For additional details regarding how these opportunities can be utilized, please contact the CTO Communications Manager Abby Leeper at abby.leeper@co.state.us or 720-662-4049

SUPPORTCRISIS RECOVERY

IN CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS AND TOURISM CRISIS SITUATIONS,

THE COLORADO TOURISM OFFICE (CTO) OFFERS A VARIETY OF CRISIS RECOVERY ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES.

C O L O R A D O T O U R I S M O F F I C E

Funding opportunities are key means of recovery support from the State of Colorado. In addition to the CTO grant options listed below, the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) offers microloans and mentorship workshops to small businesses. For more information on these resources, please reach out to Abby Leeper and she will connect you with the particular division of OEDIT that can assist.

Marketing Matching GrantsPROGRAM OVERVIEWThe Colorado Tourism Office’s Marketing Matching Grant Program provides funding to not-for-profit organizations in the State of Colorado for the purpose of promoting the state or a region as a tourism destination. Travel regions throughout the state are eligible for these grant dollars, as well as statewide associations, organizations and other nonprofit entities that engage in promoting travel throughout the entire state. These grants are competitive and are awarded annually.

GRANT DETAILSMarketing matching grants award up to $25,000 with a 1:1 cash match from the grant recipient. Small marketing matching grants are competitive and award up to $10,000 with a 25 percent cash match from the grant recipient.

An applicant’s annual marketing budget cannot exceed $100,000.

APPLICATION PROCESSGrants are project-specific and must be detailed in the application. The FY2019 Marketing Matching Grant online application window has closed. Information on the FY2020 grant cycle will be available in late spring/early summer 2019 and will be accessible via industry.colorado.com.

The CTO encourages interested organizations to emphasize the crisis situation’s impact on day-to-day operations as well as its long-term effects on the organization’s goals. For example, please mention any unordinary closures and furloughed employees, as well as anticipated budget impacts for the year. Small grants are awarded in part based on need, while large grants are based in part on ability to generate economic impact.

Project & Technical Assistance GrantsPROGRAM OVERVIEWThe Project and Technical Assistance Grant Program provides funding to local Colorado municipalities, city or county governments, or not-for-profit tourism organizations in the State of Colorado for the purpose of supporting projects that contribute to the development of the tourism industry statewide. Projects will target the technical development of tourism and support new efforts and initiatives. These grants are competitive and awarded annually.

GRANT DETAILSProject and Technical Assistance Grants award up to $15,000 with a 25 percent cash match from the grant recipient.

Each applicant is limited to one Project and Technical Assistance Grant project per fiscal year.

APPLICATION PROCESSApplications are accepted on a rolling basis. This is a competitive program and not all eligible applications will be chosen.

That said the CTO encourages interested organizations to emphasize the crisis situation’s impact on day-to-day operations as well as its long-term effects on the organization’s goals. For example, please mention any unordinary closures and furloughed employees, as well as anticipated budget impacts for the year.

For more information regarding Marketing Matching Grants or Project & Technical Assistance Grants, please email Manager of Destination Development Elizabeth O’Rear at elizabeth.orear@state.co.us.

Colorado Microloans ProgramPROGRAM OVERVIEWThe Colorado Microloans Program provides small loans to start-ups and entrepreneurial small businesses that are underserved by traditional debt markets. This program is the creation of the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC), is administered by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), and is implemented by the participating lenders.

The goal of this program is that Colorado small businesses have adequate access to capital. The program focuses on small, character-based loans to small businesses, especially in rural areas.

LOAN REQUIREMENTS The loan amount must be between

$5,000 and $50,000.

The loan term may be up to 8 years.

The maximum interest rate allowed is the prime rate plus 2 percent.

For additional information, please contact Ken Jensen at ken.jensen@state.co.us.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

2

The CTO offers multiple marketing communications opportunities to support areas impacted by crisis situations including focused pitching and news releases to generate influencer and media coverage of the destination.

News Releases Impacted destinations are encouraged to send unique and newsworthy travel ideas for inclusion in the CTO’s monthly news releases. Topics and focus vary by month and are distributed to statewide and national travel media. Please contact CTO Communications Manager Abby Leeper at abby.leeper@state.co.us for a list of upcoming topics and to discuss additional ways the PR team can support destinations impacted by crisis situations.

Newsletters And Web FeaturesDestinations impacted by crisis situations are encouraged to send upcoming events, recovery/benefit opportunities and travel feature ideas for us to include in newsletters, eBlasts and web features.

COLORADO CONNECTIONColorado Connection is the monthly voice of the CTO and is distributed to industry and destination partners statewide. It features news, events, initiatives, comings and goings, ways to get involved and more. As of November 2018, the distribution list is 2,790 email addresses.

COLORADO.COM EBLASTSThe CTO distributes monthly eBlasts—one targeting out-of-state travelers and the other targeting in-state travelers—and features at least one destination in each message. The feature includes a destination summary and photo and is an excellent opportunity for partners to reach tourists looking for unique travel offerings.

As of November 2018, the in-state distribution list reaches more than 24,000 in-state consumers. This eBlast can include crisis recovery information and opportunities to give back within the destination feature.

As of November 2018, the out-of-state distribution list reaches 298,000 out-of-state consumers. This eBlast will not include crisis recovery information but can highlight specific travel offerings within a crisis-impacted destination through a destination feature.

To learn more about inclusion in Colorado.com eBlasts, please contact Hannah Brown at Hannah.Brown@MilesPartnership.com.

WEB FEATURESThe CTO is always looking for additional content to feature on Colorado.com. Partners are encouraged to submit upcoming events, including recovery opportunities, to the Colorado.com event calendar. The CTO regularly features trip ideas on the Colorado Adventure Blog and highlights travel opportunities on the features page.

To learn more about articles and event page opportunities, please contact Hannah Brown at Hannah.Brown@MilesPartnership.com.

The CTO offers free business listings and travel itineraries for posting on Colorado.com. To learn more about these opportunities, please contact Kaiti Jacobson at kaiti.jacobson@state.co.us.

Social MediaPRIORITY POSTS AND SHARINGThe CTO prioritizes social media posts and sharing opportunities for destinations impacted by crisis situations. Key examples of content the CTO can promote and share include upcoming recovery events or opportunities, key updates for visitors and unique travel offerings.

Please send sharable content to Social Media Manager Dave Fluegge at dave.fluegge@colorado.com.

Additionally, destination partners are encouraged to tag content and photos with the hashtag #COLORADOLIVE so the CTO can easily find them. The CTO can share photos with this hashtag on social media and the web.

INSTAGRAM TAKEOVERAdditionally, destinations can sign up to take over the CTO’s Instagram account. After a brief social media training from the CTO, destinations gain access to take over the Visit Colorado Instagram account for one week to showcase the best of

the destination. This opportunity provides destinations with access to the CTO’s 139,000 followers.

To sign up for an Instagram takeover opportunity, please contact Social Media Manager Dave Fluegge at dave.fluegge@colorado.com.

CONTENT CREWIn 2018 the CTO launched the Colorado Content Crew that travels the state to cover events, festivals, snow days, etc. Content Crew takes over the Visit Colorado social media channels to spotlight real-time happenings across the state and could be deployed in a recovery situation to highlight that an area is open for business.

To learn more details about the Colorado Content Crew and how it may be able to help, please contact Social Media Manager Dave Fluegge at dave.fluegge@colorado.com

SOCIAL MEDIA CO-OP ADVERTISINGThe CTO offers the Paid Social Media Co-op Advertising effort that leverages the power of the CTO’s social channels to provide more widespread distribution of partner content. The program’s premise is to promote industry partner content on CTO social media channels and push consumers to content on partner pages/sites. In addition, the CTO offers the opportunity not only to increase partner reach into the marketplace, but also to ensure that the promoted content goes to the partner’s target audience, using various social media targeting.

In order to participate in the co-op, partners must invest a minimum of $1,000. The CTO will match the investment dollar for dollar up to $2,500. The industry partner decides the best target audience based on age, geolocation and interests. The CTO then crafts social messages and launches a paid media campaign with the partner’s goals in mind.

For more information regarding Social Media Co-Op Advertising, please contact CTO Social Media Manager Dave Fluegge at dave.fluegge@colorado.com.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS RESOURCES

3

Colorado Rural Academy For Tourism Mentor PROGRAM OVERVIEW Colorado Rural Academy for Tourism (CRAFT) Mentor Program provides up to 50 free hours of mentoring for organizations or businesses wishing to advance a specific tourism-related goal or strategy. The program exists to stimulate the development of high quality cultural, heritage, agricultural and outdoor adventure tourism experiences for travelers in Colorado.

APPLICATION PROCESSThe program is free of charge and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

To apply, organizations complete a short online application and submit a basic business plan. Applications will be reviewed and recommendations made for approval based on eligibility and funding availability. Applicants will be notified of project status within two weeks of application submittal. This is a competitive program and not all eligible applications will be chosen.

That said we encourage interested organizations to emphasize the crisis situation’s impact on day-to-day operations as well as its long-term effects on the organization’s goals. For example, please mention any unordinary closures and furloughed employees, as well as anticipated budget impacts for the year.

IMPLEMENTATION GRANTAfter successful completion of CRAFT Mentor, projects are eligible to apply for funding up to $1,000. Implementation grant applications are due within one year after the completion of a CRAFT Mentor project.

For additional information regarding CRAFT Mentor, please contact the CTO Grant Manager Elizabeth O’Rear at Elizabeth.orear@state.us.co.

Disaster Recovery And Continuity GuideAfter the natural disasters in the fall of 2013, the Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) disaster relief team worked with federal, state and local resources to produce a comprehensive guide to assist Colorado businesses in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters and emergencies. To request a hard copy of this guide, please contact your local SBDC. Please visit https://www.coloradosbdc.org/consulting/disaster-relief to learn more about disaster consulting.

MESSAGING SUPPORTThrough its statewide network, the CTO offers informal mentorship opportunities with destination partners who have previously experienced large-scale disasters. To learn more about informal mentorship opportunities, please contact CTO Communications Manager Abby Leeper at abby.leeper@state.co.us.

Additionally, the CTO can provide best practices and complimentary guidance regarding recovery messaging, ranging from social media to traditional media pitching. To learn more about these practices, please contact CTO Communications Manager Abby Leeper at abby.leeper@state.co.us.

MENTORSHIP AND MESSAGING SUPPORT

4