26 November 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information Contact: Sheila Barefoot, Director, at 910.592.2557 or sbarefoot@visitsampsonnc.com
SAMPSON COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ANNOUNCES CAPITAL GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION OPEN ENROLLMENT NOVEMBER 30, 2018 – DECEMBER 31, 2018
Capital Grant Program developed to grow tourism assets in Sampson County
(Sampson County, NC) — The Sampson County Convention & Visitors Bureau (SCCVB) has announced today that open enrollment will start effective November 30, 2018, and will run through December 31, 2018, for all Capital Grant Program Applications. All applications must be postmarked by December 31, 2018, to be considered in the second application cycle.
The Capital Grant Program is to assist in the development and growth of tourism throughout Sampson County. On November 28, 2017, the Sampson County CVB Board of Directors approved the implementation and funding of the Sampson County Convention & Visitors Bureau Capital Grants Program.
The SCCVB Capital Grant Program (CGP) was developed to stimulate economic growth by supporting non-profit visitor attractions in Sampson County, NC. The program allows the SCCVB to award capital grant funding to organizations whose projects are designed or developed to attract visitors to Sampson County. The program allows eligible organizations to receive funding for the development of new visitor attractions or to organizations that are working to enhance or restore existing structures and other projects whose primary mission is to serve visitors to Sampson County.
“Capital Grant Funds may be granted for projects such as new brick and mortar construction, maintenance and preservation of historic attractions, cultural and historical acquisitions, conservation of artifacts, or other infrastructure that improves the CVB’s ability to promote tourism and that assists in attracting visitors to Sampson County” stated Sheila Barefoot, Director of the Sampson County CVB.
Organizations that may apply for CGP funding include any legally chartered 501-(c3) non-profit Sampson County organization or chartered municipality representing a visitor attraction, which includes tourism promotion among its major activities. Documentation of legal status, tax exemption, federal identification number, budget, and organizational purpose are required with all applications. The organization applying for funds must show that they own the property, and it is not leased by the organization. However, if an organization making a request does not own the land or the structure to be preserved or built on a site, the organization may provide properly executed documents that state the organization has a permanent easement for the site, including ingress and egress.
The Sampson County Convention & Visitors Bureau CGP will use a matching grant formula whereby organizations may be awarded one grant dollar for each dollar spent by the organization, up to $50,000 per project. Due to the potential number of grant applications that may be received annually, the full amount of an organization’s grant request may not be awarded. It is anticipated that typical grant awards may average between $5,000 and $10,000. The SCCVB Capital Grant Program has a cap of $50,000 per organization. Once this amount has been distributed to an organization, the organization must sit out of the grant application process for a period of three (3) years from the date of final funding from the CVB. In addition, multiple non-profits may not apply to receive funding for the same project.
Examples of expenses that WILL NOT be granted or reimbursed as part of the Sampson County Convention & Visitors Bureau Capital Grant Program:
Advertising or marketing expenses
Any publications
Appearance improvement projects
Church construction
Event or festival operational costs
Familiarization tour expenses
For-profit organizations
Funding to individuals
Housing Projects
In-kind services by suppliers, vendors or consultants
Items for resale
Lodging/travel/entertainment costs
Municipal Sidewalks
Municipal Road Construction
Municipal services or municipal utility improvements
Municipal Streetscape or Lighting improvements expenditures
Municipal Water/sewer improvements
Non-tourism related Wayfinding Signage
Office equipment: purchasing or leasing
Office supplies
Political projects
Public Art Projects
Public or Private School Projects
Routine administrative costs
Routine postage and shipping charges
Salaries for full-time, part-time, temporary employees or contract employees
Sporting Events
Telephone, internet or other communication charges
SCCVB Director, Sheila Barefoot stated, “The Sampson County CVB’s Capital Grant Committee will process Capital Grant Applications twice per fiscal year (August & January) or until such time that the annual allocation is exhausted. Applications for the first cycle may be submitted from July 1st until July 30th, and must be postmarked no later than July 30th for consideration during the August cycle. Applications for the second cycle may be submitted from November 30th to December 31st, and must be postmarked no later than December 31st for consideration during the January cycle. Capital Grant applicants must contain the written approval or a formal resolution of the organizations governing board, and include relevant municipal government endorsement, and a list providing other individuals or organizations that have made contributions to the proposed project.”
The Sampson County CVB was approved and enacted to be a public authority established through legislation by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina and adopted, approved, and enacted by the Sampson County Board of Commissioners with the purpose of promoting the development of travel and tourism-related activities in Sampson County, through state, regional and national advertising, marketing and promotional activities and campaigns.
Please see the Capital Grants Program Guidelines and Application in the downloadable PDFs below. For more information or details about the SCCVB Capital Grant Program, contact Sheila Barefoot, Director at 910-592-2557 or via email at sbarefoot@visitsampsonnc.com. The Sampson County CVB’s offices are inside the Sampson County Exposition Center located at 414 Warsaw Road, Clinton, NC.
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Capital Grant Program Guidelines_Sampson County 2018-2019
Capital Grant Program Application_Sampson County 2018-2019
