2026 LIFT Fund Grant Cycle - Phase I Application

2026 Grant Cycle - Phase I Application

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) is pleased that you are interested in applying for funding from the Legacy Investment From Tourism (LIFT) Fund. We are excited to work with you and to play a role in the development of projects that have potential to benefit both tourism and the entire community.
Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant must be a federally recognized non-profit organization or government entity.
• If the applicant is a non-profit organization, the organization must have been in operation for at least 2 years at the time of application. Project must be principally located in Buncombe County.
• Project must be a major tourism capital project that furthers economic development of Buncombe County.
• Project must demonstrate ability to increase patronage of lodging facilities in Buncombe County by attracting tourists, business travelers, or both.
• Project must not solely benefit a single lodging owner, lodging property, or be situated on a lodging property.
• At time of application, applicant must have legal control of the property through recorded deed or long-term lease agreement. If property is owned by a municipal partner, such as the City or County, a non-profit organization may provide a letter of support or other agreement with the municipal partner.
• Applicant must show how a minimum of a 1-to-1 funding match to the requested grant amount (excluding in-kind goods and services) will be achieved.

Application Instructions

• Prior to beginning the application, please review the LIFT Fund Program Guidelines to review eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, application process and submission guidelines.
• Please provide complete information in response to each question. If you are unable to answer a question or if a question is not applicable to your project, please briefly describe why it cannot be answered or enter “N/A.”
• Please type your answers in the fields provided; handwritten applications will not be accepted. Limit the length of your answers to the space provided.
• Attachments and any other supplemental documentation are not required in Phase I and will not be accepted.
• You may save and resume your application by clicking on "Save" found at the bottom of each page. The application platform will send a unique link you can use to resume your application. To ensure you don't lose the link, we recommend you copy and save the link in safe place as well as input your email for the link to be emailed directly to you. Without the link, your saved data cannot be retrieved, and you will have to start filling out the application at the beginning.

Applications must be received no later than Friday, May 1, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET.

For any questions, please contact grants@exploreasheville.com.

Applicant Organization Information
Organization Name*
Non-Profit OrganizationFor-Profit OrganizationGovernment Entity
YesNo
501(c)(3)501(c)(4)501(c)(6)Other
Organization Phone*
Please enter a valid phone number.Format: (000) 000-0000.
Organization Physical Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Organization Mailing Address*

Mailing Address Line 1

Mailing Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code

Primary Contact Information

Please provide the contact information for the primary point of contact for this application.
Name*

First NameLast Name
Title*
Email*
Phone Number*
Please enter a valid phone number.Format: (000) 000-0000.

Project Details
Name of Project*
The project name will be used to identify the project throughout the application process, and if selected for an award, it will be used for the award announcement and within the contract.
Physical Address of Project*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
YesNo
Yes, the applicant organization has legal control of the property through a long-term lease (Applicant leases the property)Yes, the applicant organization has legal control of the property through a recorded deed (Applicant owns the property)Yes, the applicant organization has legal control of the property through a letter of support or other agreement with a municipal partnerNo, the applicant organization does not currently have legal control of the property
Please describe your project.*
Provide a detailed description of the project scope of work. For each task / deliverable, include description, cost, and timeline of completion.*
Provide a detailed project budget.*
Project Milestones
What is the projected project start date?*

MonthDayYear
Date
What is the projected completion date?*

MonthDayYear
Date
What is the projected opening date?*

MonthDayYear
Date
Please provide other project milestones, if applicable. Please include the date and the milestone description.*

Project Financial Information
GrantLoan GuaranteeDebt Service
What is the total budget for your project?*
What is your requested funding amount?*

List the current mix of non-LIFT funding for your project. Include the source, amount, status, and if the funding is contingent on LIFT funds.

Rows	Source	Amount	Status
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4
Source 5
Source 6
Source 7
Source 8
Source 9
Source 10

Total Amount of non-LIFT funding*
Please total all non-LIFT funding sources listed above.
If the total amount of non-LIFT funding sources listed above is less than the requested LIFT funding amount, please describe your plan to raise the remaining amount to meet the 1-to-1 funding match requirement.*
If the total amount of non-LIFT funding sources is the same or more than the requested grant amount, please input "N/A".
If any of the above funding sources are contingent on receiving funding through the LIFT Fund, please explain below.*
If none of the above funding sources are contingent on receiving funding through LIFT, please input "N/A".
YesNo
If yes, please describe what the previous BCTDA investment(s) specifically funded for your project and why you are applying for funding for this project again.

Project Impact
YesNo
If applicable, how many visitors does your current operation serve annually?
If your project is a new location and you do not have comparable information to provide, please input "N/A".
Please describe how you determined the number of visitors served annually. *
What is the estimated number of visitors at your project for YEAR 1 of operation? *
What is the estimated number of visitors at your project for YEAR 2 of operation? *
What is the estimated number of visitors at your project for YEAR 3 of operation? *
What are your visitation estimates based on? (Example: existing customer data, ticket sales, research, etc.)*
How many days would a typical visitor patronize your project during one visit to Buncombe County?*
What is your estimated percentage of visitors to this project who will stay overnight in Buncombe County in paid lodging? *
Please describe your current or expected audience.*

Terms of Agreement

Please read each of the following statements and acknowledge that you understand and agree to them by checking the boxes. Applications cannot be submitted unless this field is completed.
Disclsoure for the Public Record
As a public authority, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority is subject to Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Therefore, any and all aspects of this application must be made available by the BCTDA to any party, public or private, upon request without exception. If you are concerned that the distribution of any of your application materials may do irreparable damage to you, your organization, or associated parties, the BCTDA highly recommends that you seek alternative funding in lieu of LIFT funds.

Project Monitoring
I hereby acknowledge that if I am awarded LIFT funding, I will be required to submit an annual report by January 15 of each year during the term of the agreement, with the term commencing on the effective date and continuing for four years after the completion date. Reports include marketing plans and methodologies for capturing annual and out-of-market visitation, up-to-date room night projections, and copies of survey instruments used for data among other requirements.

BCTDA Marketing
I hereby acknowledge that certain information from my application, such as the project description, timeline, and leadership, may be used by the BCTDA at its sole discretion for the promotion and marketing of the LIFT program and the region as a tourism destination.

Completed Application
I hereby acknowledge that I have completed this application in good faith and have done so in full compliance with the law. I have made no attempt to falsify or misconstrue facts or data anywhere in this application. The information contained in this application is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
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2026 Grant Cycle - Phase I Application

Eligibility

Applicant Organization Information

Primary Contact Information

Project Details

Project Milestones

Project Financial Information

Project Impact

Terms of Agreement