Visit Dubois County, Inc. announced it has $100,000 available for grants of up to $75,000 for projects that will enhance and expand tourism in Dubois County.
The Dubois County Tourism Capital Improvement Fund (DCTCIF) program is a competitive 1:1 matching grant awarding amounts between $10,000 and $75,000 per project. Any organization can apply.
Priority will be given to larger projects with the greatest impact on tourism.
“The project itself needs to be a tangible, physical undertaking and not a one-off,” said Whitney Lubbers, executive director of the Dubois County Tourism Bureau, “so the focus is on adding tourism assets or expanding existing assets to enhance the experience.”
She said the review committee would focus on the best return on investment for tourism and the local community when making its decision.
“I think this will be the most challenging part of this effort because I’m confident that great proposals will be submitted,” Lubbers said.
The DCTCIF program has been part of the tourism group’s strategic plan for some time, and Lubbers explained that a recent increase in tourism to the area has allowed the organization to fund the program. Visit Dubois County is funded by revenue collected from an inn tax on transient lodging.
“We saw tremendous growth in lodging tax revenues in 2022, up more than 18 percent,” Lubbers explained, “which allowed us to dedicate additional funds to this effort.”
The funding available for the initiative is limited to a one-year pilot, after which the Dubois County Tourism Capital Improvement Fund could be phased out or additional funding could be allocated in subsequent years, Lubbers said.
The DCTCIF information packet, detailing eligibility, scoring criteria and other parameters, can be found here: DCTCIF Information Packet After reviewing the DCTCIF information packet (above), applicants with eligible projects can apply for funding by visiting the DCTCIF webpage, which has a link to the application: visitduboiscounty.com/dctcif.
If you have an idea, contact Visit Dubois County at 1-800-968-4578 to discuss the feasibility of your project during this grant cycle.
Lubbers said she’s looking forward to seeing the submissions, and while the judging committee may have some idea of what projects they’d like to see, she explained that she doesn’t want to limit anyone’s creativity because “something truly magical may be discovered with the submissions we receive.”
