Bend Sustainability Fund invites community to vote for their favorite grant proposals
(Update: Adding video, interview)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Bend Sustainability Fund, a Visit Bend project, announces the opportunity for the community to help determine funding decisions for this year’s grant cycle by submitting a ballot HERE from Nov. 1-12.
Five ballots will be drawn at random, with each of those participants given the opportunity to select one of the organizations on the ballot to receive an additional $500. Grant awards will be announced in December.
The Bend Sustainability Fund will award $692,000 to organizations in the community working to protect, steward, and create sustainable recreational resources and outdoor experiences in and around Bend.
“Community support for these projects is an important part of the grant selection process,” said Serena Bishop Gordon, Sustainability Director at Visit Bend “Understanding how people rank these potential facilities will be a factor in how we understand our community’s priorities as it relates to long term, sustainable projects that make Bend a great place to live and visit for years to come.”
The Bend Sustainability Fund invests in projects that meet the following criteria:
- Will protect, steward or create a tourism-related facility with a life of up to 10 years;
- Will have substantial use by visitors
- Has a clear timeline and measurable outcomes within the next 12 months;
- Has grassroots, community support
Examples of funded projects can be found here: https://sustainability.visitbend.com/projects/
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ABOUT VISIT BEND: Visit Bend is a non-membership, non-profit economic development organization dedicated to promoting tourism responsibly on behalf of the City of Bend. We’re a leading provider of information on Bend, Oregon hotels, restaurants, activities, and Oregon vacation planning. To learn more or to order a complimentary Official Visitor Guide to Bend, contact Visit Bend at 1-800-949-6086 or visit visitbend.com.
ABOUT THE BEND SUSTAINABILITY FUND: The Bend Sustainability Fund, a Visit Bend Project, reinvests short-term lodging tax revenue paid by visitors into tourism related facilities that create and steward sustainable experiences within Bend's community.
The fund was created in 2021 with the aim of supporting the Bend community as a vibrant place to live and visit for generations to come. Since its inception, the Bend Sustainability Fund has awarded $2,290,000 to 17 projects.
Visit Bend is funded by a portion of the transient room tax generated through short-term lodging stays within Bend's city limits, distributed by the City of Bend. A portion of this restricted tax funds the Bend Sustainability Fund.
