The Auburn LTAC (Lodging Tax Advisory Committee) is accepting applications for 2019 grant funding.
The City Council awards grants annually based on the recommendations of the committee. Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. Recipient selection may be announced as early as January 2019.
The City of Auburn provides grant funding for the promotion of events and activities that encourage, welcome and entertain tourists and visitors. These grants are funded through local and state Hotel Motel Excise Tax collected on accommodations within the City of Auburn.
About the grant
Program funding is allocated to activities that promote tourism and generate overnight guests to Auburn. Pursuits which will be considered for funding are activities, operations and expenditures designed to increase tourism. Specifically, lodging tax grants can be used for marketing and operations of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists.
The expected outcome of such activities would be to increase economic activity during the funding year and subsequent years by increasing guests lodged in the area, meals purchased in the city, shopping at local retail businesses, and the availability and accessibility of tourism related facilities.
All recipients of lodging tax revenue, regardless of what the revenue is to be used for, must submit a report describing the actual number of travelers generated. Good faith estimates of actuals can be reported, provided applicants and users of funds indicate how those estimates will be developed. These reports are due immediately after the event or activity.
Application process
Applications may be submitted by any organization, group, or business (not-for-profit, municipality, etc.) interested in promoting tourism in Auburn. Selected applicants may be invited to provide an oral presentation to the Auburn Tourism Board (ATB).
Committee recommendations are completed and submitted to the City Council by the end of December. Monies are distributed as reimbursement and contingent upon the recipient completing an After Event Report which documents how many overnight visitors the event brought to Auburn, no later than a week after the event date.
Those interested in applying for the grant or those with questions regarding requirements and process should contact Lorraine Chachere, City of Auburn tourism coordinator at 253-876–1978 or lchachere@auburnwa.gov.
