COASTAL MISSISSIPPI CULTURAL EVENTS GRANT

OVERVIEW

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau d/b/a Coastal Mississippi (herein "Coastal Mississippi Tourism"), sales and marketing programs are funded by lodging tax, which is governed by Mississippi law. Coastal Mississippi Tourism revenue is earned through advertising sales and lodging reservations booked and actualized room room nights. (Coastal Mississippi Tourism awarded federal and state grant dollars, which are strictly prohibited by law from any sub-award and are not included in any support.)

Coastal Mississippi's Cultural Events Grant is a fiscal allocation of funds dedicated to providing tourism marketing and production support for cultural events in Harrison, Hancock, and Jackson counties. The purpose of the grant  is to assist with the marketing and production of established events to grow attendance and enhance the overall visitor experience at he event to promote Coastal Mississippi as a premier leisure destination for year-round visitation, increase overnight visitation, and grow the tourism economic impact in the region and the state.

Note: This is a revised program and differs significantly from previous Coastal Mississippi event grants and programs. This grant is for multiple-day events that take place in Coastal Mississippi and that generate room nights in Coastal Mississippi.

FUNDING

The maximum award for this grant is $20,000. 

The number of grants is limited by available funds and commission approval. Applications meeting and exemplifying the qualifications are presented to the commission for final approval.

This program is not intended to be a sustainable funding source. Tourism partners are eligible, but not guaranteed, to receive funds for a maximum of three (3) years.

RULES & ELIGIBILITY

Eligible applicants must be tourism partners planning and promoting music festivals, food and beverage festivals, events celebrating the unique culture of Coastal Mississippi, and sporting events taking place in Coastal Mississippi (Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties), seeking assistance for marketing and event expansion for the purpose of driving overnight visitation to Coastal Mississippi. 

To qualify for this grant, the event must:

• Be at least two (2) consecutive days. A day is a minimum of 8 hours. 
• Have at least two (2) years prior attendance proven through ticket sales reports or attendance reports and a minimum attendance of 1,000 attendees.
• Generate a significant economic impact. 
• Generate overnight visitation and identify a lodging partner.
• Occur in Coastal Mississippi (Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties).

This grant will not fund:

• Start-up events
• Events that occur once a week, once a month, or intermittently over a season
• Events with fewer than 1,000 attendees. Proof of attendance from prior events is required with the application.
• Agency commissions, consulting fees
• Merchandise or items for resale
• Lobbying/advocacy
• Expos (for profit trade shows)
• Construction
• Expenses incurred prior to the award letter
• Community events
• Civic events
• Operational costs - salaries, utilities, clean-up/trash, and other administrative costs

The applicant contact must be a representative of the event and will be the sole point of contact with Coastal Mississippi for application communications, payments, graphic approval, and reporting. Coastal Mississippi will not discuss the application or grant details with any other contact. Potential vendors (advertising agencies, PR firms, printers, web developers, podcasters, influencers, and media vendors) cannot be a partner in the application.

The event must have at least two (2) years of prior attendance and a minimum of 1,000 attendees. It must generate overnight visitation in Coastal Mississippi and show a positive and significant impact on tourism.  

The event must occur between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025 (FY25).

Events that are rescheduled due to circumstances beyond the partner's control may be eligible to revise their marketing and production plans and utilize funds. Applicants must contact the Director of Marketing as soon as possible for approval. If the activity is canceled, applicants must return all funds distributed. 

The deadline to submit applications for FY25 is August 1, 2024. Funds will be distributed based on the following schedule: 

• 75% of the total award amount will be distributed 30 days prior to the event but not before October 1, 2024. 
• The remaining 25% of the total award will be distributed after the event and upon receipt of the required documentation.

Applicants may only submit one application per fiscal year grant cycle.

USING FUNDS FOR MARKETING

The awarded grant must be used for media placement in out-of-market DMAs (Designated Market Areas). Eligible DMAs include, but are not limited to:

• Mobile/Pensacola
• New Orleans
• North Shore
• Hattiesburg/Laurel
• Jackson
• Baton Rouge

Eligible marketing channels include digital placement (programmatic, display), OTT, paid social media advertising, billboards, radio or TV, and print publications (magazines). The Play Coastal Mississippi logo must be included in digital, print, and TV ads. For scripted ads, "In partnership with Coastal Mississippi" must be included in the script. All ads must be approved by the Coastal Mississippi brand manager prior to placement. 

The marketing plan should be designed to drive overnight visitation to Coastal Mississippi.

USING FUNDS FOR PRODUCTION

Event production must focus on improving and expanding visitor experiences by adding additional activities (artisan market, concessions, additional stages, creating accessibility) designed to increase overnight visitation.

Eligible production support includes additional staging (YOY), concessions, activities or infrastructural for activities, crowd management, and other related event expenditures. 

FUNDING LEVELS

Tier One: Up to $5,000

• Minimum of 1,000 attendees to 2,499 attendees.
• 2 or more event days. Priority is given to events with more than 2 event days. 
• Proof of overnight visitation.

Tier Two: Up to $10,000

• Minimum of 2,500 attendees to 4,999 attendees.
• 2 or more event days. Priority is given to events with more than 2 event days. 
• Proof of overnight visitation.

Tier Three: Up to $15,000

• Minimum of 5,000 attendees to 7,499 attendees.
• 2 or more event days. Priority is given to events with more than 2 event days. 
• Proof of overnight visitation.

Tier Four: Up to $20,000

• Minimum of 7,500+ attendees.
• 2 or more event days. Priority is given to events with more than 2 event days. 
• Proof of overnight visitation.

When the applicants will project estimated attendance and room nights, those projections must be backed up by research, data (lodging/ticketing reports), and validated information. Proof of prior attendance and room nights must accompany your application.

SCORING

Due to limited funding for this program, awards will be based on a merit scale. Funds will be awarded based on the information submitted with the application and will be scored based on Coastal Mississippi Community Grant scoring guidelines. Submit complete applications with all requested reports and back-up. The actual award may differ than the amount requested. 

Applications with plans to use production funding to expand festival capacity, add a stage, enhance visitor experience, add artisan markets, concessions, food trucks, or other revenue-generating activities will score higher. Points are calculated as follows: