Arts & Events Marketing Assistance

What is the Arts & Events Marketing Assistance (AEMA) Program?

The Arts & Events Marketing Assistance (AEMA) fund is a program of the Forsyth County Tourism Development Authority, dba Visit Winston-Salem. The mission of Visit Winston-Salem is to attract visitors to Greater Winston-Salem for the economic benefit of Forsyth County and its citizens.

AEMA is a program that provides reimbursement funding to annual festival and event organizers and attractions to support marketing to out-of-area visitors. The purpose of the AEMA fund is to provide marketing support for arts and events programs that showcase the unique cultural assets of our community; and, to help attract visitors to Winston-Salem.

The Arts & Events Marketing Assistance Program application period has closed for the '24/'25 year.

Applicant Eligibility:

Must be a federally recognized non-profit organization based in Forsyth County. If the applying organization is not a non-profit organization, the applicant may use a fiscal agent for the application.
The event or program must take place within Forsyth County.
The event or program must occur between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
The event or program must be welcoming and appealing for visitors who reside outside of our community.
AEMA funds must be used for marketing that is placed outside of Forsyth County. Capital and/or operating expenses are not eligible for AEMA funding.

Funding for successful applicants will be provided as a reimbursement after the event or program takes place. If the event or program is cancelled or does not take place, for any reason, the grant will be nullified. Back up receipts/proof of advertising is mandatory for reimbursement.

AEMA recipients will acknowledge Visit Winston-Salem's support by including our logo on marketing materials, providing a link to www.VisitWinstonSalem.com, or mention in any broadcasts.

Important Dates

Application Deadline: March 15
AEMA Funding Announcement: May 22

Please note: When filling out the application, we strongly recommend answering the questions in a document saved on your computer and then copy-and-pasting your answers into the form below in case of internet outages or automatic page reloads.

Name of Festival/Event/Program *

Name of Organization *

Tax Status of the Organization *

Brief Description and History of Your Event/Festival/Program *

Mission or Purpose of the Event/Program/Festival *

Location of Event/Program/Festival *

Attendance for the most recent three years, if applicable (beginning with the most recent year)

Year 1

Year 2

Year 2.

Year 3

Year 3.

What is your projected attendance for this event? *

How do you determine your attendance number? *

What percentage of your attendees reside in Forsyth County? *

Please provide as much detail as possible about where your non-local attendees reside and describe how you determine the residential location of attendees. *

This can be by zip code, DMA (designated marketin area), city, state, etc.

Provide a detailed description of how this event or program will be marketing, including and paid advertising. Please be specific in describing where marketing and promotions will appear.

You may describe your marketing plan in this form, or alternatively you may upload up to two documents including 1) a marketing plan and 2) advertising schedule and/or collateral that illustrates implementation.

Upload 1

Select Document

One file only.
256 MB limit.
Allowed types: txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx, odt, ppt, pptx, odp, xls, xlsx, ods.

Upload 2

Select Document

One file only.
256 MB limit.
Allowed types: txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx, odt, ppt, pptx, odp, xls, xlsx, ods.

Describe any packaging and partnerships you have with Forsyth County hotels and/or specify any partnership marketing activities you have with other community organizations. Examples may include: cooperative advertising buys, working in partnership to earn editorial coverage, social media sharing, hotel packages, etc. *

Please describe any past and/or planned cooperative packaging activities.

Describe how your event or program showcased the unique cultural assets or history of our community. *

How much funding are you requesting? *

How will these funds be budgeted to attract visitors from outside Forsyth County? *

Contact Information

Name

Company

Phone

Address

Address 2

City/Town

State/Province

ZIP/Postal Code

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