Tourism Events Fund

The Essex Tourism Event Fund provides grant funding for events which attract visitors to the Town of Essex, support the vibrancy of our communities, and stimulate business activity.

Funds can be used to assist with the costs of marketing, growing your existing event, or elevating your event offerings in town. The intention of the grant is to recognize the value annual events have in building vitality in the Town of Essex and enhancing the town’s profile as a destination of choice. The grants serve as an incentive to event organizers to enhance, expand and improve their events.

Apply for Funding

Grants will be available on an ongoing basis throughout the calendar year or until all monies in the Fund have been allocated. The maximum grant payable through the Essex Tourism Events Fund for projects with an operating budget of less than $35,000 is $1,000 and the maximum payable for project budgets over $35,000 is $2,000. The maximum grant that may be made to any non-profit organization from the Tourism Events Fund is $2,000.

To help prepare your application and determine your eligibility, please contact the Economic Development Department at ecdev@essex.ca or 519-776-7336 ext 1135.

Apply Online

Important note: Paper copies of the application are available upon request.

Applicants who have received funding in previous years MUST provide a complete Final Report within 60 days of event completion. Failure to provide a final report will result in the rejection of new applications.

Resources for Measuring Tourism Impact

• Government of Ontario's Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model
  This tool assists event planners in measuring the impact of their events.
• Recommendations for Survey Procedures for Tourism Impact
  The Ministry also provides guidelines for assessing the economic impact for gated and open events.