West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 144 - Tourism › Title 144 - PROCEDURAL RULE WEST VIRGINIA TOURISM OFFICE › Series 144-01 - Direct Advertising Grants Program › Section 144-1-3 - Applications

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. An applicant
				shall apply for tourism promotion funds on forms supplied by the Commission or
				on exact computer duplicates.
3.2.
				The applicant shall include a complete advertising or marketing plan, in
				sufficient detail to permit evaluation against the required criteria. The
				application shall include a complete media plan with advertising costs as well
				as a complete description of the project. The information shall be broken out
				by individual publications with ad size, specific broadcast stations, specific
				internet media providers, billboard locations, printing costs, production
				expenses, web site development, design, and upgrades as established in 6.7. of
				these rules and any other applicable charges. The application shall also
				include description as to how the partner(s) benefit from participation in the
				advertising plan and how said partner(s) complement the central advertising
				message directing tourists to a destination. The applicant must sign the
				application.
3.3. The Commission
				may request such additional information as it determines necessary to evaluate
				any application, including, but not limited to, financial and budgetary
				information related to the application or to the applicant or to any partners
				to the application.
3.4. Failure to
				provide the required application information, or failure to provide such
				additional information as the Commission reasonably requests by a specific
				date, in order to evaluate any application, may at the Commission's option,
				disqualify the entire application.
3.5. The Commission reserves the right to
				reject any application on the basis of the amount of funding sought; to request
				that the applicant revise an application to a lower or higher level of funding;
				or to award more or less than the full amount requested in the application. In
				addition, if more than eighty-five percent of an applicant's funding is
				provided by a single partner, the application must be approved by a two-thirds
				majority of the Commission. The Commission also reserves the right to require
				brand identification on any advertising approved as part of the application
				and/or require that the applicant display appropriately the Division of
				Tourism's phone number and/or web address.
3.6. No application shall be considered by
				the Commission unless the total project cost is at least $20,000.00 and the
				applicant's and partners' combined share of the project cost is at least
				$10,000.00 as established in 7.1 of this rule, unless the application is filed
				under the small grants program established in §7.2 of this rule or under
				the fairs and festivals grants program established in §7.3 of this
				rule.
3.7. Projects that encompass
				an area in West Virginia and a contiguous area in another state may be
				considered by the Commission. The applicant must be a tourism destination in
				West Virginia, the total project cost must be at least $20,000.00 and the
				applicant's and West Virginia partner's combined share of the project cost must
				be at least $10,000 as established in 7.1 of this rule, unless the application
				is filed under the small grants program established in §7.2 of this rule
				or under the fairs and festivals grants program established in §7.3 of
				this rule, and the Commission may only match that portion of the project costs
				directly contributed by the West Virginia applicant and West Virginia
				partner(s), and only those costs that promote visitation to West Virginia. If a
				national company develops a campaign to promote West Virginia tourism, only the
				portion of the ads directly related to West Virginia tourism may be reimbursed
				from an approved grant.
3.8. The
				applicant and all partners shall disclose in the application the following.
				Failure to disclose this information shall result in the cancellation of any
				grant to the applicant organization previously approved by the Commission and
				the disqualification of the applicant and partner organizations and their
				representatives from future grant awards:
3.8.1. Any financial benefit that will be
				received, if the application is approved, by any entity in which the applicant
				or partner organizations, its representatives or its employees have an
				ownership interest;
3.8.2. Any other
				employees or representatives of the applicant or partner organizations with a
				vested interest that is not otherwise described as part of the
				project;
3.8.3. If the applicant and
				all of the partners are presently in compliance with all state, federal and
				local laws, including but not limited to, Hotel/Motel tax and payments to
				Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Compensation;
3.8.4. If the applicant or any partner is
				presently involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, and who within their respective
				organizations may be contacted for details of the bankruptcy proceeding.
				Involvement in bankruptcy proceedings is not automatic disqualification from
				the grants program, but the Commission reserves the right to request additional
				information regarding any bankruptcy proceedings to insure the state's money is
				being granted appropriately.