Shocktober Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing
Shocktober Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing
Leesburg, Virginia, September 29, 2016 – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Shocktober received $10,000 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program grant fund. In total VTC awarded $927,000 for 43 tourism marketing projects across the state to help increase visitation and revenue for Virginia’s localities through tourism.
Shocktober received a $10,000 grant for its “Shocktober Takes Over October”. We have partners with Old Ox Brewery, in a collaborative brew: Oxorcist II; Hampton Inn & Suites and Homewood Suites for discount hotel rooms for our customers; and Visit Loudoun to help reach more customers inside and outside the Greater DC Area.
The grants are designed to help local and regional tourism entities attract more visitors by leveraging local marketing dollars, and will ultimately impact at least 159 other statewide tourism entities. The local organizations match the state grant funds by a minimum of 2:1 in order to support marketing projects. This funding cycle, the local partners will match the VTC grant dollars with more than $2.3 million, providing more than $3.2 million in new marketing to increase visitation to Virginia.
“The Marketing Leverage Grant program is designed to spur job creation, economic development, and visitor spending through new or enhanced tourism product,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These grants are proven to increase visitation by creating marketing partnerships and effective marketing programs.”
Tourism is an instant revenue generator for Virginia. In 2015, tourism generated $23 billion in revenue, supported nearly 222,600 jobs and provided $1.6 billion in state and local taxes. Dollars invested in tourism are proven to provide a 5:1 return in tax revenue for Virginia, and the grant awards and matching funds provide a stimulus to localities seeking to increase tourism visitation and revenue.
Shocktober will proudly carry the Virginia is for Lovers logo on our marketing materials this season!
Shocktober is a seasonal event that brings thousands of people to Loudoun every Halloween season. Shocktober’s Paxton Manor is a haunted house tourism attraction open every weekend through the month of October. The 2015 Season was the sixth year that Shocktober has been open. In 2015, Shocktober had over 10,000 people walk through its doors, generating over $300,000 for Paxton Campus, the nonprofit it serves. We Scare Because We Care! Paxton Campus is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization that advocates for and provides direct service to adults and children with disabilities, as well as their families and caretakers, through its many programs: The Aurora School, Open Door Learning Center, ALLY Advocacy Center, STEP Up and Maggie’s Closet. Paxton’s very low 5% overhead costs mean that almost 95 cents of every donated dollar goes back to our programs.
For more information, visit www.shocktober.org or contact Rachel Roseberry, Communications Coordinator of Paxton Campus, at rroseberry@paxtoncampus.org or by phone at 703.431.4279.
