Celebrate Ontario 2014 Three (3) Program categories: Celebrate Ontario 2014 Celebrate Ontario 2014 International Amateur Sport Hosting (New for 2014) Celebrate Ontario 2014 Blockbuster (Bid and Host) 1 Celebrate Ontario 2014 International Amateur Sport Hosting Project-based funding to help deliver major sport events in Ontario. Who is eligible? Sports organizations and Municipalities. What kind of events are eligible? Sanctioned Events Occur no more than once a year (and on no more than three consecutive occasions in the same community), and; Events open to the public to attend as spectators. Program Information: www.ontario.ca/celebrateontario Program Contact: Russell Zavitz, Senior Coordinator Sport and Recreation Ph: (416) 314-7682 Email: Russell.zavitz@ontario.ca 2 Celebrate Ontario 2014 Blockbuster (Bid or Host) Annual Budget of $1 M+ One-time National or International events Draw visitors Attract significant media exposure Profile Ontario Supports bids OR event hosting Continuous intake 2 or 4 months prior to bid/event Program Information: www.ontario.ca/celebrateontario Program Contact: Robert Sweeting, Senior Business Advisor Ph: (416) 325-7426 Email: Robert.sweeting@ontario.ca 3 Section 1- Celebrate Ontario 2014 Important Definitions: Who is a Tourist? What is a ‘Tourism’ Festival or Event Program Objectives Event Enhancements Eligibility & Mandatory Requirements Eligible & Ineligible Expenses 4 Who is a Tourist? Tourists are defined as: Individuals (including an Ontario resident) who travel 40 km or more (one-way) or crosses the Ontario border to attend an event, 5 Defining a Tourism Festival or Event? A public celebration, Organized as a series of events or activities over a set period of time (generally days or weeks) Open to the public without membership in a club or group (may be ticketed or free) Demonstrates a capacity and intention to develop itself as a tourism driver over the long term (vs. community-based) Promoted to & attracts tourists 6 Event Enhancements Projects that enhance existing programs, activities or services that will be sustained and lead to long-term improvements and attract more tourists. Priority given to: Plans with strong tourism rationale and sustainability Strong organizational & leadership capacity Commitment to growing tourism market Demonstrated partnership support for event Strong economic and tourism impact Sustainable tourism development and marketing 7 Section 1- Celebrate Ontario 2014 Program Objectives New or existing tourism festivals & events Enhance programs, activities & services that will lead to long term improvements that attract more tourists Will stimulate increased incremental tourism visitor attendance and tourism visitor spending Assessed for ability to deliver: o o o Demonstrated increase in attendance and extended reach Demonstrated increase in tourist visitation and receipts Demonstrated improvements in quality of tourism festivals /events and stronger organizations 8 Eligibility The tourism festival or event must: Take place in Ontario Occur between April 01, 2014 – March 31, 2015 Applicant Organization must be in existence in Ontario for one (1) year as of January 2014 Open to the public without membership in a club or group Ineligible events: Seek to attract special interest/ recruit new members (religious/ political gatherings and workshops) Events where primary goal is commercial in nature (e.g., trade fairs, workshops, seminars) Anniversaries (Canada Day; civic or national holidays, including the national days of other countries or nations; municipal anniversaries.) Awards ceremonies, seminars and clinics 9 Mandatory Requirements Legal entity - established by or under legislation; federally or provincially incorporated; First Nations in the Province of Ontario Not in default with Ontario Government Related to costs specific to carrying out the proposed tourism project or new festival; not for recurring costs Successful applicants will be required to submit proof of $2 million commercial general liability insurance 10 Eligible Expenses Direct costs incurred for delivery of the proposed tourism enhancement including: Cost & fees paid for delivering new programming Cost of moveable assets (not permanently installed) that support enhanced programs & services Fees paid to performers (incl. travel related costs) Audio & visual support & technical & stage crews 11 Eligible Expenses cont’d Improved visitor services Costs to improve the visitor’s experience or accessibility Audience surveys, research or economic impact studies Translation costs Site services related to the proposed program, activity or service such as security, sanitation products and shuttle buses 12 Ineligible Expenses Marketing costs - advertising, promotion, communications Website development Core administrative & overhead Permanent staff salaries Legal, audit or interest fees Management/Staff travel costs Capital costs related to permanent structures Competition prizes, prize money and appearance fees for elite athletes and/or competition participants (e.g., music competition participants) 13 Celebrate Ontario 2014 Funding Amounts & Maximums New Funding Model • • • • Based on Cash Operating Budget Events will be assessed within two budget ranges 1. Less than (<) $250K 2. (≥) $250K or more Funding % of proposed enhancement project Up to maximum of $350,000 14 Celebrate Ontario 2014 Funding Total Event Cash Operating Budget less than (<) $250K Eligible for up to 75% of enhancement cash operating budget or up to 50% of total event cash operating budget, whichever is less Cash Operating Example ACME Event $200,000 (50%) = $100,000 Enhancement OR $100,000 (75%) = $75,000 Note: $150K – In-Kind – not applicable in this formula Section 2 – Application Process 16 FIRST STEPS Ensure you are fully registered with GRANTS ONTARIO REVIEW ALL Program Documentation PRINT Program Reference Guide (follow all instructions as you complete application) Gather material(s) required to complete your application. Begin and frequently save an application in Grants Ontario for your project (save as draft, online, or offline, and continue to return to this file) 17 Celebrate Ontario 2014 Application and Guidelines www.ontario.ca/celebrateontario Program Resources & Tools Application Guide Application Form Additional Information Package – Budgets, Grant Calculator Tool, Marketing Plans 18 Section 3 THE APPLICATION Evaluation Criteria Organization Details / Capacity Project Information Sustainability Performance Measures Partnerships 19 Evaluation Criteria Total event cash operating budget of less than $250,000 Total event cash operating budget of $250,000 or more Organizational Capacity 15% 15% Project Information 25% 20% Sustainability 10% 10% Performance Meas., Impact and Rationale 15% 25% Community Support and Partnerships 15% 10% Current Financial Position 5% 5% Budgets 5% 5% Technical Requirements Marketing Plan 10% 10% 20 Organization Details/Capacity Sections A,B,C,D (15% of Evaluation) Core Business – Tourism a fit with your core business? Strategic Plan – How does project fit with your plans? Board/Organization - accountability & reporting Organization’s capacity - previous experience / history Organization’s Capacity – Plan to undertake project Performance Reporting - experience in developing, tracking, measuring performance Section G: Project Information (25% or 20% of evaluation) Project Summary (2,000 characters) • ‘Brief’ description of current event + enhancement EXAMPLE: (731 characters - with spaces) Acme Event is a three (3) day outdoor festival taking place October 2 – 4, 2014. The festival profiles new & emerging Canadian independent musicians and is geared towards attracting adults ages 18 – 40. The program includes gated (3 venues) and free music concert stages (3 nights), professional dance (6 shows), musical workshops (3 per day =9 total), master class sessions (1/day = 3 total) and over 60 diverse food and craft vendors. The enhancement plans are targeted towards attracting young families with children. The program includes introducing two (2) full days of children’s entertainers within the world music genre, instrument building sessions, creative dance and movement workshops and hands-on craft activities. Section G – Project Information cont’d Project Description (5,000 characters) Detailed Enhancement Plan • New Program details / specifics – what & when • Tourism Related Service (if any new added) • New delivery requirements as a result of the new programming Include: Key target markets for growth (demographics and geographic) and projected growth over 3 years - with rationale Project Objectives (2,000 characters) • Long-term (3 year) objectives as they relate to Celebrate Ontario objectives Rationale/Need (2,000 characters) • Tourism based rationale including survey results, stats, comparatives, research. Include sustainability plan for continuation of enhancement initiative. Project Beneficiaries (2,000 characters) • Describe the community your event supports 23 Section G – Project Information cont’d Risk Assessment and Management (2,000 characters) • Challenges, obstacles or threats to the successful delivery of your project and the risk management plan to ensure delivery of the project. Project Outcomes (2,000 characters) • Provide a tourism-based rationale for the growth targets you identify Evaluation Plan/Criteria (2,000 characters) • • Describe your plan to evaluate the success of your proposed tourism project. Describe your plan to generate information required 24 Section I - Performance Measurement (15% or 25% of evaluation) 10,000 10,000 10,500 10,500 3500 3500 7500 7500 7500 7500 5000 5000 Increase family tourism visits to 25% of festival attendance 2012/13 Family Tourist Attendance 2013/14 Family Tourist Attendance 2500 8750 25 Section J - Partnerships (15% and 10% of evaluation) 2. Type Site 3. Role/Address P4N1A9 4. Description 1 1. Name Timmins 2 Holiday Inn Select “Partner” from the drop down menu Please note the type of tourism partner(s) with whom you are working. Describe how the partnership will positively improve your proposed tourism development project. Include one tourism partner per row. 26 Attachments Additional Information Package 1. Current Financial Position (5% of evaluation) 2. Budgets (2) (5% of evaluation) 3. Annual Operating Budget (w/out enhancement) Enhancement Project Budget Marketing Plans (2) (5% of evaluation) Current Marketing Plan Enhancement Project Marketing Plan 27 Submitting your application Complete your Grants Ontario / ONe-key Registration as soon as possible If you are having trouble or cannot submit online you MUST inform the Celebrate Ontario office ASAP at CelebrateOntario@ontario.ca or call 416-326-6894 A complete Celebrate Ontario application includes: Application Form Most recent Audited/Endorsed Festival/Event financial statement Two (2) Budgets – Operating & Enhancement Two (2) Marketing Plans – Tables for Current & Enhancement Completed and submitted ONLINE by November 12, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. EST 28 Grants Ontario System (GOS) Technical Support Issues For Technical Support questions, please contact Grants Ontario Customer Service Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. • In Toronto: (416) 325-6691 • Toll Free: 1-855-216-3090 • E-mail - GrantsOntarioCS@Ontario.ca 29 Section 4 BUILDING A COMPELLING CASE Clear Project Summary Tourism Focused Partnership Driven Research Based Sustainable 30 Clear Project Description This is your elevator speech Clearly, concisely describe your current event and enhancement This helps us understand CLEARLY what you are asking for Tourism Focused The intent of the program is to drive tourism revenues Has your Board identified tourism as a key component for the event? You must be spending money marketing outside your local/regional area You must demonstrate your festival is increasing visitor spending to your area Partnership Driven Community Reference Forms are no longer required Partnerships are described as “tourism partnerships” Partnerships need to extend throughout the application, NOT just in the partnership section Research Based Integrate research throughout your application Justify your enhancement Describe your markets Validate estimated attendance Seek partners that can benchmark your success: Increase in occupancy at local hotel Percentage of sales increased over years previous in a local downtown Sustainable Describe HOW you are going to sustain and grow the enhancement in future years Work with your Board to identify how you are going to grow your event over a 3-5 year period Successful events already know what they are applying to Celebrate Ontario for NEXT year If you have applied before… You MUST identify how you are building upon the success of your previous application How you are growing/sustaining the enhancement What you learned from the enhancement You CAN NOT ask for the same item in future applications Closing thoughts… Assume the reader has NO knowledge of your festival, community or tourism partners Strong applications are built by cooperating and discussing plans with other local partners Reach out to your local Tourism Organization, they can help you in many ways Contact Info Christine Anderson Tourism Industry Advisor Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (705) 739-6695 christine.anderson@ontario.ca