Sep. 7—Nearly $95,000 in annual grants through the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau will be available to area organizations for special events, festivals and celebrations to be held during Joplin's upcoming fiscal year.
Funding for the grants comes from the city's hotel and motel tax collections.
Convention bureau director Patrick Tuttle presented the grant recommendations to the Joplin City Council on Monday night and received approval to distribute them. The grant awards are selected and recommended through an application process conducted by the bureau's advisory board. Members of the board reviewed the applications and heard presentations from the applicants during meetings in June and July.
The grants are provided to help applicants promote tourism activities that could contribute to stays at local hotels and motels and create a positive image of Joplin.
The grants are available to both nonprofit and for-profit organizations for events to be held between Nov. 1, 2023, and Oct, 31, 2024. The events must be held within 20 miles of the Joplin city limits and be open to the public.
There were 19 applications from 17 organizations with the requests amounting to $267,614. However, funding for the grant program is capped at $140,000. Up to $130,000 is awarded through the initial grant process, with $10,000 kept in reserve and awarded throughout the fiscal year in smaller amounts by the convention bureau director.
In the review, the board rated the applications on factors that included an event's tourism draw, potential room nights, growth potential, previous funding and reporting standards, overall appeal, and community development. Total scores from those ratings determine which requests to fund.
The approved grants:
—$6,000 to MO-KAN Dragway to help fund its 2024 marketing campaign.
—$14,000 for Monster Games 2024, put on by the Midwestern Built CrossFit.
—$3,500 for the 19th annual Four States Open by the Joplin Disc Golf Club.
—$7,500 for the Mother Road Mayhem truck show by Mother Road Mayhem.
—$3,000 for Eagles Lair III, by Joplin Esports Booster Club at Joplin High School in the spring.
—$3,000 for Eagles Lair IV, Joplin Esports Booster Club at Joplin High School.
—$5,000 for the National Junior College Athletic Association Men's Division 2 Golf National Championship at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club.
—$5,000 for the American Youth Golf Association tournament at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club.
—$17,500 for a marketing campaign for Ozark Christian College's 2024 Conference Series.
—$5,000 for the Joplin Memorial Run by Active Lifestyle Events Inc.