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Colorado Rural Academy for Tourism Studio 101

The Colorado Rural Academy for Tourism (CRAFT) Studio 101 was a four-month program that supported destinations in the early stages of the destination life cycle. The program provided tourism education and training on integrating tourism into economic development strategies.

Selected destinations participated in six in-person training sessions, online training, and group project work to gain knowledge on:

  • community-based tourism
  • visitor readiness
  • tourism entrepreneurship
  • tourism marketing
  • cultural tourism
  • culinary and agritourism
  • outdoor recreation
  • cycling tourism
  • sustainable tourism

CRAFT Studio 101 goals included:

  • convene diverse stakeholders in a destination to build relationships and trust to increase collaboration
  • engage in group discussions about the changes they want to see in the destination
  • identify short, medium and long term strategies to realize this change
  • prioritize short term strategies and develop collaborative work plans to implement them

Within 90 days after completion of a CRAFT Studio 101 program, participants could apply for a $10,000 CRAFT Studio 101 Implementation Funding grant to advance one or more tourism strategies discussed during the program.

The Colorado Rural Academy For Tourism (CRAFT) is no longer active. Follow this link to learn more about active Colorado Tourism Office Destination Development programs.

Overview

Type: Consulting/technical assistance

For: Tourism destinations

Amount: Up to $10,000 per destination

Application deadlines: This program is no longer active

OEDIT division: Colorado Tourism Office

Eligible applicants:

  • a local government
  • destination marketing organization
  • chamber of commerce
  • tourism industry association
  • a tourism board, panel, or committee

To receive a CRAFT Studio 101, applicants needed to:

  • identify at least one or two local champions to lead the effort, a core group of at least five additional community members that can represent the local geography and tourism-related sectors, and a diverse group of active partners that can attend the sessions throughout four month program
  • provide a venue for at least six in-person training sessions in your destination
  • provide outreach to locals for in-person training sessions (business owners, potential tourism entrepreneurs, local government, chamber of commerce, etc.)

   The Colorado Rural Academy For Tourism (CRAFT) is no longer active. Follow this link to learn more about active Colorado Tourism Office Destination Development programs.

Apply online through the OEDIT application portal. Log in or create a new account. New users are manually added to the portal for security reasons, so it may take several days to activate your account.

A representative from the Colorado Tourism Office responded to CRAFT Studio 101 applications within two weeks of submissions.

Application materials

Application questions


The questions below are only a reference and do not include all of the information needed in the application. For each narrative question response, there was a limit of 5,000 characters including spaces and punctuation.

  • Describe why your destination is applying for a CRAFT Studio 101 and why it is an appropriate time to begin this effort.
  • Include past examples of successful initiatives demonstrating your ability to implement collaborative tourism projects.
  • Explain how you will support the on-site coordination of program-related activities.
  • If selected as a participating destination for CRAFT Studio 101, what are your expected outcomes from this effort? List at least three.
  • List the current assets and resources your destination identifies for tourism.
  • Is there local financing in place or in kind donations to support the delivery of the CRAFT Studio 101? If so, what are the sources and dollar amount or dollar equivalent? 
Supporting documents
  • a list of supporting individuals and organizations – Demonstrate broad community support for this program with a list of individuals and organizations that will support this effort, along with the role they will play throughout the program duration.
  • three to five letters of support

A panel of industry partners and Colorado Tourism office staff reviewed applications and recommended awards based on application scores and available funds. The panel reviewed applications based on these criteria:

Merit (30%)

  • overall strength of application request
  • evidence of previous success

Community involvement (30%)

  • local champions and core group
  • evidence of community support

Impact (20%)
Applicants needed to show outcomes and potential for success.

Implementation capacity (20%) 

  • planning and management support
  • financial ability

CRAFT Studio 101 Implementation Funding grants provided CRAFT Studio 101 participants with $10,000 to implement one or more tourism projects that were discussed during the program. Awarded destinations needed to apply for this grant within 90 days of completion of CRAFT Studio 101 and projects needed to be completed within twelve months of receiving grant funds.

Past grantees used these funds to:

  • promote a new regional event
  • develop an asset inventory for marketing
  • conduct a photography shoot to gain updated, rights free images
  • conduct an in-depth visitor profile study

Ineligible uses of funds included:

  • staffing/salary costs
  • basic overhead needs
  • capital improvements, new construction, renovation, or restoration
  • professional training or scholarship
  • reimbursement of fees or expenses paid prior to application award
  • office supplies or items for resale

How to apply

Apply online through the OEDIT application portal. Log in or create a new account. New users are manually added to the portal for security reasons, so it may take several days to activate your account.

Applications needed to include:

  • detailed project description
  • timeline for the project
  • budget outlining all anticipated expenses

Selection process

The Colorado Tourism Office notified applicants about award their status within one month of submitting an application. A panel of Colorado Tourism Office staff and a program facilitator reviewed applications and recommended awards based on available funds.

Conditions of funding

As a condition of the receipt of a CRAFT Studio 101 Implementation Funding grant, awarded destinations were required to complete a baseline questionnaire and a mid-program evaluation. Within 30 days after the completion of the CRAFT Studio 101 Implementation Funding grant project, they needed to submit a final report. Twelve to 18 months after the completion of the CRAFT Studio 101 program, Colorado Tourism Office staff met with awardees to gauge the long-term results of the investment.

Program Manager

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