In § 6001(c) of the American Rescue Plan, the United States Congress appropriated $750 million to the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (“EDA”) Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation program to help state and local tourism sectors recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In August of 2021, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte designated the Montana Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) as the recipient of Montana’s share of those funds, which totaled over $2.9 million (the “Grant”). See also § 2 of House Bill 4 at p. 13 (2023).
Destination MT, a division of Commerce, drafted a proposal to use these Grant funds to develop and implement six regional resiliency plans and one aggregate state-level resiliency plan. The goal of the planning was to identify predictable and unpredictable variables that could undermine Montana’s post-pandemic local economies—including floods, wildfires, and other natural disasters—if not assessed and addressed proactively. Destination MT utilized approximately half of the Grant funding in Phase 1, which focused on planning. Commerce completed that phase in early 2024. Destination MT reserved the second half of the Grant funding for Phase 2, which is the implementation phase.
Phase 2 includes this Resiliency Plan Implementation Grant Program (the “Program”) and a total of $1.5 million is available for Montana applicants. The purpose of the Program is to provide Regions with an early investment, which they can use alongside other private or public dollars that may be available, to begin implementing the priority items identified in their regional resiliency plans.
The Program’s application, funding guidelines, and other relevant information and resources are available on the Department’s Destination MT page. Interested entities can also e-mail Destination MT staff at TourismGrants@mt.gov or call staff at (406) 871-8666 regarding any questions they may have about the Program.
Grant applications can be accessed and submitted on a free online platform. Applicants who are awarded Program funds must sign a contract with Commerce, which will have a multi-year term and terminate no later than May 31, 2026. Successful applicants will be considered sub-grantees of Commerce’s Destination MT Division.
These application guidelines explain how eligible applicants can apply for a Resiliency Plan Implementation Grant, and how Grantees may use Program funds. All regional resiliency plans are located here.
