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Charleston County approves $400,000 in tourism media grants vetted by Explore Charleston
Summary
County staff told council the tourism “media” pot totals $400,000 and read a packet of recommended recipients from Explore Charleston; council approved the allocations after members described the vetting process and noted $1,157,000 in total requests.
Charleston County Council’s Finance Committee approved a package of tourism-media grants on Thursday after county staff said Explore Charleston vetted applications and recommended awards totaling $400,000.
County staff told the committee the funding is for the “media component” of tourism initiatives; Explore Charleston scores applications and forwards recommendations to county staff, who then verify the recommendations against council directives before the committee acts. A staff representative said, “This particular pot of money is for the media component,” and later stated, “I believe it’s 400,000.”
During the meeting, staff read the list of recommended organizations into the record and referenced the allocation amounts in the meeting packet. Named recipients included Charleston Jazz, Historic Charleston Foundation, Preservation Society of Charleston, South Carolina Aquarium, Spoleto Festival USA, International African American Museum, Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, Gibbs Museum of Art, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and others.
Councilor Jeremy Moody noted the county received requests totaling about $1,157,000 and praised Explore Charleston’s scoring process, saying the partnership produced a fair distribution. After discussion the committee voted by voice and approved the staff recommendation.
The committee’s action implements the staff-recommended disbursements; the precise award amounts for each recipient are available in the committee packet posted on the county website. The allocations were approved by voice vote.
