Tourist Development Council Grants

St. Johns County Tourist Development Council Arts, Culture and Heritage Grants
October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020

The St. Johns Cultural Council is pleased to announce that 24 Arts, Culture and Heritage grants totaling $275,000 have been awarded by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to fund annual and special events, visitor experiences and resource development projects during the upcoming fiscal year. These grants will support outstanding programming within St. Johns County and include events and projects such as the new St. Augustine Food and Wine Festival; the Fort Mose Historical Society’s “Flight to Freedom” event; the St. Augustine Music Festival; and the Lightner Museum’s “Alcazar in Bloom” garden restoration. For a complete list of the Grants awarded this year, please click here.

The FY2022 grants will open in the Spring of 2021.

The TDC Funding Program is administered by the St. Johns Cultural Council as part of a tourist development agreement with the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners. The intent of the ACH Grant Program is to increase the positive economic impacts of local tourism by encouraging memorable unique events and supporting enhanced advertising and promotion of quality tourism opportunities. Events and programs selected for funding through the grant program must have an arts, culture, and heritage focus; have high artistic quality; historic authenticity; and offer cultural experiences that are unique and designed to attract visitors to St. Johns County.

The Tourist Development Council (TDC) offers three types of Arts Culture Heritage Grants:

Visitor Experience Grants are for free events/performances/programs that reinforce the unique positive “selling points” of St. Johns County’s visitor experience. The draw of this type of programming is the uniqueness of the activities (which may include historical re-enactments or parades) that are based in local culture and heritage. These programs must be high quality, historically accurate when relevant, and add value to the visitor experience.
Annual and Special Events Grants are for well organized, highly visible programs/events/performances with a regional or national draw for visitors.
Resource Development Grants are for projects that result in a programmatic improvement, have a demonstrable impact on the attractiveness of St. Johns County as a tourism destination and be of professional quality. The projects must have an emphasis on either generating overnight stays or increasing the appeal for tourists already visiting the area through new or improved unique and authentic experiences.

Grant Workshops - Workshops are mandatory for first time applicants and highly recommended to all others, as they include information about any revisions and the online submission process. All news and updates about TDC Grants will be posted in our weekly newsletter so please sign up for it on this website.

The Grant Review Panel meeting and scoring date for the FY2021 grants is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 8:30 am in the main auditorium in the St. Johns County Administration Building, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine 32084. We highly recommend applicants be present in person or telephonically to give updates or answer any questions the panelists may have. Scores will be given at that time. The agenda can be found here.

Links to additional information

ACH FY2021 Funding Guidelines

ACH FY2021 Grant Applications

Peak Periods

Annual & Special Event Grant and Visitors Experience Grant Final Report Form