Hospitality Tax Grants

The Hospitality Tax Grant Application period is open between July 31 and August 31, 2023 to all organizations that submitted a Notice of Intent to Apply and were subsequently approved to submit a full application.

Purpose
The goal of the Hospitality Tax Grant program is to draw more visitors to the City of Greenwood who patronize local eating and drinking establishments, while simultaneously enriching the quality of life for current City residents through:

Advertisement, marketing, and promotion of events and other tourism related development
Attract tourism leading to dining at restaurants and other eating/drinking establishments in the City of Greenwood
Support and highlight Greenwood’s historic and cultural venues, recreational facilities, and events

Process
All organizations that are interested in applying for Hospitality Tax Grant funding must complete and submit a Notice of Intent to Apply (NOIA) form between July 3 and July 21, 2023.

City staff will review the NOIA to ensure that the project/program/event aligns with grant guidelines and applicable state laws. This review process provides an opportunity for City staff to obtain additional information, should it be required, and to submit feedback to applicants. Applications will be dispersed to all eligible organizations after the NOIA review is complete.

All applications and supporting materials will be reviewed to ensure they are complete. Each application will be evaluated against the criteria described below by a committee of City staff, led by the City Manager. The City Manager is responsible for submitting funding recommendations to City Council, which makes all final funding decisions.

The committee will consider the criteria below when evaluating all requests:

The degree to which the organization, program, project, or event is likely to draw visitors to the City of Greenwood.
The impact of the organization, program, project, or event has on the quality of life for City residents.
The expected direct economic impact of the organization, program, project, or event.
The prior success and managerial track record of sponsoring organization.
The degree to which the organization, project, program, or event is supported by other community partners. Applications should reflect financial support from other local partners – It is not the intention of City Council for H-Tax grants to be the sole or majority local funding source for any organization project, program, or event.
The completeness of the application information (including reporting on prior year results for those who received funds in prior year).

Deadlines