Tourism Grant Application

This application is open and will close at noon on September 5, 2025.

The City of Bellingham is seeking applications for projects that promote economic activity by bringing visitors to Bellingham. A “visitor” is defined as a person who travels from a place of residence to a different town, city, county, state, or country, for purposes of business, pleasure, recreation, education, arts, heritage, or culture.

Eligible activities may include out-of-area tourism promotion and marketing, operation of a special event or festival designed to attract visitors, operations of a tourism promotion agency, or operation of a tourism-related facility.

Information for Applicants

Each year, the City of Bellingham Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), a subcommittee of the City of Bellingham Tourism Commission, recommends funding for projects through the Annual Tourism Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to increase economic activity in Bellingham resulting from tourists. The source of funding for the program is Lodging Tax paid for by hotel/ motel visitors and collected within the City of Bellingham.

This is an opportunity to apply for funds to provide seed money for new events or marketing funds for ongoing events. Funding is limited to activities which draw visitors to Bellingham.

Standard Tourism Grant

The Standard Tourism Grant is for well-established events and activities, typically over three years running. In some cases, newer events backed by a well-established and experienced team may still rank well in this category. There is no expressed limit for fund requests in the Standard Grant category; however, generally the funding ranges between $5,000-$30,000.

Start Up Tourism Grant

The Start Up Grant is for events or activities that are new, often running for less than three years. Grants in this category have less requirements than the Standard Grant and are capped at $5,000.

Required Application Documents

A completed online application (on this page below)
Business documents: copy of 501(c)(3), (4), or (5) letter for non-profits, IRS employee tax ID number and copy of valid business license for for-profit agencies.
Project Budget template filled out
Hotel Collaboration form(s) for Standard Grantees only
Summary/ reports of previous tourism grant funding and outcomes (for Standard Grantees who have received tourism funding within the past three years)

PDF versions of the applications available for reference by emailing tourism@cob.org.

Qualified and on-time submittals will be evaluated and ranked on the following criteria and available points.

Standard Tourism Grant Evaluation Criteria

Project Description & Budget: 0-25 points
Community Economic Impact: 0-25 points
Builds & Strengthens Bellingham’s Identity: 0-30 points
Marketing & Media Plan: 0-15 points
Leverages Bellingham’s Seasonal Strengths: 0-5 points
Total possible score: 100 points

Start Up Tourism Grant Evaluation Criteria

Project Description & Budget: 0-20 points
Community Economic Impact: 0-25 points
Builds & Strengthens Bellingham’s Identity: 0-30 points
Total possible score: 75 points

Additional information about evaluation criteria:

Project Description & Budget: Brief description of project and how it brings visitors to Bellingham. Explains the importance of the Tourism Grant to the success of the project and indicates if the support is a one-time or on-going funding request. A budget is provided that includes all estimated project costs and revenues and includes the specific tourism grant expenses.
Community Economic Impact: Description of the expected economic benefit to the tourism sector and to the general community by increasing visitor spending for accommodations, dining/ entertainment, experiences, tours, retail and transportation. Includes methods for documenting key performance indicators. A minimum of one hotel partner is identified.
Builds & Strengthens Bellingham’s Identity: Description of how the project showcases Bellingham’s unique cultural, recreational, and environmental assets; celebrates the diversity of Bellingham’s residents, history, and cultural influences; and elevates Bellingham as a destination of choice for leisure and group travel.
Marketing & Media Plan: Clearly identifies strategies for reaching visitors a minimum of 50-miles outside of Bellingham and/or in Canada.
Leverages Bellingham’s Seasonal Strengths: Description of whether the project is during off-peak seasons (e.g. fall, winter, and spring) and/or if the event capitalizes on Bellingham’s unique seasonal offerings such as winter sports, indoor cultural activities, and creative programming during the off-peak seasons.

Complete applications are due no later than September 5, 2025, at noon (PST). Incomplete and late applications will not be accepted and will be returned to the proponent.

The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) will review all applications on the fourth Tuesday in October. LTAC will then forward funding recommendations to the Bellingham City Council for final decision and budget authorization. Upon Council approval, execution of a formal contract is required before grant recipients are authorized to submit reimbursement requests.

Application opens: June 6, 2025
Application closes: September 5, 2025, at noon PST
LTAC application evaluation: October 2025
Contract executed: January 2025

Eligibility Requirements

All activities and events funded by the Tourism Promotion program must be open to the public.

This grant opportunity is available to for-profit or non-profit organizations. If awarded, you must meet requirements to do business with the City of Bellingham which include W-9 and a business license that allows you to do business in the City of Bellingham.

Washington State Lodging Tax Requirements

For purposes of this grant program, the lodging tax funding may be used for the following as outlined in RCW 67.28.1816:

Tourism marketing;
The marketing and operations of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists;
Supporting the operations and capital expenditures of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by a municipality or a public facilities district; or
Supporting the operations of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by nonprofit organizations.

A “tourist” or “visitor” is described as people traveling:

For business or pleasure staying overnight in paid accommodations,;
To a place 50 miles or more one way from their place of residence or business; or
From another country or state outside of their place of residence or their business.

More information about eligible expenses is available in the Eligible Expenses & Marketing Requirements document.

Required Meeting with Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism

It is a requirement for all Standard Grant recipients to work with Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism (BWCT) to review your visitor-focused marketing strategy for the proposed project. A pre-contract and post-contract marketing meeting with BWCT will be required for any successful applicants.

Special Event Permits

Some grantees may be required to apply for a Special Event Permit with the City of Bellingham. For more information and to apply, visit Special Event Permit – City of Bellingham

Contracting Process

The contract defines the project goals and eligible costs, specifies payment procedures and limits of City liability, and outlines other customary requirements. Recipients are required to process, sign and return contracts within 30 days of receipt. Failure to return the contracts in a timely fashion may result in withdrawal of funding.

Promotional materials regarding the proposed activity must mention that it is made possible in part by the City of Bellingham. The scale of this credit should be commensurate with the City’s level of financial support. At a minimum, it should include the logo of the City. It is not expected that this credit be displayed in all materials, but at a minimum it should be placed on any materials that recognize other partners or sponsors in such documents as programs and annual reports.

After final processing by the City, applicants will be sent a fully executed copy of the contract. Contracted work must be completed within the timeframe of the contract.

Insurance

As part of the contract, grant recipients who receive City funding for operational expenses must agree to defend the City, hold it harmless, and indemnify it as to all claims, suits, costs, fees and liability arising out of the acts or work of the Recipient, its employees, Subrecipients, or agents (including field work) pursuant to this Agreement, where such liability is incurred as a result of the actions or omissions of such parties. Recipient will obtain and maintain in force at least the following minimum insurance coverages covering all activity under this Agreement, and as to which the City shall be named as additional insured (with any endorsement required by the policy):

Workers Compensation: Statutory Amount
Professional Liability: $1,000,000
Automobile Liability: $1,000,000
Broad Form Comprehensive Liability: $1,000,000/occurrence
Aggregate: $2,000,000

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Application Tips

You can fill in portions of the application, and then save your progress and complete it later: First, enter your email, and then click “Save” on the bottom right of the form at any time. A secure link will be emailed to you which will allow you to come back into the application as many times as needed to complete the application.
You can jump between “Application Sections”: After you select the grant type in the first question, you can use the page buttons at the top of the application to view any of the application sections.
You can revise your application after submitting it: Upon submission of the complete application, a secure link will be emailed to you. You can use that link to update your application up until the time the application closes.

Application Sections

Contact Us

For questions or more information about, email tourism@cob.org or call 360-778-8300.