Harford County Tourism Funding Applications Open March 11

Harford County Office of Economic Development will begin accepting applications from qualified nonprofits on Monday, March 11 for its 2025 Tourism Funding Program. The program supports events and activities that draw overnight visitors and is funded by revenue from the county’s 6% hotel tax.

According to the Maryland Office of Tourism, an overnight visitor to Harford County spends an average of $1,200 per visit, compared to a day-tripper who spends about $98.

The 2025 Tourism Funding program will offer two types of funding: the Partnership Fund and the Harford Strides Fund. Applicants must be 501(c)3 or 501(c)6 organizations.

The Partnership Fund has a total of $550K available to support organizations that work together on large-scale events or events that span multiple days. There is no limit to the number of partnering organizations in a single application, but at least two of them must be qualified tourism-related nonprofits.

The Harford Strides Fund has a total of $220K available for funding for up to two consecutive years to help tourism-related organizations that are in the early stages of program development. Any group that applies for Strides funding is ineligible for Partnership Fund dollars.

Workshops to assist all applicants will be available in-person and online. The workshops will cover program eligibility and ideas on how to develop partnerships with other qualifying organizations. In-person workshops will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, at 220 S. Main St. in Bel Air and at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 14 at 2021D Pulaski Highway in Havre de Grace. A virtual meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday, March 15. To register for the in-person or virtual sessions, email Bonnie Barresi at bebarresi@harfordcountymd.gov.

Applications will be posted online on March 11 at https://www.harfordcountymd.gov/2678/Tourism.

The application deadline is Friday, May 3, 2024.