Each year, the Downtown Long Beach Associates pays for and hosts nearly a dozen of its own events that activate Downtown with everything from concerts to food tastings to holiday celebrations. But last September, the nonprofit business advocacy group reached out to the community with an offer: a series of $2500 sponsorship grants that will be given to organizers to help fund non-DLBA events that want to use areas of Downtown Long Beach as a venue.
Since the program was established with a $15,000 fund in October 2012, the DLBA has provided sponsorships to a variety of Downtown events including Zombie Walk, Winter in Willmore City and The East Village 2nd Saturday Art Walk. In the most recent funding cycle–which included the first six months of 2013–sponsorship was awarded to Rainbow Harbor Mardi Gras, Sister Spit at QSpeak and the Long Beach Green Prix.
Currently, applications are being accepted for events that take place between June and October 2013–the final four months of this fiscal year. Applications will be reviewed by the MSETF and evaluated based on criteria such as experience, marketing and plan of action, and positive impact on the community. The highest-scored proposals will be recommended for sponsorships.
“The DLBA event sponsorship program is designed to provide financial support for events that benefit the community and add to the vibrancy of Downtown,” a press release from the DLBA says.
All applications for this time frame must be submitted to the DLBA office via fax at (562) 437-7850 or email at [email protected], by 5PM on Wednesday, May 6. Sponsorships will be awarded after careful consideration by the Marketing and Special Events Task Force at its May 17 meeting.
More information about the application process, including funding guidelines and quarterly submission deadlines, can be found on the DLBA website at www.downtownlongbeach.org.