Grants for visitor and convention bureaus

59 convention centers and visitor bureaus received at least $35.7 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 23 grants made from 22 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $2,000. Of these 22 foundations, 95% made just a single grant to visitor bureaus, and 0% made grants to four or more visitor bureaus. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$35,666,302
Total grant dollars given to visitor and convention bureaus
23
Number of grants made annually to visitor and convention bureaus
22
Number of grantmakers funding visitor and convention bureaus
$2,000
Median grant size to visitor and convention bureaus

Foundations that support convention centers and visitor bureaus

Out of all grants made to visitor and convention bureaus, 54% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 99% of the dollar-value of grants to visitor bureaus. Foundations funding visitor bureaus also made grants to trade / professional associations, multiservice human service organizations, historical societies, food banks, and scholarship organizations.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
12
Medium
 
5
Large
 
5
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
2
Private
 
11
Corporate
 
2
Other
 
7

Grants made

Grants made to visitor bureausNumber of grantmakers
1
 
21
2-3
 
1
4-10
 
0
11+
 
0

Top 10 foundations supporting convention centers and visitor bureaus

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to visitor bureausNumber of grants made to visitor bureausMedian grant size
Tauck Ritzau Innovative PhilanthropyDERegional3.4%2$1,750
San Diego Tourism Marketing District (SDTMD)CAMetro95.6%1$35,614,292
Xterra FoundationMNMetro20.2%1$5,000
Dubuque Racing AssociationIAMetro0.5%1$5,000
The Columbus FoundationOHState0.0%1$5,000
University of Iowa Community Credit UnionIAState0.5%1$5,000
Community Foundation of Greater DubuqueIAState0.1%1$5,000
The Arts Council of the Southern Finger LakesNYMetro20.0%1$5,000
Ivy Tech FoundationINMetro0.1%1$5,000
Foundation for Individual LibertyNJNational0.3%1$2,500

Convention centers and visitor bureaus grantees

Visitor and convention bureaus with more than $5 million in total revenues received 99% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 9% of all visitor bureaus.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
22
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
1

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$500
$100k-$500k
 
$2,500
$500k-$1M
 
$2,629
$1M-$5M
 
$2,050
>$5M
 
$17.8 million

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
Massachusetts
 
5
Iowa
 
4
Ohio
 
2
New York
 
2
Other
 
10

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
Boston
 
5
Elmira
 
2
Dubuque
 
2
San Diego
 
1
Other
 
9

Top 25 grants made to visitor and convention bureaus

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
San Diego Tourism Authority / San Diego Convention and Tourist Bureau$35,614,292Psa 1San Diego Tourism Marketing District (SDTMD)
GOAL Foundation$5,000General Operating SupportXterra Foundation
Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau$5,000Conference Room Av SystemDubuque Racing Association
Indian Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau$5,000Arts and HumanitiesThe Columbus Foundation
Go Cedar Rapids$5,000General SupportUniversity of Iowa Community Credit Union
Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau$5,000Community SupportCommunity Foundation of Greater Dubuque
Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau$5,000Decentralization GrantThe Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes
Visit Indy$5,000To Further the Educational Mission of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana.Ivy Tech Foundation
Philadelphia Hospitality$2,500Assistance for Charitable PurposeFoundation for Individual Liberty
Tourism Cares$2,500General & UnrestrictedTauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy
Tourism Cares$2,436CharitableVic and Vicki Weinstein Family Foundation
TCC&VB Education Foundation$2,000UccBernard and Mary Ann Powell Foundation Foundation
Howard County Tourism Council$1,665Holiday Promotion for Old Ellicott CityPatapsco Heritage Greenway
Andersonville Guild$1,000Preserve Historic SiteRoy L Parker Family Foundation
Tourism Cares$1,000Gen'l CharitableMichael Chernow Trust fbo Charity CCC
Tourism Cares$1,000General Exempt PurposeArthur J Gallagher Foundation
Tourism Cares$1,000Special Project - the Jordan TrailTauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy
River District Association$750CharitableStenstrom Foundation
Michigan Cares for Tourism$500Michigan Cares for Tourism EventGreater Lansing Destination Development Foundation
Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau$259Hardship Assistance GrantThe Barbara and Stephen Miller Foundation
Visit Dana Point$200EducationSempra Energy Foundation
Keokuk Area Convention Center and Tourism Bureau Foundation$200Matching GiftsAlliant Energy Foundation
Spirit of Cleveland$0Fair Market ValueDestination Cleveland
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Visitor and convention bureaus" category for this page is determined by the "S33: Visitors, Convention Bureau" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.