Visit Oxford Opens a New Year of Oxford Partnerships

Local events that promote tourism in Oxford can now apply for a grant through Visit Oxford’s Partnership Program.

In its third year, the program started several years ago replacing a former grant program.

The mission of Visit Oxford is to increase tourism to Oxford for the economic benefit of the community.

“Oxford Partnerships is another tool for Visit Oxford to promote visitation to our destination,” said Mary Allyn Hedges, director of Visit Oxford.

Funds given through Oxford Partnerships are for the purpose of promoting Oxford and the University of Mississippi events that target out of town visitors.

Events held Oct. 1, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2019, are eligible for funding. Oxford Partnerships funds can be used for advertising, printing, meals, administrative costs, performance fees and more.

“It is a great opportunity to offer this funding to groups, organizations and events working to attract a diverse group of visitors to Oxford, some for the very first time”, said Jessica Lynch, partnerships manager of Visit Oxford.

Visit Oxford will accept Oxford Partnerships applications throughout the year and the program length is based on how quickly these funds are exhausted.

This year, Visit Oxford has dedicated $65,000 for Oxford Partnerships, a significant increase from the previous years. Preference will be given to events that drive hotel room nights in Oxford hotels from Sunday- Thursday nights and during the months of December-February and June-August.

Melanie Addington, director of the Oxford Film Festival said she applies for the Partnership Program each year.

“Their support helps us so much to get the word out about our event,” Addington said. “Without their dollars, we would likely not have enough money for advertising. Their support is instrumental in making the Oxford Film Festival grow year after year.”

Oxford Partnerships applications can be found under the “services” tab at the bottom of the Visit Oxford homepage: http://visitoxfordms.com/services/.

Hottytoddy.com staff report