Tourism tax dollars are again at work providing funds for local parks, arts and other projects.
On Nov. 14, the Bend Sustainability Fund awarded grants to eight local projects, giving out $700,000 in total. The grant winners, receiving funds ranging from $16,582 to $300,000, will carry out local, sustainable experiences that have garnered community support and will improve tourism.
Since its conception in 2021, the Bend Sustainability Fund, a Visit Bend project, has awarded nearly $3 million to 25 projects. The funding for these projects comes out of short-term lodging tax dollars collected in the city of Bend. When visitors travel to Bend and stay in a hotel, Airbnb, VRBO or an RV park, 65% of the transient room tax collected from their stay goes to the City of Bend’s general fund and the other 35% goes to Visit Bend, according to Serena Gordon, sustainability director for Visit Bend.
Once the money is split up, the Sustainability Fund gets 15% of Visit Bend’s budget, Gordon said, to help with the economic vitality of Bend as a destination.
The projects that receive funding are required to support tourism, have a useful life of 10 years or more and have grassroots community support.
“It’s really important because I believe that if we can create a place where people love to live, it will also be a place where people want to visit,” said Gordon.
After the advisory council, made up of 14 board members, as well as five land manager liaisons, reviewed the several projects and presented a recommended funding scenario, the projects were put on a community ballot, giving locals a chance to chime in.
The board of directors then voted and approved the funding recommendation on Nov. 14. Grants for the projects came out to a total of $691,672.
Projects
A Bend Park and Recreation District project received the highest grant out of the eight recipients. According to the project details, the $300,000 will help in constructing the Miller’s Landing Access and Restoration Project, an updated Deschutes River access point, planned to increase accessibility.
Other amounts were given to projects increasing outdoor accessibility and recreation, including $20,000 for improved access and route enhancement at Smith Rock State Park, $69,850 for habitat conservation project at Lower Fall River and $69,890 for improvements to Bend BMX, which will include the construction of a covered awning structure. The Bend Endurance Academy is also able to complete its new indoor climbing facility with the $16,582 it received from the BSF.
Organizations in the arts category were also awarded grants to help fund important projects. BSF awarded Discovery West $100,000 to install three art “discovery” projects, according to the Bend Sustainability Fund’s website, “engaging indigenous female artists and incorporating educational material.”
Two local theatres will make improvements with the funds they received. The Tower Theatre received $59,500 to carry out repairs and refurbishments, including the addition of size-inclusive and ADA seating, while Cascades Theatre Company received $55,850 for the installation of new seating, increased accessibility and overall improvements.
“We really need to look at our visitors and our residents as partners in keeping Bend a vibrant, wonderful place to spend time, so if we can use short term lodging dollars to reinvest into this community, everybody wins,” said Gordon.
This article appears in Source Weekly November 23, 2023.
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