The Travel Oregon City City-Sponsored Public Event Grant Program aims to bolster the community's tourism industry and solidify its brand by supporting well-organized and well-publicized events. This program is open to non-profit organizations and for-profit businesses that produce public events utilizing public rights-of-way and/or publicly owned facilities. The core mission alignment is to enhance local economic growth through tourism, ensuring accountability to taxpayers, benefiting local businesses, and supporting viable existing and new public events.
The target beneficiaries of this program include non-profit organizations and for-profit businesses capable of producing public events that attract a minimum of 1,000+ tourists from across the region. The program's impact goals are to increase tourist attendance and create an environment where visitors are encouraged to spend money with existing local businesses, thereby bolstering the local economy and enhancing the community’s tourism brand. The events must also support the tourism brand and contribute to the community's "hometown feel" and unique identity, exemplified by "Oregon’s Hometown, welcome home!".
Key priorities and focuses include transparency in grant funding awards, the resilience and financial stability of events, and demonstrating public support and demand. Applicants are expected to present accurate historical financial reporting and well-prepared financial estimates for future performance. A significant focus is also on substantiating visitor attendance levels and their origination, rather than relying on estimations. Additionally, applicants must involve multiple vendors as partners, with a preference for Oregon City-based vendors, to spread financial benefits beyond the primary organizers.
Expected outcomes include a measurable increase in tourist attendance and economic activity for local businesses, leading to a stronger local economy and an enhanced community tourism brand. Public event producers/organizers are required to clearly recognize Oregon City Municipal Government as a sponsor by affixing the Oregon City Tourism Logo and brand slogan to all advertising. Measurable results will be determined through annual evaluations of previous public events, assessing their financial stability, growth, and the stability or growth of visitor attendance levels. The program's strategic priorities are rooted in fostering growing, stable, and viable public events that can demonstrate sustained public support and demand, aligning with a theory of change that increased tourism and local business engagement will lead to a more robust and recognized community.
