Visit Canton partners with ArtsinStark (Stark County Arts Council). One-sixth of the bed tax collection goes towards cultural programming through grant funding opportunities. A percentage of the collection goes towards the annual Cultural Tourism grant program for community projects. ArtsinStark can also request dollars for major projects they are working on for tourism attraction efforts or major community enhancements. These dollars can also be requested for major art enhancements, significant exhibitions, and community collaborations.
Recognizing the energy and innovation behind several community projects and initiatives, Visit Canton and ArtsinStark have partnered to create the Stark Stories: America 250 Grants. These grants are designed to further support and enhance these projects, leading to the once-in-a-lifetime celebration in 2026. Allison Gromofsky, Community Promotions Manager from Visit Canton, joined Sarah Herrick, OTA Director of Communications, to discuss this unique opportunity.
What sparked the "Stark Stories: America 250 Grants" idea? Was there a specific community need or opportunity you were trying to address?
The discussion was based on discussions held at our small group huddles with our partners and stakeholders. Fortunately, we have Christy Davis (Curator of Exhibitions at the Canton Museum of Art) on the America 250-Ohio Commission. She brought a lot of information on America 250-Ohio and programming, and we have started to see rollout as we get closer to the year-long celebration. We led many of our small group huddle conversations asking questions about what they were doing for America 250, how exhibitions could align and plans around the community. Through these conversations, we could really hear the positive investment of these dollars spent. Many organizations in our community have applied for the America 250-Ohio Grants, they still have a few wish list items. We felt we could support them by elevating their programming, special events and celebrations with this special one-time grant. After navigating fund discussions and solidifying the criteria, the Stark Stories: America 250 Grant opportunity was created.
Can you break down the selection process?
Our application timeline is running in tandem with other grants we offer. Applications open on March 1, and they must be submitted by 5:00PM on April 15, 2025. The award announcement will happen by the end of May, with recipients needing to spend their dollars between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2026. Priority will be given to projects between July 1, 2025, and July 4, 2026.
Visit Canton in partnership with ArtsinStark, will award $250,000 in support of America 250 projects to Stark County organizations. Grant requests up to $50,000 will be considered through this competitive application process. Projects must have a minimum budget of $2,000; with a minimum award of $1,500. Typically, we require a 50% match with our other grants. However, with this opportunity being once in a lifetime, we decided to lower that to 25%, making it accessible to more organizations in the community. **The grant announcement was on the day of this interview, February 11.
What were your primary goals in establishing this grant program? What did you hope to achieve for Stark County?
Our goals are to elevate and enhance existing programming or spark an idea for community celebrations to commemorate America 250. By using the tagline 'Stark Stories,'' we are encouraging our community partners to think about what they would like the public to know more about or the opportunity to showcase an untold or under told story within their community. This is in line with the goals of the America 250-OH Commission for the State of Ohio’s celebrations. We hope this opportunity will create destination-defining programming within our communities. As the Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau, we are committed to running marketing campaigns based on what is going on in our communities, creating a digital passport, and engaging in programming with event services.
As with all our grant programs, our primary goal is to increase visitation and economic impact. However, we also want to provide the tools organizations and businesses can use to enhance or develop initiatives that want to represent their community in the county.
Can you walk us through developing the grant guidelines and criteria?
Our executive leadership here at Visit Canton and executive leadership at ArtsinStark came together to determine the amount of dollars that could be granted. We talked about the needs from conversations that had been happening in our community meetings and huddles. There was a lot the community wanted to see happening and upgraded, so their feedback was beneficial to what we were trying to achieve.
Based on these conversations, we started with what wasn't eligible, mainly because we wanted to keep this list as small as possible, knowing this grant would only happen once. We also compared lists of activations and events we knew were happening and ones we had heard throughout huddles and small group conversations to which we wanted to give the opportunity.
We then moved on to the minimum award an applicant can receive. Of course, we want to see big things happen in Stark County. Still, we wanted smaller organizations and businesses to elevate, too, so we decided to do a 25% match over our standard 50%.
The criteria and opportunity have been shared with Visit Canton Tourism Partners, ArtsinStark partners, community leaders, and the opportunity will be shared with local media to garner interest from organizations that might not already be directly working with our organizations.
Once applications close, all applications that have submitted all required documents, will be shared with a Committee for review and judging. This Committee is made up of leadership and board representatives from both sponsoring organizations.
What advice would you give to other communities considering a similar grant program? Challenges, breakthroughs, benefits, and advice?
$250,000 in support is great and matches with the year-long celebration, but it does not mean that is what your community must do. Based on budget and staffing support, could your community offer a stipend for event operations or marketing support? Could you build out a landing page on your website to highlight historical attractions, special events and programming? Find what fits your community and its goals. If you can't do a lot of funding, or any at all, it's extremely important to share what the Ohio Commission is offering to your area and what programming they are working on. It doesn't have to be robust; encouraging the communities and locals to be a part of this celebration is what is more important!