Destination Door County has launched the Community Investment Fund which will use dollars generated by visitors to improve the quality of life for those who live and work in Door County.
Central to the work of Destination Door County is an effort to ensure that every visitor has an enjoyable experience. While Door County is a naturally welcoming community, DDC’s primary reason for ensuring visitors enjoy their experience in Door County is because it benefits our residents. When people visit Door County, they spend money here – creating jobs for our families, generating incremental tax dollars, providing us economic opportunities, and supporting the amenities that enhance the quality of life for those of us lucky enough to call Door County home. We use tourism to build a better life for the residents of Door County.
The Community Investment Fund, created in partnership with the Door County Community Foundation, is a natural evolution of Destination Door County’s work. Using a portion of the room tax dollars paid by visitors, the Community Investment Fund will offer grants to projects that improve the quality of life for those who live and work in Door County. It’s yet another example that tourism makes life better for Door County residents.
Wisconsin State Statutes require that we use room tax dollars in ways that benefit visitors, so that must be a requirement of any application to the Community Investment Fund. However, to earn a grant from the Community Investment Fund a project must also demonstrate how it will meaningfully improve the quality of life for residents of Door County.
Grant awards will vary greatly, ranging from just a few thousand dollars to potentially into the hundreds of thousands. We anticipate that the average grant will be about $100,000, but more modest requests are welcome and encouraged. Qualified applicants include 501(c)(3) public charities, 501(c)(6) organizations, and units of government.
Given that the Community Investment Fund must comply with complex Wisconsin State Statute rules regarding the use of room tax dollars, we strongly encourage applicants to reach out to the Community Foundation for an informal assessment of their idea prior to the submission of a formal application. Email grants@givedoorcounty.org or call the Community Foundation at (920) 746-1786 to schedule an appointment.
Community Investment Fund Grant Guidelines
The specific priorities of the Community Investment Fund are:
- Creative ideas that have a meaningful impact on the people who live and work in Door County
- Impact crosses municipal boundaries
- Encourages collaboration
- Leverages additional resources
- Residents experience the positive impact of tourism
The more of these priorities that are addressed by an application, the more likely it is that a project will receive a grant.
Most Common Types of Projects
To help you understand how to meet statutory requirements, projects appropriate for funding from the Community Investment Fund usually fall into at least one of the three categories defined below.
Tangible Development:
The most common type of application that will meet statutory requirements are tangible developments that improve the likelihood that tourists will visit a municipality in Door County. These include capital construction projects as well as upgrades and expansions of existing facilities. The installation of permanent exhibits will often qualify, as might customer-facing items and equipment that improve their experience. Appropriate “tangible” projects will result in something that has a definable physical form which are long-term, reusable, or permanent in nature.
Exceptional Events:
These kinds of projects are more challenging to qualify under state statutes but might still be appropriate under certain circumstances. The most common examples are activities, programs, or events that will be marketed broadly and have significant appeal beyond the normal audience or customers served by the applicant.
Public Information:
Projects of this type often involve the conveying of information to the public. Wayfinding or interpretive signage is acceptable. Supporting the salaries of nature guides or gallery docents may be appropriate in certain circumstances. If your activities provide useful information that is relevant to those visiting Door County, the operating costs associated with those activities may qualify. Please confer with the professional staff for more information.
The three categories above articulate the most common types of appropriate applications, but the Community Investment Fund is also willing to have a conversation about the uncommon project – the innovative idea that doesn’t neatly fit into any of these boxes but will still have a meaningful impact on visitors and residents alike. Creative thinking that pushes the envelope is strongly encouraged, but nobody wants to waste time developing an idea that just isn’t permissible under state statutes. That’s why all prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to bring their ideas to the Community Foundation for a conversation before taking the time to complete a formal application. Email grants@givedoorcounty.org or call the Community Foundation at (920) 746-1786 to schedule an appointment.
Projects Prohibited by Wisconsin State Statutes
Unfortunately, the Community Investment Fund is not able to provide financial support for any kind of lodging or housing project. Wisconsin State Statutes expressly prohibit the use of room tax dollars for that purpose. However, if you are interested in building affordable workforce housing, we encourage you to learn more about the Workforce Housing Lending Corporation, another project of the Community Foundation that is helping finance the construction of affordable multi-family units.
Application
Please complete the Community Foundation’s Common Grant Application and the Community Investment Fund Addendum A and submit both via email to applications@givedoorcounty.org.
Each organization is limited to one application per Grant Cycle. However, organizations may submit applications in successive Grant Cycles or to the other granting programs of the Community Foundation that might be open at the same time.
The Chief Executive of your organization must review the entire Application Packet and sign the Application Form accordingly. This is an important step in the process as on occasion we have received applications that were submitted without the knowledge of the charity’s senior management. To protect your organization and ours, we now require that your Chief Executive review your Application Packet before we will consider it.
For purposes of this application, the “Chief Executive” is generally the highest-ranking paid staff person in your organization. In many charities, it is the Executive Director or President & CEO. For schools, the Superintendent must sign the Application Form. For units of government, the highest-ranking official such as a Mayor or Village Administrator must sign.
For an all-volunteer organization, the Board President should sign the Application Form.
We will accept the typed name and email address of the Chief Executive typed on the Application Form as an “electronic signature” if the Application Packet is submitted by email. However, please note that if it is not an original signature, we may contact the Chief Executive listed on the form to confirm their electronic signature.
Letters of Support from Innkeepers
Consistent with Wisconsin State Statutes, the Community Investment Fund can only invest in projects that will be significantly used by tourists AND are reasonably likely to lead to an increase in paid overnight stays. If you cannot provide hard data that demonstrates your project meets both these statutory requirements, we strongly suggest you secure at least two Letters of Support from nearby innkeepers such as hotels, motels, inns, resorts, lodges, B&Bs, or short-term rentals. The Letter of Support should make clear that the innkeeper believes that your project will be used by their guests and is likely to lead to additional overnight stays. Letters of Support should be submitted as PDF files along with your other application materials to applications@givedoorcounty.org.
Combining Individual Projects into a Single Application
It is permissible to include multiple projects in a single application so long as each individual project has a strong and natural correlation with the others. For instance, consider a municipality seeking grants to fund a beach improvement effort, the construction of a new playground, and the expansion of a shelter. If all three of these projects occur in close proximity to each other at a single park, they have a strong and natural correlation and thus may be combined into a single application. In another example, consider an organization that wants to install wayfinding and interpretive signage on multiple properties spread out across the County. While the installation of the signage will occur on individual properties far apart from each other, the types and purposes of the signs are similar everywhere and thus can be combined into a single application because they have a strong and natural correlation to each other.
Individual projects that do not have a strong and natural correlation must be submitted on separate applications. Please remember that applicants are allowed only one application per grant cycle.
While it’s permissible to combine multiple projects with a strong and natural correlation into a single application, the budget on the application should separate the individual line-item expenses by project. For instance, rather than adding up the total design, equipment, and labor costs for all three projects into single line items, instead, list them by individual project.
Application Deadlines
Community Investment Fund applications are accepted multiple times a year as follows:
Spring Sustainability Grant Cycle
Applications Due: 1st Thursday of April at 4:00 p.m.
Summer Sustainability Grant Cycle
Applications Due: 1st Thursday of July at 4:00 p.m.
Fall Sustainability Grant Cycle
Applications Due: 1st Thursday of October at 4:00 p.m.
Winter Sustainability Grant Cycle
Applications Due: 1st Thursday of January at 4:00 p.m.
Please provide your contact information if you would like to receive emails announcing when applications become available for the various grant programs of the Community Foundation.
Submit your completed Common Grant Application and Community Investment Fund Addendum A via email to applications@givedoorcounty.org.
On occasion, our spam filters inadvertently screen out emails from some charities. You should receive an email within 3 business days of our receipt of your application confirming its receipt. If you do not receive this confirmation, please call (920) 746-1786 to confirm that we received your application materials.
Given that the Community Investment Fund must comply with complex Wisconsin State Statute rules regarding the use of room tax dollars, we strongly encourage applicants to reach out to the Community Foundation for an informal assessment of their idea prior to the submission of a formal application. Email grants@givedoorcounty.org or call the Community Foundation at (920) 746-1786 to schedule an appointment.
Final Report
Grant recipients agree to provide a Final Report as a condition of receiving a grant.
All grantees must submit a completed Final Report via email to grants@givedoorcounty.org within 60 days of the expenditure of the Community Foundation’s grant funds.
