds, bond sale proceeds, or other forms of financial institution participation;Other public grant or loan program funds;Retained earnings, proceeds of a public stock offering, or other cash equity, excluding pre-project office notes payable, off-balance sheet debt financing and goodwill;Local hotel/motel tax, membership dues, other cash contributions;In-Kind contributions necessary to complete the project and for which the cash value is easily documented (i.e., donated labor, equipment, supplies and materials), and that are eligible grant and match line-item expenditures identified in the budget of the grant agreement. In-Kind contributions may only be used as allowable match by municipalities, counties, not-for-profit organizations, Units of local government or local promotion groups and cannot exceed 25% of the match requirement.Applicants may submit one (1) application for this opportunity.

Ineligibility

Entities on the Illinois Stop Payment List and/or the Federal Excluded Parties List at time of application submission will not be considered for an award.Disregarded entities will not be eligible to receive grant funds.Ineligible projects and activities for Tourism Attractions include, but are not limited to, the following:Studies (feasibility, research, development, marketing, etc.);Debt refinancing;Contingency funding;Normal payroll or operating expenses;Administrative expenses;Purchase of alcoholic beverages;MarketingUnallowable match includes:Costs incurred or funds expended prior to the start date of the grant;Funds from other Department funded grant programs (although they may be used to further the project);Existing equipment, buildings, furnishings, or inventory, already owned;Lines of credit;Post project costs such as normal operational expenses;Debt refinancing;In-kind contributions, if the grantee is a for-profit business.This grant program does not allow indirect costs.