Hilliard Tourism Grants

Written by Taylor Gyurko

The city of Hilliard is interested in attracting more tourists to the town. To help work toward that goal, the Destination Hilliard Board, which focuses on promoting tourism in Hilliard, announced several grants. These “Tourist Attraction Grants” were designed to achieve the same goal of the name. This was the first time Hilliard did these grants, and eight were awarded.

The total amount of money awarded was $36,600, which is split up between a variety of different things. These things include a summer marketplace event, concert series improvements, a festival, merchandise for a basketball tournament, a mural, a car show, hosting 5K runs, and collectible card shows. These grants were designed to help fund new and exciting ideas and projects for the community, keeping in mind the want to increase tourism in the city of Hilliard.

The Hilliard Destination Board made their decision by using “…criteria that included how closely the proposals met the mission of Destination Hilliard to attract visitors, produce overnight hotel stays, and promote economic development in the community,” said President of the Board, Sharon Grenier.

Grenier also said, “The ideas presented were diverse and creative, and the Destination Hilliard Board members felt the chosen recipients reflect events and ideas that will add to the community’s vibrancy, build our reputation as a tourism destination, and inspire visitors to pump money into local restaurants and retail businesses.”

The eight grants were chosen because they are believed to impact the city positively, and the Board plans to revisit the grant initiative in the future. So, get excited for these projects and events that will start happening very soon in Hilliard!