CHAPTER 35
REGIONAL TOURISM MARKETING GRANT PROGRAM
261—35.1(82GA,SF302) Purpose. The purpose of the regional tourism marketing grant program is to establish the procedures and guidelines for the distribution of department funding for out-of-state cooperative advertising grants.
261—35.2(82GA,SF302) Definitions.
“Cooperative advertising” means advertising placement that will appear in an out-of-state market targeted by the office of tourism of the Iowa department of economic development.
“Department” means the Iowa department of economic development.
“Eligible applicant” means a public or private member in a county in good standing in one of the three tourism regions.
“Match” means the local cash provided by the eligible applicant for advertising placement.
“Out-of-state market” means Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wisconsin.
“Review committee” means a panel of members appointed by each tourism region (two per region) and a member of the department’s advertising agency of record to read and score submitted applications.
“Tourism regions” means the following three tourism regions: Western Iowa Tourism Region (WITR), Central Iowa Tourism Region (CITR), and Eastern Iowa Tourism Association (EITA).
261—35.3(82GA,SF302) Eligible applicants.
	35.3(1) Only members of tourism regions in good standing with the department are eligible to receive funding under this grant program.
	35.3(2) The county in which the applicant is located must also be in good standing with its tourism region.
	35.3(3) An organization may only submit one application for out-of-state advertising, either individually or as a partner in a joint advertising project. All partners in a joint advertising project must meet the eligible applicant criteria.
261—35.4(82GA,SF302) Use of funds.
	35.4(1) Grant funds shall only be used to place advertising in out-of-state markets targeted by the department’s office of tourism. Grant funds shall not be used to pay for production costs. Grant funds may be used to place advertising in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, billboards or online advertising.
	35.4(2) Grant funds shall be used to pay for up to 50 percent of the advertising placement costs. The match for the advertising placement must be cash.
261—35.5(82GA,SF302) Application procedures and content.
	35.5(1) Applications must be completed and submitted to the department.
	35.5(2) Application materials may be obtained from the western (www.traveliowa.org), central (www.iowatourism.com), or eastern (www.easterniowatourism.org) Iowa tourism regions.
	35.5(3) The source of funding for this grant program is a portion of gaming revenues that is allotted to the department quarterly. The grant application materials will indicate how much funding is available for the fiscal year and the maximum grant amount available.
	35.5(4) An application shall include, at a minimum, the following:
	a. 	The applicant’s name, mailing address, E-mail address, telephone number, contact person and federal employer identification number.
	b. 	A description of the advertising to be placed including the market targeted, the date or dates on which the advertising will appear, and the size or length of the advertising.
	c. 	An advertising plan and budget for the advertising including source of match dollars.
	d. 	A timetable for the advertising.
	e. 	The advertising goals.
	f. 	The proposed method for tracking and measuring the effectiveness of the advertising and the return on investment.
261—35.6(82GA,SF302) Application review and approval procedures.
	35.6(1) The review committee shall read and score all applications.
	35.6(2) The review committee shall review applications to ensure that the following program eligibility requirements are met: the application is from an eligible applicant; the advertising will be placed out of state in a market targeted by the office of tourism; a 50 percent match in cash is available; an advertising plan has been developed; and a method to measure the effectiveness of the advertising has been developed.
	35.6(3) The review committee shall recommend to the department the applications to be approved for funding.
261—35.7(82GA,SF302) Funding of grants; contracting.
	35.7(1) Funding amount. For fiscal year 2008, $100,000 is available to the department for regional tourism marketing. The amount of funding available in subsequent years is contingent upon the amount allotted to the department pursuant to 2007 Iowa Acts, Senate File 302.
	35.7(2) Contracts with tourism regions. The department will enter into a contract with a tourism region to provide funding for those applicants located in that tourism region that were approved by the department to receive grant funds.
	35.7(3) Notice of approval. Successful applicants will be notified by their tourism region in writing of the approval of a grant, including any conditions and terms of the approval.
	35.7(4) Contracts. Each successful applicant shall contract with its respective tourism region (WITR, CITR, EITA) for cooperative advertising funding approved by the department. The tourism region shall prepare an agreement that includes, but is not limited to, a description of the advertising placement, terms and conditions to receipt of grant funds, and the repayment requirements or other penalties imposed in the event the grant recipient does not fulfill its obligations in the agreement.
	35.7(5) Evaluation. Each successful applicant shall submit to its tourism region within 60 days of the placement of advertising a written evaluation summarizing the results of the out-of-state marketing grant.
	35.7(6) Records. Each tourism region shall maintain adequate records to document and verify that grant funds were spent in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
These rules are intended to implement 2007 Iowa Acts, Senate File 302.
[Filed emergency 10/18/07 after Notice 9/12/07—published 11/7/07, effective 10/18/07]