
Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grants Program
Recipients of Travel Oregon's Wine Country License Plates Matching Grants Program have been announced.
The Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grants Program has been awarding grants to local communities since 2015. As administrator of the funds, Travel Oregon is pleased to announce that 13 projects have been awarded a total of $306,761 in grant funding through the Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grants Program.
Travel Oregon Awards More than $300,000 Through Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching GrantsApplications were due on Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. PST. Recipients were announced on Nov. 15.
The mission of Travel Oregon is to inspire travel that drives community enhancement and economic development, creating a better life for Oregonians through strong, sustainable local economies. With funding provided through sales of the Oregon Wine Country license plate, Travel Oregon has established a program to make grant awards available to “tourism promotion agencies” for projects that promote wine and culinary tourism.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include those that are “Tourism Promotion Agencies” in Oregon. ORS 320.300 defines “Tourism Promotion Agency” as:
- An incorporated nonprofit organization or governmental unit responsible for the tourism promotion of a destination on a year-round basis.
- A nonprofit entity that manages tourism-related economic development programs and projects.
- A regional or statewide association that represents entities that rely on tourism-related business for more than 50% of their total income.
Project Eligibility
Eligible projects or initiatives must provide for the improvement or expansion of the tourism economy in Oregon. Projects must promote wine and/or culinary tourism. “Tourism promotion” is defined as:
- Advertising, publicizing or distributing information for the purpose of attracting and welcoming visitors.
- Conducting strategic planning and research necessary to stimulate future tourism development.
- Operating tourism promotion agencies (specific to wine and culinary tourism efforts).
- Marketing special events and festivals designed to attract visitors.
Project is intended to increase the likelihood of visitation from 50 miles outside the local area. Though it is not a requirement, ideally, the project will lead to an increase of overnight stays in local lodging facilities. Partnerships with tourism entities and businesses, economic development and/or government entities are looked upon favorably and strengthen an application.
Entity Eligibility
Ineligible applicants include those listed below:
- For-profit entities.
- Entities that have a bankruptcy or other financial corruption within the past five years.
- Entities that fail to fulfill past grant award requirements within the past three years (includes: project completion, submission of required grant reporting, proper use of grant funds).
To Get Started
- Review the 2021-2022 Grant Guidelines.
- Review grant application questions.
- Complete an online application. (The application was open from 8 a.m. on Aug. 11 through 5 p.m. PST on Sept. 15.)
Applicants who have previously applied for an Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grant or one of Travel Oregon’s Competitive Grants may use their existing password to log on. Once logged into your applicant dashboard, you can access the application by selecting “Apply” in the top navigation. All other applicants will need to select “Create New Account” to begin. All submissions are final. Be sure to triple-check your work prior to submitting the application.
Timeline
- Aug. 11, 2021 – Online application opens.
- Sept. 15, 2021 – Online application closes.
- Nov. 15, 2021 – Grant recipients announced.
- Dec. 31, 2022 – Projects must be complete.
Interested in Learning More?
Read up on approved, past grant projects along with rules and amendments.
- Read more about the approved 2020-2021 grant projects
- Read more about the approved 2019-2020 grant projects
- Read more about the approved 2018-2019 grant projects
- Read more about the approved 2017-2018 grant projects
- Read more about the approved 2015-2016 grant projects
To read the full text of the Wine Country License Plate rules as they are currently written, click here.