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community_development · DOI-BIA

Tribal Tourism Grant Program (TTGP)

Bureau of Indian Affairs · BIA-TTGP-2026-OIED

Closed

Award Range

$200K$300K

Total Program Funding

$2.4M

Expected Awards

10

Deadline

August 7, 2026

GRANTQUICK SUMMARYPlain-English Overview

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is funding 10 Tribal Tourism Grants ($200K-$300K each, $2.4M total) to help tribes increase visitors to their existing tourism operations. This is about marketing, promotion, and enhancing visibility — not building new tourism infrastructure. If your tribe already has tourism assets (cultural centers, natural attractions, historic sites, events) and wants federal money to get more visitors through the door, this is it.

Who Should Apply

Federally recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations as defined under ISDEAA (25 U.S.C. 5304), including Tribal Consortia. Must have existing tourism operations to promote.

Who Should NOT Apply

State-recognized (but not federally recognized) tribes, non-tribal organizations, individual tribal members, tribes without existing tourism operations, or for-profit tourism companies (though tribes can hire them as contractors).

Key Requirements (Plain English)

  • Must be a federally recognized Indian Tribe or Tribal Organization under ISDEAA
  • Must focus on increasing visitors to EXISTING tourism operations
  • Must include promotion, marketing, and visibility enhancement
  • Must demonstrate community benefits from tourism
  • Can retain for-profit or nonprofit organizations as subcontractors
  • No cost-sharing required

💡 GrantQuick Tip

10 awards across 574 federally recognized tribes means this is competitive but achievable. The winning applications will show EXISTING tourism assets that are underperforming due to lack of visibility — not proposals to create tourism from scratch. If your tribe has a cultural center getting 5,000 visitors/year but should be getting 50,000, show exactly how $300K in marketing and visitor experience improvements will close that gap. Digital marketing plans (SEO, social media, Google Maps presence) are surprisingly effective here.

Competitiveness: Moderate — 10 awards for 574 eligible tribes. Many tribes lack grant-writing capacity, which improves odds for those who apply with strong proposals.

What This Grant Funds

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Office of the Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs (Indian Affairs), through the Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED), solicits proposals from eligible entities (see Eligibility Section) for tourism grants focused on increasing visitors to existing Tribal tourism operations through facilitation, promotion, and enhancing visibility. The Tribal Tourism Grant Program (TTGP) funding strives to achieve substantial community benefits by facilitating and strengthening Tribal tourism activities, enhancing visitor experiences, and increasing visibility and access to Tribal destinations. These efforts support economic development and contribute to improved community well-being. The TTGP is not to be used to create or establish new Tribal tourism operations (see Definitions).The competitively selected projects will benefit from technical assistance provided by the NATIVE Act Cooperative Agreement awardee, as well as the OIED. This approach will enable Tribes to enhance tourism experiences, strengthen destination positioning, and increase visitation. Projects should address clearly defined tourism challenges and opportunities and be aligned with the economic development goals and priorities of the Tribal community.The OIED will administer this grant program through the Division of Economic Development (DED) funded under a non-recurring appropriation budget. Congress appropriates funds on a year-to-year basis. While TTGP projects may extend over several years, the DED will not fund beyond the period of performance.The grant awards are for a project and budget period of 24 months. Neither the DOI nor Indian Affairs will be held responsible for proposal or application preparation costs. Publication of this announcement does not obligate DOI or Indian Affairs to award any specific grant or to obligate all or any part of available funds.

Attachments

Who Can Apply

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs, through the Office of Indian Economic Development, is soliciting proposals from eligible applicants. Eligible applicants are Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations, as defined in Section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) (25 U.S.C. 5304), including Tribal Consortia. Eligible applicants may select or retain for-profit or non-profit Tribal Organizations to perform a grant's scope of work for grant funding to support the Tribal tourism implementation project.

Eligible Applicant Types

Other Tribal OrganizationsFederally Recognized Tribal Governments

Funding Details

Minimum Award
$200K
Maximum Award
$300K
Total Program Funding
$2.4M
Expected Number of Awards
10
Cost Sharing Required?
No
Funding Instrument
grant

Key Dates

Posted: June 25, 2026
Application Deadline: August 7, 2026 (0 days remaining)

Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM, ET, on the listed application due date.

Agency Contact

Jo Ann Metcalfe jo.metcalfe@bia.gov

jo.metcalfe@bia.gov

Ready to apply?

View the full NOFO and submit your application on Grants.gov