Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District Awards Grants for 2018

Alexander Valley Film Society receiving check. Pictured is Keren Colsten, Aaron Krug, Tom Nelson, Tod Hill, Kathryn Hecht, Brian Sommer, Holly Fox, and Jason Farmer.

As a condition of approval when renewing the Healdsburg Tourism Improvement Assessment District earlier this year, the City Council required that 22.5% of the 2% assessment charged by hotels on lodging stays, be dedicated to Destination Development. Destination Development is defined as beautification, economic development or physical improvements to the community that could be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. A committee made up of a representative from the lodging industry, a city councilperson and a citizen at large was appointed. This committee, Circe Sher from the Piazza Hotel Group, Leah Gold from the City Council and Jan Morgan, Healdsburg resident, announced the recipients of the initial grant funding cycle which closed July 31, 2018. Grants were awarded to Corazon Healdsburg in the amount of $12,000 for the Day of the Dead Celebration, Alexander Valley Film Society $7,500 for the Alexander Valley Film Festival, Healdsburg Museum $6,000 for the exhibit “ A Sense of Place”, and the Raven Performing Arts Center $10,000 for Concert and Comedy Series 2018-2019. 

The committee is also announcing that the application process for the next grant funding cycle is open until January 31, 2019. Applications will be reviewed in February and funding announced in March 2019.  www.healdsburg.com/htid has information regarding criteria for applying for the grant and an online application.  

The Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District in separate grants also funded $10,000 each to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, Healdsburg Center for the Arts, and the Tuesday Concerts in the Plaza.