Several applicants from Lyon County received grant funding last month from the Nevada Commission of Tourism, including the Dayton Valley Events Center, Lyon County Fair Board and Yerington Theatre for the Arts.
Nearly $1 million was given to 148 grant projects from rural Nevada that are designed to increase travel to those areas. The tourism commission manages a marketing grant program to help rural communities of Nevada market their towns to potential visitors around the world in an effort to generate overnight stays, according to the commission’s website.
“Many of the requests were for social media projects or for projects that will augment social media,” said Claudia Vecchio, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs director. “These are very savvy decisions, as today’s travelers increasingly turn to social media to research and plan their vacations.”
This first grant cycle began in early February with applications due in early April, which were awarded at the June 18 meeting. A second cycle begins in early August with applications due Sept. 26 and will be awarded in December.
The state is divided into territories for tourism marketing efforts, and Dayton is within the Pony Express Territory. Among the grant awards within that territory was one for $8,000 — with a request for $10,000 and a total budget listed at $10,000 — to the Dayton Valley Events Center for marketing for rentals and event promotion, part of a process to develop a marketing plan and to develop promotional packets of video and fact sheets to be given to event organizers to better promote the events center.
Within the Silver Trails Territory, which includes southern Lyon County, four grant awards were funded:
• The Lyon County Fair Board was awarded $6,000, of a requested $8,000, for the Silver Stage Youth Livestock Show and Expo, to be used for advertising and electronic communication necessary for public awareness of the livestock show, of a total listed budget of $20,192.
• The Yerington Theatre for the Arts received two grants. One was $5,000 of a requested $7,000 for the YTA/Jeanne Dini Center 2015 season marketing campaign, including website upgrade/redesign and maintenance, with a total budget of $22,100. The other was for $8,000 of a requested $9,500 for YTA/Taste of the Valley marketing-agritourism event, to hire an advertising agency, evaluate assets, create a specific marketing and advertising campaign and manage social media to reinforce Taste of the Valley branding and campaign components to increase audience, with a total budget of $13,700.
• Boys Girls Clubs of Mason Valley received $5,000 of a requested $25,000 for the Night in the Country music festival, for radio ads, billboards, printed materials and social media markets, for a total listed budget of $1.1 million.
The tourism commission, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, receives three-eighths of 1 percent of room tax revenue as its operation budget.
A portion of those funds are used to offer the Rural Grants program, which helps nonprofit groups and government agencies in rural Nevada enhance visitation from overnight stays. Funding for the grants does not come from the state’s general fund.
“Nevada has so many hidden treasures in lesser-known areas of our state,” said Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who chairs the commission. “The tourism professionals in rural Nevada work very hard to find creative, new and interesting ways to bring visitors to these extraordinary areas.”
Rural Grants program recipients must provide a 50-50 match in funds or the equivalent in volunteer hours and use the money to maximize their marketing outreach, which will bring more travelers to Nevada’s rural areas.
TOURISM GRANTS
• • A second grant cycle begins in early August with applications due Sept. 26 and awarded in December.
• • To submit online applications, log on to www.travelnevada.com/industry/grants.