It might not seem like pickleball courts, boat docks, electric vehicle charging stations and the roof of a historic lodge have much in common.

But, they’re all projects that were awarded the Bend Sustainability Fund grant money by Visit Bend last year. Visit Bend is the local destination management organization that promotes tourism in the central Oregon city.

This year, Visit Bend has $500,000 to give. The application window opened earlier this month and will close Jan. 16.

“Hopefully, we’ll see a couple dozen (applications),” Visit Bend CEO and President Jeff Knapp said, “and hopefully, in some way, support all of them.”

With the Bend Sustainability Fund, Visit Bend is trying to shift tourism dollars into local delight.

Tourism is an important part of Bend’s economy, and it’s played a part in the city’s growth. But that growth has taken its toll on local infrastructure.

Since 2021, money that was previously spent solely on marketing has been spent on projects that serve more than visitors.

The Bend Sustainability Fund is a pool of money that gets awarded to local projects aimed at serving tourists and locals. The money comes from transient lodging taxes collected by the state, and then a portion of that is distributed to tourism agencies like Visit Bend.

Because the Bend Sustainability Fund receives money from state transient lodging taxes, there are restrictions on what kinds of projects can be funded.

Money is collected when people stay in short-term rentals like Airbnbs and hotels. Some money goes to the state and then makes its way back to the tourism offices like Visit Bend.

According to. Nov. 13 press release from Visit Bend, potential projects should be “shovel-ready, have a lifespan of at least 10 years” and “attract visitors from more than 50 miles away.” They should also have “grassroots community support” and “improve upon an existing tourism-related facility or create a new one to fill a gap.”

Over time, Bend transitioned from a small timber town to an outdoor recreation vacation destination.

Now, tourism brings in hundreds of millions of dollars to the region each year and is an essential part of the local economy.

However, Bend’s popularity has also drawn focus on local infrastructure. Bend has been updating its roads and sewer systems to meet a growing demand.

That’s due to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a different pace of life and easier access to the great outdoors, relocating to the small city of just over 100,000.

Over the past few years, tourism magnets like mountain bike trails, signs for skiing trails and museum and theatre restorations have received funding.

Outdoor activity projects have received over $2 million of the total $3.3 million granted since 2021.

The Bend Parks and Recreation District has received $650,000 – the most money of any applicant. It received half of that money for its recently opened project, Miller’s Landing Park, along the Deschutes River near downtown Bend.

BPRD received a $300,000 Bend Sustainability Fund award to complete the waterfront revamp that included adaptive boat launches and a safe place for families to play in the river.

The newly constructed access point to the river gave people a calm place to sit and enjoy the water’s edge in relative safety.

Once it opened, it became a popular place for families to bring their children and friends to meet for a quick dip in the Deschutes River.

Rachel Colton, a planner with BPRD, said the project wouldn’t have been completed in the two-year time frame without grant funding from the Bend Sustainability Fund.

The $1.3 million project was funded by multiple organizations, including Visit Bend, according to Ian Isaacson, a project manager with Bend’s parks district.

Now, it’s another place where locals and tourists staying in one of the many nearby short-term rentals can access the east side of the river.

Zavier Borja, Visit Bend’s sustainability director, said the tourism office is doing something not many other destination management organizations are, by using tourism generated funds to invest in community projects.

“I think tourism has a bad connotation or negative connotation to it, at times,” said Borja, who was born and raised in Central Oregon, but Visit Bend is using “tourism as a force for good” by putting a third of its budget back into the local community.

An independent board reviews, recommends and scores the applications. Projects are expected to be approved in mid-March, Borja said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/27/visit-bend-opens-grant-application-window-for-projects-that-serve-tourists-locals/