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Celebrate Ontario 2018 Application Guide

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport

ontario.ca/celebrateontario

http://ontario.ca/celebrateontario

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Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport

Celebrate Ontario 2018 Application Guide

Table of Contents

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Program Objectives

The Celebrate Ontario program helps New or Existing Tourism Events to enhance programs, activities and services and support innovations that lead to long-term improvements, sustainability and the attraction of additional tourists.

Only Tourism Events that feature Enhancement Projects may receive funding.

In your application, you must demonstrate how your Tourism Event will: Increase attendance and geographic reach. Increase tourist visitation and expenditures. Improve your Tourism Event in quality and sustainability. Attract overnight stays and out-of-province tourists and visitors to a community through the

development and marketing of overnight tourism packages and incentives. Strengthen Ontarios tourism brand image in Canadian and international markets.

Funding Priorities

Priority will be given to Enhancement Projects or New Tourism Events that demonstrate the following: A solid Enhancement Project or New Tourism Event with strong tourism rationale and ability to

sustain the project over the next three years. Strong organizational and leadership capacity capable of delivering the Project. A commitment to growing the tourism market for the Enhancement Project and the Tourism

Event. Innovative strategies or activities that improve the quality of the Tourism Event experience and

increase tourist visitation and spending. Strong economic and tourism impact resulting in increases in tourist attendance, overnight

visitation and visitor spending in Ontario. Partnership support for the Tourism Event, with particular emphasis on support from tourism and

hospitality businesses (including the development of tourism packages). Alignment with Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, as well as other provincial action plans,

strategies and programs. Positive tourism exposure for Ontario.

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Program Eligibility Requirements

Important: Applications that do not meet the following eligibility requirements or that apply for marketing funding only will not be considered.

Eligible Applicant Organizations

Must be in existence and with legal status for one year or longer in Ontario as of January 1, 2018 (e.g., those that are established by or under legislation; are federally or provincially incorporated; are band councils established under the Indian Act, Canada; or are other Indigenous organizations that are incorporated).

Must not be in default of the terms and conditions of any grant or loan agreement with any ministry or agency of the Government of Ontario.

Eligible Tourism Events

To be eligible for Celebrate Ontario funding, your Tourism Event must: Occur in the Province of Ontario. Occur between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019. (For Multi-Year applicants, the second year of the

event must occur between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020). Be open to the public at large, without membership in a club or group. Be an annual or biennial Tourism Event.

Ineligible Tourism Events

Ineligible Tourism Events include: Events of a primarily commercial nature (e.g., trade fairs and shows, business events, consumer

shows, etc.) see the Definitions section of this Application Guide. Symposium, conventions, meetings, conferences, seminars, clinics, workshops and award shows. Events that seek to attract only a special interest audience or recruit new members (e.g., religious or

political gatherings and workshops). Events with a sole focus on anniversaries (e.g., civic or national holidays and municipal anniversaries,

including the national days of other countries or nations).

One Application per Event

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport will consider only one application per event among the three categories of the Celebrate Ontario program Celebrate Ontario Single-Year, Celebrate Ontario Multi-Year, and Celebrate Ontario Blockbuster. Multi-Year applicants may not apply for Single-Year funding for the same Tourism Event, and vice-versa.

A Maximum of Two Applications per Organization

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport will consider a maximum of two applications per organization among the three categories of the Celebrate Ontario 2017 program Celebrate Ontario Single-Year, Celebrate Ontario Multi-Year, and Celebrate Ontario Blockbuster.

Successful applicants receiving Multi-Year Celebrate Ontario program funding may apply to the Celebrate Ontario program for support for one other Tourism Event in the relevant fiscal year.

Multi-Year Applications

Multi-Year applications are open only to Existing Tourism Events with cash operating expenses of $1 million or more.

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Application Submission and Deadline

Complete and submit your application no later than Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) via the Grants Ontario web portal.

After submitting an application, you should receive a confirmation notice by email within 24 hours. If you do not receive such confirmation, please contact the Grants Ontario customer service (see the Contacts section of this Application Guide).

Important: It is your responsibility to ensure that your application has been successfully submitted. Applications received in any format other than the materials available on the Grants Ontario web portal will not be accepted.

The information contained in your application is the only information that will be used for evaluation. Any information received after the application deadline will not be considered.

Contacts

Celebrate Ontario Program

Organizations are strongly encouraged to contact their Regional Advisor prior to submitting a Celebrate Ontario application to discuss their Enhancement Project or New Tourism Event, and to review any program-related questions.

Regional Advisors cannot write or submit an application on behalf of an organization.

A list of contacts can be found on the program's web page.

Technical Support

Technical questions related to the Grants Ontario web portal should be directed to the Grants Ontario customer service:

Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Toronto: 416-325-6691 / Toll Free: 1-855-216-3090 By email at GrantsOntarioCS@Ontario.ca

Definitions

For the purposes of the Celebrate Ontario program, the following definitions are used:

Fiscal Year The Government of Ontario's fiscal year is April 1 to March 31, inclusive.

Tourism Event An event, festival or series of public activities organized annually or biennially within a set period of time, with specific programming and developed with the intention of becoming a tourism driver over the long-term that is marketed to tourists.

Tourist An individual (including an Ontario resident) who travels 40 kilometres or more (one-way), or crosses the Ontario border to attend a Tourism Event. Contributors to a Tourism Event (e.g., performers, suppliers, vendors, etc.) are not considered tourists.

Enhancement Project An Enhancement Project is an initiative that provides improvements to a Tourism Event's programming and services or that enhances the tourist experience. An Enhancement Project is designed to increase tourism attendance, tourist expenditures and overnight stays during a Tourism Event. An Enhancement Project should improve the quality and long-term sustainability of a Tourism Event, and may be promoted and marketed to tourists as a stand-alone initiative.

https://www.iaa.gov.on.ca/iaalogin/IAALogin.jsphttps://www.iaa.gov.on.ca/iaalogin/IAALogin.jsphttp://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/tourism/contactus_tourism.shtmlhttp://www.grants.gov.on.ca/GrantsPortal/en/OntarioGrants/GrantOpportunities/OSAPQA005140https://www.iaa.gov.on.ca/iaalogin/IAALogin.jspmailto:GrantsOntarioCS@Ontario.ca

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Base Tourism Event The portion of a Tourism Event (e.g., programming, budget, staffing, etc.) that does not include the Enhancement Project.

Existing Tourism Event

A Tourism Event that has occurred in Ontario at least once in the last three years.

New Tourism Event A Tourism Event that: will be holding its inaugural edition, or is an Existing Tourism Event that has not occurred in Ontario before, or is an Existing Tourism Event that has occurred in Ontario before, but hasnt

occurred in Ontario in the past three years.Existing events that are applying to the Celebrate Ontario program for the first time are not considered to be New Tourism Events.

Base Tourism Event Cash Operating Expenses

A Tourism Events operating expenses, excluding in-kind contributions and Enhancement Project operating expenses.

Northern Events Tourism Events located in the Northern Ontario districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay or Timiskaming.

Rural Events Tourism Events located in a community that meets either of the following criteria: Has a population of less than 100,000 people. Has a population density of 100 people or less per square kilometre.

Ontarios urban municipalities comprise Brampton, Mississauga, Markham, Ajax, Hamilton, Ottawa, Whitby, Oakville, St. Catharines, Richmond H