The Vision Iowa Board Wednesday awarded just over $125,000 in grants to help several communities attract tourists. Vision Iowa spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says the marketing grants are divided among 15 projects.
She says the funding can be used for print, broadcast or online advertising. The maximum grant is $15,000 and applicants are required to provide at least a 50-percent (50%) match. One of the grants, for just over $4,200, was awarded to the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society in Clarinda.
O’Riley says the grant will help the attraction target group tours with advertising in a number of regional publications. In Mason City, supporters of the Historic Park Inn Hotel were awarded a marketing grant of $6,300.
“They’re doing very targeted marketing to preservation magazines…to lure in those architect fanatics to see the Frank Lloyd Wright property,” O’Riley said. The other marketing grants will benefit projects in Des Moines, Waterloo, Sioux City, Iowa City, Osage, Coon Rapids, Fairfield, Waverly and Manning.
Here’s a list of the projects and award amounts:
Edmundson Art Foundation (dba Des Moines Art Center), Des Moines – $15,000
Waterloo Center for the Arts (Phelps Youth Pavilion), Waterloo – $15,000
Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines – $15,000
Siouxland Historical Railroad Association (Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District), Sioux City – $14,853
The Englert Theatre, Inc, Iowa City – $13,500
Polk County (Science Center of Iowa) – $12,015
Polk County Board of Supervisors (Iowa Events Center) – $9,798
City of Osage (Cedar River Recreation and Fine Arts Complex) – $8,450.62
Mason City Chamber of Commerce Foundation (Historic Park Inn Hotel) – $6,302.50
Glenn Miller Birthplace Society, Clarinda – $4,210.50
Whiterock Conservancy, Coon Rapids – $3,911.22
Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, Fairfield – $2,452.25
Polk County Conservation (High Trestle Trail) – $2,207.50
City of Waverly (Tendrils Rooftop Garden & Community Arts Pavilion) – $1,472.76
Manning Hausbarn-Heritage Park, Manning – $1,025.25