Eastern Oregon Visitors Association Awards $50,000 in its Second Regional Grants Program

Eastern Oregon Visitors Association (EOVA) is excited to announce the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 recipients of the Eastern Oregon Regional Grants Program.

First 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 19 applications, totaling over $119,000 in grant requests.  A total of $50,000 was awarded to 10 projects throughout Eastern Oregon’s tourism region.

·        Baker Heritage Museum – $3,000 towards Baker County Passport Program

·        Blue Mountain Trails – $6,000 towards Blue Mountains Trail Community Engagement Workshops

·        Downtown Vale – $2,900 towards Rest, Repair, Recharge & Rejuvenate in Downtown Vale

·        Eagle Cap Mountain Guides – $7,000 towards Eagle Cap Mountain Guide Yurt

·        Eagle Cap Nordic Ski Club – $4,000 towards Wallowa County Winter Trail Grooming Project

·        Fishtrap – $3,600 towards Fishtrap Move and Bowlby Renovation

·        Harney County Chamber of Commerce – $6,500 towards Celebrating Culture – Skull Gravel Grinder

·        Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland - $7,000 towards History of Tamkaliks Short Film

·        Prairie City Fiber Fest, Inc – $5,000 towards Bolstering the Awareness & Promotion of the Prairie City Fiber Fest

·        Union County Chamber of Commerce – $5,000 towards Mt. Emily Recreation Area - Collateral Development

EOVA Executive Director, Alana Carollo said of the response to the grant program, “We were excited by the interest and excitement of our second 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!”

Eastern Oregon’s Regional Grants Program is open on a biennium basis. Each project requires its own application and must demonstrate a cash match.  The next cycle application opening will be announced late-Summer 2023.  Interested applicants can find more details at EOVA’s industry site:  https://eova.com/grantprogram/.