‘It was extremely competitive this year’: Visit Bend selects 15 organizations for Cultural Tourism Fund grants

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Visit Bend has selected 15 organizations for this year's Cultural Tourism Fund grants. It's an investment in activities and programs that help local groups bring in visitors. 

A total of $400,000 in funding will go to the arts and culture organizations. This will help with marketing resources aimed at bringing in more visitors during the "shoulder seasons" of spring and fall, as well as the winter months. 

"It just helps elevate the level of our production," Greenhouse Cabaret owner John Kish said Wednesday.

Old Mill District Marketing Director Beau Eastes said the grant "allows us to maybe be a little bit more aggressive, booking some shows that we know we might need a little bit of extra marketing help."

 Theatre company Greenhouse Cabaret and the Old Mill District are two of the 15 organizations awarded funding from Visit Bend this year. The Cultural Tourism Commission met, scored and ranked dozens of applications. Organizations selected scored 79 points or more out of 100.  

"It was extremely competitive this year," Visit Bend CEO Kevney Dugan said. "I think we had 32 applicants looking for close to $1.2 million, so we were not able to satisfy everybody's expectations."

 Greenhouse Cabaret will get $23,000. They're gearing up to showcase five shows for next season.

Kish said, "It usually goes towards like poster design marketing, any of our graphic design professional photo shoot with our casts of every show, and then also a commercial that we usually air and film as well."

The Old Mill was awarded $20,000. The money will go toward funding marketing efforts for three concerts in September -- Kidz Bop, Jelly Roll and The Counting Crows. 

Anyone staying in a Bend hotel, vacation rental or other short-term lodging has contributed to the $400,000 in funding. It comes from the city's 10.4% room tax. Of the tax collected by the city, Visit Bend receives 31.2% to put into their efforts to attract more tourists. 

Eastes added, "It's a really a great way to use those TRT dollars, this transit room tax dollars to help support established programing, but also really uplift and help foster newer events in town, too."

 Other recipients include the High Desert Museum, Bend Yoga Festival and BendFilm. 

 Since 2015, the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund has awarded $2 million for 102 projects.