The next rounds of this program:
Opens: June 23, 2026 Closes: July 30, 2026

For questions, please email VTCMLPGrant@virginia.org

Max Award: $5,000 

• Reimbursable grant program to leverage existing marketing funds. Requires a targeted and research-based marketing plan designed to drive tourism to Virginia.
• Marketing Focus: Small business and shoulder season (September to May) marketing
• Who is eligible: Small tourism-related business with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees including boutique retail, restaurants, food trucks, small attractions, craft breweries, distilleries, wineries, boutique lodging and B&Bs, and events focused on shoulder season visitation
• Additional eligibility: Chambers of Commerce, NGOs, such as PDCs and Main Street organizations, may apply but the application must support microbusinesses and/or shoulder season visitation with a robust marketing plan. If the Chamber, Main Street, or organization is an officially designated DMO appearing on this list www.vatc.org/dmolist then they may only apply in the VTC Vacation Starts with VA DMO MMLP Flagship program.
• Max Award: $5,000
• Match: 1:1 cash or in-kind
• How: Online application portal
• For information and questions, please email VTCMLPGrant@virginia.org