Eastern Oregon Visitors Association Awards Over $81,000 in its First Regional Grants Program

Eastern Oregon Visitors Association (EOVA) is excited to announce the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 recipients of the Eastern Oregon Regional Grants Program.

Launched in October 2019, EOVA’s regional grants program aligns with the organization’s mission to promote the Eastern Oregon visitor experience and to enhance and preserve the region’s quality of life and economy; the grant program’s key initiatives are to:

• Drive visitation from Eastern Oregon’s key domestic and international markets
• Develop destination-based products that are in concert with Eastern Oregon’s natural environment, support the stewardship of the state’s resources and its rich history
• Tie into or enhance one of EOVA’s marketing and development pillars of Outdoor, Cultural & Heritage, or Agritoursim
• Provide strategic industry professional development and training opportunities

The Eastern Oregon Regional Grant Program is supported by the passage of House Bill 4146, where Travel Oregon, as the statewide tourism marketing organization, was required to establish a Regional Cooperative Tourism Program (RCTP) to invest twenty percent of the statewide lodging tax generated in Oregon’s seven designated tourism regions. EOVA serves as the appointed Regional Destination Management Organization (RDMO) for the Eastern Oregon region and implements the RCTP dollars on behalf of the region.

Made possible by RCTP dollars, EOVA’s Regional Grants Program received 43 applications, totaling over $322,000 in grant requests. A total of $81,850 was awarded to 20 projects throughout Eastern Oregon’s tourism region.

• IN A LANDSCAPE – $6,000 towards Eastern Oregon Marketing & Social Media Initiative
• Go Wild: American Adventures – $8,000 towards Ghosts of Historic Eastern Oregon
• Churchill Baker, LLC – $5,000 towards Churchill School and HQ Concert Programing
• National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center – $2,500 towards Evening Living History Performances at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
• Wallowa Lake Lodge – $6,000 towards developing a Four Season Destination
• Eastern Oregon Film Festival – $4,000 towards Eastern Oregon Film Festival Regional Connection Project
• Union County Visitors Bureau (Tourism Bureau) – $6,000 towards Union County Tourism Promotion
• Plate & Pitchfork Inc – $3,000 towards Plate & Pitchfork Wallowa County Events
• Art Center East – $2,500 towards 40 Years of Blacksmithing in the Pacific Northwest
• Union County Visitors Bureau (Tourism Bureau) – $2,400 towards Union County Farm Crawl
• Nella Mae’s Farm – $3,000 towards agritourism visitor infrastructure at Nella Mae’s Farm
• City of Umatilla – $7,000 towards Umatilla Wayfinding Signage
• Baker Heritage Museum – $4,000 towards Rockhounding out of state marketing efforts
• Greater Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Foundation – $3,500 towards Travel Hermiston Website
• Harney County Fairgrounds – $4,000 towards Memorial Building Amenity Upgrades
• Greater Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Foundation – $3,500 towards Visitor Center at Hermiston Chamber of Commerce New Facility
• Wallowa History Center – $3,000 towards expanding visitor services at Wallowa History Center
• Drexel H. Foundation – $3,000 towards Art Beat on Main Street & Childrens Film Festival Marketing and branding to entice out of area visitors Project
• Grande Hot Springs Resort – $2,950 towards Hot Springs Soaking Area
• Carman Ranch, LLC – $2,500 towards Agritourism Development

EOVA Executive Director, Alana Carollo said of the response to the grant program, “We were ecstatic by the interest and excitement with the launch of our Regional Grants Program. The Grants Program has been a great opportunity to engage with new partners and organizations, and to further grow and align our collaborative efforts. We are looking forward to the product development and economic impact the project recipients will have at the local, region, and state level, and are excited to see what next year’s submissions will bring!”

Interested applicants may apply for grants on an annual basis. Each project requires its own application and must demonstrate a cash match. The next cycle application opening for Fiscal Year 2020-21 will be announced late-Summer 2020. Interested applicants can find more details at EOVA’s industry site.