Grant & Funding Opportunities

Experience Mt. Hood and the Gorge, also known as the Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge RDMO, offers direct investment in communities through our Strategic Investment Fund (SIF). The goal of the SIF is to make one-time investments into regionally impactful projects that address one or more of the 5 priorities for the region:

Strategic Investment Fund applications will open mid-2026.
Stay tuned to our industry site and e-newsletter for more information.

The 2024 Strategic Investment Fund cycle awarded over $50,000 and supported projects including:

Bridge of the Gods Trailhead Restroom Project – Port of Cascade Locks
Place-Based Community Mural in Sandy River Delta Restrooms to Increase Public Safety – US Forest Service with Arts and Education in the Gorge
Gorge Impact Film Festival – Gorge Impact Film Festival
Troutdale Arts Festival – Cascadia Arts Association
The Dalles Public Boat Launch Improvements – Port of The Dalles
Taste of the Gorge – Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance

SUPPORT WHERE YOU NEED IT

Grant Writing Support

Experience Mt. Hood and The Gorge offers one-on-one grant support. FREE appointments are available to support many stages of the grant journey. Whether you have a project idea and would like assistance finding grants to apply for or are looking for technical grant writing advice/consultation, we can help. If you are interested, please fill out the form here.

Mt. Hood Territory
Mt. Hood Territory offers an annual Strategic Investment Program for projects seeking medium grant funding amounts. Sign up for their grants notifications to receive information for their next cycle.

Travel Oregon Grants
Ten percent of Travel Oregon’s budget is dedicated to a competitive grants program to support eligible applicants for projects that contribute to the development and improvement of local economies and communities throughout Oregon by means of the enhancement, expansion and promotion of the visitor industry. View their open grants. View prior competitive grant recipients

Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grant Program
Funding for this matching grant program comes from a portion of the sales of the Oregon Wine Country license plate. Since the program’s inception in 2015, more than $1.5 million has been awarded to support 78 wine and culinary tourism promotion projects. Learn more here.

Visit Hood River Community Grant Program
The Visit Hood River Community Grant Program occurs annually. In 2024, the program awarded as much as $50,000 in total for all projects awarded. Each project requires its own application, and applicants must demonstrate the ability to meet the matching funding requirements. View their grants here.

Conference and Training Scholarships

Experience Mt. Hood and the Gorge works to support tourism partners in the region with access to valuable training and development opportunities. If you have identified a tourism industry-related training or conference of value to your organization, you may apply for a scholarship through Experience Mt. Hood and the Gorge.

Scholarship applications are open year-round as funds allow, and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Generally, scholarships will cover the cost of registration, but not lodging or travel. Priority will be given to:

those who are decision makers at their tourism organization
those whose work directly impacts the tourism economy/experience in the Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge region of Oregon. Want to learn more about our tourism priorities for the region? View our Key Priorities here.
those who we have not previously received scholarship support from Experience Mt. Hood and the Gorge

Interested parties can submit an application here.