- Directory of nonprofits
- Grants directory
- Visitor and convention bureaus
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
Foundation size
| Foundation size | Number of grantmakers |
|---|
| Small | |
| Medium | |
| Large | |
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.
Grants made
| Grants made to visitor bureaus | Number of grantmakers |
|---|
| 1 | |
| 2-3 | |
| 4-10 | |
| 11+ | |
Top 10 foundations supporting convention centers and visitor bureaus
| Grantmaker | State | Geographic focus | Percent of grant dollars to visitor bureaus | Number of grants made to visitor bureaus | Median grant size |
|---|
| Tauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy | DE | Regional | 3.4% | 2 | $1,750 |
| San Diego Tourism Marketing District (SDTMD) | CA | Metro | 95.6% | 1 | $35,614,292 |
| Xterra Foundation | MN | Metro | 20.2% | 1 | $5,000 |
| Dubuque Racing Association | IA | Metro | 0.5% | 1 | $5,000 |
| The Columbus Foundation | OH | State | 0.0% | 1 | $5,000 |
| University of Iowa Community Credit Union | IA | State | 0.5% | 1 | $5,000 |
| Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque | IA | State | 0.1% | 1 | $5,000 |
| The Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes | NY | Metro | 20.0% | 1 | $5,000 |
| Ivy Tech Foundation | IN | Metro | 0.1% | 1 | $5,000 |
| Foundation for Individual Liberty | NJ | National | 0.3% | 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 grant | Number of grants |
|---|
| <$10k | |
| $10k-$25k | |
| $25k-$100k | |
| $100k+ | |
Grant amount by grantee size
| Grantee annual revenue | Median grant size |
|---|
| <$100k | |
| $100k-$500k | |
| $500k-$1M | |
| $1M-$5M | |
| >$5M | |
Top 25 grants made to visitor and convention bureaus
| Grantee | Grant size | Purpose | Grantmaker |
|---|
| San Diego Tourism Authority / San Diego Convention and Tourist Bureau | $35,614,292 | Psa 1 | San Diego Tourism Marketing District (SDTMD) |
| GOAL Foundation | $5,000 | General Operating Support | Xterra Foundation |
| Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau | $5,000 | Conference Room Av System | Dubuque Racing Association |
| Indian Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau | $5,000 | Arts and Humanities | The Columbus Foundation |
| Go Cedar Rapids | $5,000 | General Support | University of Iowa Community Credit Union |
| Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau | $5,000 | Community Support | Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque |
| Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau | $5,000 | Decentralization Grant | The Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes |
| Visit Indy | $5,000 | To Further the Educational Mission of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. | Ivy Tech Foundation |
| Philadelphia Hospitality | $2,500 | Assistance for Charitable Purpose | Foundation for Individual Liberty |
| Tourism Cares | $2,500 | General & Unrestricted | Tauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy |
| Tourism Cares | $2,436 | Charitable | Vic and Vicki Weinstein Family Foundation |
| TCC&VB Education Foundation | $2,000 | Ucc | Bernard and Mary Ann Powell Foundation Foundation |
| Howard County Tourism Council | $1,665 | Holiday Promotion for Old Ellicott City | Patapsco Heritage Greenway |
| Andersonville Guild | $1,000 | Preserve Historic Site | Roy L Parker Family Foundation |
| Tourism Cares | $1,000 | Gen'l Charitable | Michael Chernow Trust fbo Charity CCC |
| Tourism Cares | $1,000 | General Exempt Purpose | Arthur J Gallagher Foundation |
| Tourism Cares | $1,000 | Special Project - the Jordan Trail | Tauck Ritzau Innovative Philanthropy |
| River District Association | $750 | Charitable | Stenstrom Foundation |
| Michigan Cares for Tourism | $500 | Michigan Cares for Tourism Event | Greater Lansing Destination Development Foundation |
| Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau | $259 | Hardship Assistance Grant | The Barbara and Stephen Miller Foundation |
| Visit Dana Point | $200 | Education | Sempra Energy Foundation |
| Keokuk Area Convention Center and Tourism Bureau Foundation | $200 | Matching Gifts | Alliant Energy Foundation |
| Spirit of Cleveland | $0 | Fair Market Value | Destination 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.