Pilot Communities

The Pilot Community Tourism Grant Program (PCTGP) is a state-funded opportunity authorized by the 2023 Montana Legislature’s enactment of Senate Bill 540. Building tourism in a manageable, sustainable way can stimulate and diversify Montana’s local economy, protect and enhance local resources, and foster community pride without compromising the qualities that make local communities so special.

The purpose of the PCTGP is to elevate communities across the state, increase their economic vibrancy by improving their appeal as visitor destinations, and improve their resilience as a destination by enhancing and diversifying tourism assets and infrastructure. Through this program, communities can cultivate regional visions, identify strategies to harness the power of tourism, and develop unique experiences in tourism.

Thank you for submitting your Pilot Community Tourism Grant. The application window is now closed. All submitted Pilot Grant applications will be reviewed for completeness and evaluated on ranking criteria according to the Pilot Community Tourism Grant Program Guidelines. All applications will be notified of application status within 45 days of the deadline, April 30, 2024.

Pilot Community Toolkit:

• The Pilot Community Budget is a tool for awarded communities in budgeting year-to-year.
• The Steering Committee Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a sample to help create an MOU that is structured upon the actual procedures and duties of a steering committee and can be modified to fit the actual needs of the community.
• The Grant Management Plan is another sample to help create a plan around duties and roles which can also be modified to fit the actual needs of the community.
• The Grant Assistance Agreements a sample agreement that can be modified to create an agreement with a governmental entity or fiscal agent for a Pilot Community grant.
• The Signature Certification Form  will be completed by awarded communities to receive grant funds.
• The Request for Funds - Uniform Invoice Tracking Sheet  will be the tool for tracking invoices and requesting funds by an awarded community.

Resources for Applicants:

• Refer to the PCTGP Cohort Schedule (PDF) for potential funding allocations and phases for tourism ready communities.
• Refer to the Montana Tourism Regions Map for a quick look at the 7 tourism regions.
• Refer to the PCTGP Flow Chart for a quick understanding of tourism readiness indicators for a community. Also see the PCTGP FAQs to find quick answers to questions about the funding.
• Refer to the Montana Grants and Loans Step-by-Step instructions to create a ServiceNow account for access to the online application. For technical issues creating an account please call the IT Help Desk at 406-444-2000 .

Eligibility of an entity to apply for funding is established by Section III of the Pilot Community Tourism Grant Guidelines. Click the button below for an interactive display of Montana's urban areas and over-visited places.

Montana's urban and over-visited places

Additional Resources for Applicants:

• The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable Rural Economic Development Toolkit an online toolkit to provide strategies for success to achieve intersecting goals of healthy communities, high quality of life, robust businesses, resilient economies, and vibrant outdoor places.
• The Tourism Assessment Process [pdf] is a workbook designed to link communities, tourism, and conservation with tools that are research-based which reflect principles of sustainable and ecotourism development.
• The Way Forward [pdf] is a provincial tourism product development plan to reach a people and program-based collective tourism vision to increase tourism visitation and spending.
• The UN World Tourism Organization [pdf] is a handbook on tourism product development including model approaches for various and unique destinations.
• The Destination Development Channel provides how-to videos on destination marketing and development topics including case studies and new ideas to supercharge tourism efforts.
• Using the Main Street America Approach to downtown revitalization, the Montana Main Street Program offers technical assistance to communities striving for economic vitality while maintaining local historic integrity, quality of life, and a sense of place.

A Montana Community or group of Communities within a destination that has prioritized tourism as an economic development strategy and are interested in working collaboratively can apply for PCTGP funds. Through this process, Tourism Grant Program staff will assist local leaders with building resilient regional networks and leadership skills to manage tourism development. Interested applicants must be willing to make a significant and long-term commitment to leadership and participation in tourism and economic development over the course of 60 months.