Brevard officials review new marketing-support grants; TDC recommended $805,000 for 44 events, board to revisit Jan. 28

The Brevard County Tourism Development Council and county commissioners spent a workshop session reviewing the county’s new marketing support program and a slate of recommended grant awards, and directed staff to return to the board on Jan. 28 with options for distributing unallocated funds.

TDC Director Peter Kranas told commissioners the office combined the previous cultural and sports grant programs into a single marketing-support program for fiscal 2024–25 and that the TDC had recommended awards for 44 events totaling $805,000. “For this fiscal year, upon a initial recommendation from a commissioner’s office, we developed the marketing support program, and it was ultimately approved by the TDC and the board of county commissioners,” Kranas said. He said the fiscal-year budget tied to the tourist development tax (TDT) is about $27,000,000 before required state reductions and other allocations.

Why it matters: the marketing support program directs TDT dollars intended to bring out-of-county visitors to Brevard County events. Several nonprofit and for-profit event organizers told the board that retroactive reimbursement or direct payments are critical because they incurred hard costs and marketing expenses under the expectation of county support.

Key facts and staff…