Eastern Oregon Visitors Association Awards $40,000 in its Third Regional Grants Program

Eastern Oregon Visitors Association (EOVA) is excited to announce the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 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 20 applications, totaling over $119,000 in grant requests.  A total of $40,000 was awarded to 7 projects throughout Eastern Oregon’s tourism region.

• Historic Central Hotel – $4,500.00  towards Downtown Summer Music Series
• Anthony Lakes Outdoor Recreation Association – $7,000.00 towards NE Oregon Tri-County Destination Mountain Bike Plan
• Arts Council of Pendleton – $5,000.00 towards Marketing Pendleton’s Carnegie Library: An Inclusive Walking Tour
• Drexel H. Foundation – $7,000.00 towards marketing videos highlighting Vale’s EV, bike, tour amenities & cultural assets
• Greater Hells Canyon Council  – $6,000.00 towards Guided Outings Program on the Blue Mountains Trail
• Travel Pendleton – $5,000.00 towards Nápt Tananánwit, Láxs Níšayčt - Two Cultures, One Community Inaugural Powwow
• Vale Chamber of Commerce – $5,500.00 towards enhanced marketing of the city’s large outdoor murals

EOVA Executive Director, Alana Carollo said of the response to the grant program, “We were excited by the interest and excitement of our third Regional Grants Program.   The Grants Program has been a great opportunity to engage with 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 an annual basis. Each project requires its own application and must demonstrate a cash match.  The next cycle application opening will be announced late-Summer 2024.  Interested applicants can find more details at EOVA’s industry site:  https://eova.com/grantprogram/.