AROUND THE JERSEY SHORE Ocean County Awards Over $107,000 In Tourism Grants

By Bob Vosseller

OCEAN COUNTY – Tourism season is fast approaching and just in time, the County is presenting its annual tourism grants.

Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Joseph H. Vicari announced, “this year we awarded $107,739 in grants to 24 nonprofit organizations that are hosting tourism-related events in the coming months.”

“I like to think of this as a rite of spring. These grants represent a long-standing commitment by this Board of Commissioners to our vitally important tourism industry,” added Vicari, liaison to the Ocean County Tourism Business Advisory Council.

The grants range from $150 to $9,000 and will help promote a variety of events, from local theater to farmer’s markets to the annual Ocean County fair. Tourism contributes more than $7 billion to Ocean County’s economy, he said.

“These grants don’t only promote these individual events, but are an investment in the local economy,” Vicari said. Grant applications were thoroughly reviewed by the Tourism Business Advisory Council and formally presented to the Board of Commissioners at its pre-board meeting last month.

The Commissioners finalized the grant awards at their April 5 regular meeting. Grant money may be used for promotions ranging from printing and advertising to television ads, web page development and promotional tee shirts. Organizations awarded a grant must include the county tourism seal and web site address on its promotional items.

Vicari added, “by including this information, every event helps promote all of our other events.” Grants are based on several criteria including: how the program integrates into the overall county tourism program; applicant’s prior performance; ability of program to attract tourists; quality of the program; scope and size of the program; the creativity of the program, and the incorporation of county tourism information.

The grant money is not limited to summer events according to Vicari. “Ocean County has become a year-round destination and our grants reflect this. Tourism is no longer confined to the months of May through September.”

Some of the recipients included the Barnegat Bay Decoy & Baymen’s Museum for its Tuckerton Seaport Find the Fun 2023 ($8,500), the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club for their 54th White Marlin Invitational ($5,452), the Ocean County Board of Agriculture that received $5,200 towards this year’s Ocean County Fair and the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Committee which received $6,500 for its Italian Heritage and culture campaign.

Other recipients include the Seaside Park Historical Society for Seaside Park’s 125th anniversary in the amount of $1,500 and Plu msted Township which received $750 for its Plumsted Proud Marketing Project.