Anchorage Chamber Of Commerce: Municipality Of Anchorage Accepting Tourism Grant Program Applications

Press release from Anchorage Chamber of Commerce :

February 01, 2021

The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) will begin accepting applications for the Tourism Grant Program on February 3, 2021. The $7 million business relief program is supported by the MOA's $156 million in CARES Act funding.
 
The Tourism Grant Program will provide three tiers of grants – $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000 – to various businesses and organizations that rely primarily on visitation to the community. Grant amounts depend on the size of the business, as measured by 2019 income. The grant supports Anchorage tourism businesses that have experienced economic hardship and income loss from the pandemic’s effects on outside visitation. The eligibility criteria for businesses include the following:

• Must have a business address located within the Municipality of Anchorage.
• Must be an existing business or nonprofit organization with a significant reliance on leisure and business travel (70% or more of annual gross receipts dependent upon visitors traveling to Anchorage from outside the municipality, based on 2019 receipts).
• Must have a loss of income greater than 60% in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the reduction in out-of-community visitors as customers, cancellation of meetings and conventions, etc., due to COVID-19.
• Must be able to provide a Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN).
• Businesses that received grants through the MOA’s Hospitality Grant program tiers A, B, or C are not eligible. Businesses that received funding through other grant programs may be eligible for the Tourism Grant Program, provided grants already received and/or loan amounts eligible for forgiveness are included as revenues when calculating overall revenue for 2020.

Applications will be reviewed and managed by a panel comprising MOA, Visit Anchorage, and community and philanthropy advisors. Visit Anchorage will oversee disbursement and accounting.
 
Businesses may apply online. The deadline to apply is February 17, 2021. Additional information about the Tourism Grant Program may be found in this FAQ document. Applicants can email grant@anchorage.net with questions or for technical help with the application process.
 
Additional information about the MOA's grant programs may be found on the COVID-19 website.

This press release was produced by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed are the author's own.