Carbon County is soliciting grant applications for tourism-related projects to be funded in part by proceeds from the Hotel Room Tax imposed throughout the County.

The Carbon County Commissioners have assigned certain responsibilities to Carbon County Chamber of Commerce concerning the solicitation, evaluation, and recommendation of these tourism-related projects. To facilitate the effective and equitable allocation of these public funds, the Chamber of Commerce has created a Room Tax Allocation Committee to handle these responsibilities.With the approval of the Carbon County Commissioners and Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, Inc., this committee has developed a protocol that includes general guidelines, application criteria, and an evaluation procedure for projects related to tourism, convention promotion, and tourism development.Grants are expected to be awarded twice annually. The deadline to submit completed grant applications for the current period is Friday, April 30, 2010 at 4 p.m. The Committee will convene to evaluate all applications that have been received and will forward its recommendations for funding to the Office of the Carbon County Commissioners for approval, who will then forward a copy to the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, Inc. In general, grant funding will be limited to not more than 50 percent of the total project cost.To request additional information and a grant application for tourism-related projects, eligible non-profit organizations are asked to contact Carbon County Chamber of Commerce at (610) 379-5000 or

mail@carboncountychamber.org mailto:mail@carboncountychamber.org . The CCCC Office is located in the Lehighton Borough Annex, 110 North Third Street, Suites 216 & 217, Lehighton , PA 18235-1567.