Cultural Tourism Funding Opportunities
AIANTA collects funding opportunities that may be of interest to Indigenous or Native American tourism & hospitality enterprises looking to grow their tourism, culture, heritage, arts, agritourism or other culture and heritage programming.
Open Funding Opportunities
AARP Community Challenge Grant
Deadline: Mar. 15, 2023
Tourism Tip: Grant can be used for a variety of community enhancement projects
WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project (WIC CIAO)
Deadline: Mar. 23, 2023
Tourism Tip: Use to help create food sovereignty.
NPS Tribal Heritage Grants Program
Deadline: Mar. 29, 2023
Tourism Tip: Protecting oral histories, plant and animal species important in tradition, sacred and historic places, establish a tribal historic preservation offices
ANA Social and Economic Development Strategies
Deadline: Mar. 31, 2023
Tourism Tip: Use these funds to create an economic impact using tourism and promoting your tourism businesses.
Vision Maker Media Call for Proposals Now Open Year Round
Deadline: Next due is Mar. 31, 2023
Tourism Tip: Creating films creates awareness for your community.
ANA Social and Economic Development Strategies for Alaska
Deadline: Mar. 31, 2023
Tourism Tip: Use these funds to create an economic impact using tourism in Alaska and promoting your Alaskan tourism businesses.
IMLS Native American Library Services Grants and IMLS Native Hawaiian Library Services Grants
Deadline: Apr. 3, 2023
Tourism Tip: Can be used to enhance the preservation and revitalization of Native American languages which are integral to sharing cultural stories to travelers.
AmeriCorps State and National Native Nations Planning Grants
Deadline: Apr. 5, 2023
Tourism Tip: Use these funds to advance your tourism businesses and assets using the AmeriCorp Program Members.
2023 AmeriCorps Seniors Native Nations and Indigenous Elders Senior Demonstration Program
Deadline: Apr. 5, 2023
Tourism Tip: promote the preservation and teaching of Native and Indigenous languages and cultural practices
Deadline: Part 1 April 27 and Part 2 May 2
Tourism Tip: Building the arts in your community makes it more attractive for thriving businesses, the community and for visitors.
GusNIP NTAE funding announcement
Deadline: May 5, 2023
Tourism Tip: highlight proposed project plans that emphasize, culturally sensitive food and/or food practices, and economic and social equity. These ideals can be captured in a tour.
DOI/FWS: 2023 CESCF Traditional Conservation Grants Program (Region 2)
Deadline: May 8, 2023
Tourism Tip: Use the funds to conserve your waterways and help habitat. Healthy environments are a great way to protect your way of life and attract visitors to support that effort.
Ongoing Opportunities
Heirs’ Property Relending Program
Deadline: Ongoing
Bush Foundation: Community Innovation Grants
Deadline: Ongoing
Economic Development Administration Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance
Deadline: Ongoing
USDA: Economic Impact Initiative Grants
Deadline: Ongoing
USDA: Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program
Deadline: Ongoing
Nevada Arts Council: Folklife Community Grant
Deadline: At least 30 days before the proposed project
Venture Capital Fund accepting applications
More Cultural Tourism Funding Resources
The following list of resources may provide funding support for cultural heritage tourism programming. The list includes federal grants, which are highly competitive and can often take several weeks, months and even years to build a strong proposal and compile the necessary information to apply.
Guides & Publications
USDA Resource Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives
The USDA recently published a Resource Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to provide tribal leaders and tribal citizens, 1994 Land-Grant Tribal Colleges and Universities, AI/AN businesses and non-governmental organizations serving AI/AN communities with a tool for navigating USDA resources. This guide provides readers with a comprehensive summary of USDA Programs.
Recreation Economy at USDA Economic Development Resources for Rural Communities
USDA’s Forest Service (FS), Rural Development (RD) and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) developed this resource guide for rural communities to identify resources that develop the recreation economy. The report forecasts that interest in outdoor recreation will continue over the next 30 years.
Resources for Rural Entrepreneurs: A Guide to Planning, Adapting, and Growing Your Business
In 2022, in collaboration with a network of federal partners, the USDA Resources for Rural Entrepreneurs guide provides resources for start-ups and already-established rural businesses. RD offers more than 40 loan, grant, and technical assistance programs to help improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. Many of these programs can also support community-based entrepreneurial planning and growth. USDA partners with community leaders and developers, local, state and Tribal governments, cooperatives, nonprofits, private organizations and a nationwide network of participating lenders skilled at building local economies.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) published Stronger Together a joint planning resource guide to help community organizations access USDA and EDA resources to build strategies to boost economic development in rural America. The guide is separated into four key focus areas: Planning and technical assistance, Infrastructure and broadband expansion, Entrepreneurship and business assistance and Workforce development and livability.
Federal Resources for Native Arts & Cultural Activities
In 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts published the Federal Resources for Native Arts & Cultural Activities, a guide providing information to connect Native communities to resources that can sustain and invigorate arts and cultural heritage initiatives. It is a consolidation of opportunities offered by federal agencies for organizations looking for funding and other resources to support Native arts and culture activities.
Grants.gov
Grants.gov provides a unified site for interaction between grant applicants and the U.S. federal agencies that manage grant funds. The site allows applicants to search for funds by agency.
Federal Agencies
U.S. Department of Interior
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- National Park Service
- Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- Bureau of Reclamation
Bureau of Indian Affairs (U.S. Department of Interior)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development
- Division of Transportation
- Division of Economic Development
National Park Service (Department of Interior)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Administration for Native Americans (ANA)
- Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS)
- Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Strategies (SEEDS)
- Native Youth Initiative for Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (I-LEAD)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Business & Industry Loan Guarantees
- Community Connect Grants
- Rural Business Investment Program
- Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program
- Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program
- Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant
- Strategic Economic and Community Development
- Value-Added Producer Grants
- U.S. Forest Service (trail construction, archaeology)
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
- Our Town ($25,000 – $200,000)
- Challenge America ($10,000 underserved populations)
- Art Works ($10,000 – $100,000)
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
- Division of Preservation and Access
- Documenting Endangered Languages
- Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
- Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
- Office of Challenge Programs
Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS)
- Native American Library Services: Basic Grants
- Native American Library Services: Enhancement Grants
- Native Hawaiian Library Services Grants
- Museums for America
- Inspire! Grants for Small Museums
- Museums Empowered
- National Leadership Grants for Museums
- Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
- Museum Assessment Program
- Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries
U.S. Department of Transportation
www.transportation.gov/grants
- Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
- National Scenic Byways Program
- Office of Tribal Transportation
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
State Tourism, Arts & Economic Development Agencies
Arts.gov State and Regional Arts Councils
arts.gov/partners/state-regional
California Arts Council
arts.ca.gov/grants
California Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development
business.ca.gov
Montana Tourism Office
marketmt.com
Nevada Arts Council: Folklife Community Grant
nvartscouncil.org/grants
New Mexico Tourism Office
newmexico.org/industry/work-together/grants
Oregon Tourrism
traveloregon.com/grants
Additional Resources
Community Foundations
www.cof.org/community-foundation-locator
The Council on Foundations, founded in 1949, is a nonprofit leadership association of grantmaking foundations and corporations. Use their search tool to find local funding resources.
The Grantsmanship Center
www.tgci.com
The Grantsmanship Center offers training, publications and consulting to help organizations find funding. The Center provides free access to its Funding State-by-State database listing each state’s top grantmaking foundations, community foundations, corporate giving programs and State website homepages.
Candid (formerly the Foundation Center and GuideStar)
candid.org/
Candid is an online source for grants available through private foundations, corporate foundations, and other nonprofits that accept grant proposals. It also provides research on nonprofits and guides, like the 990 Finder.