The grant aims to help communities recover by boosting tourism in impacted communities.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Yellow Duck Marketing, a marketing agency in Charlotte is working to help companies impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The agency launched a $20,000 Creative Tourism Campaign Grant designed to attract visitors back to communities across western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina, southwest Virginia and Tennessee.
Tourism is essential to many communities in this region, with visitors providing revenue that sustains small businesses and supports local jobs. Helene disrupted this critical lifeline, leaving communities struggling to rebuild.
The grant offers the selected organization access to comprehensive creative services that will be tailored to their priorities. The services available include account strategy and management, branding, ad creative design (digital and print), public relations campaigns, crisis communications, influencer marketing, social media content, swag design, website design and more.
Yellow Duck Marketing believes these services can make a meaningful difference, bringing visitors back and helping to revitalize local economies.
“As a homeowner in Transylvania County, the mountains are a part of me. I saw firsthand the impact it had on the hard-working folks who were relying on tourism for their self-sufficiency, so I wanted to give back through what we do best – building buzz for places,” Yellow Duck Marketing founder Julianne McCollum said.
The creative grant is open to towns, cities, tourism boards, Convention & Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), counties, nonprofits, hotels and resorts significantly impacted by Hurricane Helene. Eligible applicants must demonstrate the physical or economic impact of Hurricane Helene and share their vision for revitalizing tourism.
Applications are due by Jan. 17, 2025. For more information and to apply, visit Yellow Duck Marketing’s Tourism Creative Grant Webpage.
The winner will be selected based on need, potential impact, and the scope of the proposed project. The winner will be announced by Jan. 31.
