Advertising Reimbursement Grant

To Apply:
 

Please submit your application electronically by the respective deadline.
Late applications will be considered based on availability of funds. All applications must be submitted via email to: jconners@cityofmarfa.com

Deadlines: 
 

- The City of Marfa is accepting HOT applications for events occurring April 1 - September 30, 2024. Please send completed applications to jconners@cityofmarfa.com no later than 5 pm on Monday, March 18, 2024

Awards: 
 

The maximum grant award will not exceed $3,500. Grant monies are given on a reimbursement basis only, not as a cash donation.
In order to receive reimbursement, organizations must:
1) provide copies of invoices 
2) provide a completed Post-Event Report Form within thirty days following the event.

*The City of Marfa must be properly credited, with the City’s Tourism logo included, on all advertising and promotion of the event or project.

Requirements: 
 

By law of the State of Texas, the City of Marfa collects a Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) from hotels, short-term vacation rentals, and other lodging facilities. Under state law, the revenue from the HOT:
1. may be used only to directly promote tourism and the hotel and convention industry.
2. is limited to specific events and activities which, for the purposes of this application, include advertising, solicitations and promotions.

City Policy:
 

The City of Marfa accepts Advertising Grant applications from groups and businesses whose program fits into the above requirements. Requests for funds must be submitted in writing and accompanied by the official application by the listed deadline. The application will be reviewed by the City of Marfa HOT Fund Committee. This committee is appointed by council and is comprised of individuals from local tourism, arts, and preservation fields and by Marfa citizens. The applicant may be asked to be present at a meeting of the Committee to answer any questions regarding the application. Applicants will be notified one week prior to the meeting of the time and place for the review. Based on the application, the City of Marfa HOT Fund Committee will make a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will make the final decision on all requests.

Eligibility & Priority:
 

1. Priority will be given to events and entities based on their ability to generate overnight visitors to Marfa. If an event will not generate any meaningful hotel night activity, it is not eligible for receipt of hotel occupancy tax funds. Events can prove this potential to generate overnight visitors by:

• historic information on the number of room nights used during previous years of the same event;
• current information on the size of a room block that has been reserved at area hotels to accommodate anticipated overnight guests attending the funded event;
• historical information on the number of guests at hotel or other lodging facilities that attended the funded event (through surveys, guest directories, or other sources; and/or examples of the planned marketing of the programs and activities that will likely generate overnight visitors to local lodging properties from this event.

2. Priority will be given to organizations that rent the Tourism/USO Building or Marfa Activity Center for their event.

3. The advertising reimbursement grant encourages organizations to advertise their events in media markets outside the local area in order to generate overnight visitors.

• Advertising directed to individuals outside of the Tri-County area may be reimbursed at 100% of the advertising cost. Examples may include spots on Marfa Public Radio, flyers placed in local and regional hotels, motels, and other room rentals, and ads and promotion placed in regional or national publications or websites.
• Ads placed in local newspapers may be reimbursed at the following rates. (Rates are based on number of subscriptions: 34% of the cost of ads placed in The Big Bend Sentinel, 26% of the cost of ads placed in The Presidio International, 53% of the cost of ads placed in The Alpine Avalanche, and 66% of the cost of ads placed in The Jeff Davis County Mountain Dispatch (percentages are based on ratio of outside of the Tri-County area subscriptions to total subscriptions). Only KTRS radio advertising will be considered as outside Tri-County area instead of the local area.