Community Grant Program

Discover Ames has announced the recipients of its 2025 Community Grant Program.

More than $92,000 was awarded to 37 organizations for events and activities occurring in calendar year 2025. This is the 19th year of the Community Grant Program. In total, Discover Ames (the Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau) has awarded $1,324,805 in grants.

The Community Grant Program was established to support a wide range of events and activities that are open to the public. Grants are awarded annually on the basis of merit as determined by the Discover Ames Grant Committee and are administered by Discover Ames.

Grant funds are available to develop events and activities that improve the quality of life for Ames residents and have the potential to attract visitors to the Ames area or enhance a visitor’s experience.

2025 Discover Ames Community Grant recipients

• Ames Fly-In — Boys and Girls Club of Story County & Ames Police Benefit Association
• Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market — Ames Chamber of Commerce
• Ames Renaissance Faire — Ballard Family Enterprise LLC
• Ames TUBACHRISTMAS — Ames TUBACHRISTMAS
• Ames Turkey Trot — Fitness Sports
• Anime Ames — Cosplay Club at Iowa State University
• Beautiful Land Pop-up at Fareway in Downtown — Beautiful Land Market
• Campus Service Day — Campus Service Council
• CASA Holiday Art Sake — Creative Artists’ Studios of Ames
• CASA Spring Open House — Creative Artists’ Studios of Ames
• Catch a Radio Wave — Senior Variety Show
• Disney’s Descendants: The Musical — Story Theater Company
• Friendship Ark’s Tropical Sangria Escape — Friendship Ark, Inc.
• Goldfinch Room Reunion Festival — Stephens Auditorium, KHOI, and Ames Community Arts Council
• Illuminate Contemporary Dance Concert — Dancenter Dancer Company Foundation
• Iowa Game Athletic Tailgate — Iowa Sports Foundation
• Kevin Zhu Concert and Outreach — Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association
• Lincoln Highway Days — Lincoln Highway Days Committee
• Midwest Children’s Choir Festival — Ames Youth Choir
• Mural Week Community Mural — The Ames Foundation
• Nevada Community Rodeo — Nevada Community Rodeo
• Nevada Truck and Tractor Pull — Nevada Truck and Tractor Pull Association
• Octagon Art Festival — Octagon Center for the Arts
• Opening Night Event — Ames Community Theater
• Pizza Pie Looza — Nevada Foundation
• Resistance: A Community Tour — The Eco Theatre Lab
• Roosevelt Summer Sundays Concert Series — Friends of Roosevelt Park
• See the Music (Hear the Dance) — Ames International Orchestra Association
• Semiquincentennial Exhibit — Ames History Museum
• Snow Magic Kick-Off Event — Ames Main Street
• Spirits in the Garden — Reiman Gardens
• Stacks for Stead Pancake Breakfast — Dance Marathon at Iowa State University
• Step Into Story Books — Raising Readers in Story County
• Story County Fair Board — Story County Fair
• The Bill Bregan 5k on the 4th — Friendship Ark, Inc.
• Winterfest — Winterfest
• Words Meet Art — Ames Writers Collective
• Zearing Days Celebration — Zearing Days Celebration

Apply for 2026 grants

Organizations are encouraged to apply for 2026 grants. The application period will open this spring, and the application deadline will be in October. 

Applications are accepted from public and private organizations who demonstrate the ability to complete the proposed event or activity. Events can be cultural, educational, recreational, or artistic. The grant program is designed to encourage wide participation and innovative proposals.

To apply, organizations must complete the grant application form. The Community Grant Committee will review applications and make recommendations to the Discover Ames Board of Directors for final approval.

To be considered for funding, events/activities must meet the minimum grant requirements. The review committee will rate applications based on the following criteria:

• Ability to create a positive perception of Ames and improve the quality of life for community members
• Demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment for the success of the event or activity
• Ability to attract visitors or enhance their stay
• Diversity and uniqueness of the event or activity
• Appeal of the event or activity to a broad-based audience 

• Event/activity must be open to the public.
• Potential Grant recipients are required to complete a Grant Application and submit by application deadline.
• All marketing materials promoting the event or activity must include the Discover Ames logo, telephone number, website and the verbiage “Supported by the Discover Ames Community Grant Program” as appropriate.
• Applicants may request up to 50 percent of the total award in advance of the event/activity.
• A 2024 Final Report Form must be completed within 60 days after the completion of the event/activity to receive distribution of funds.
• Copies of original receipts are required with the final report.
• Failure to comply with the obligations will prohibit the organization from receiving a grant in the future. 

Event: Something that occurs in a certain place during a particular time and holds significance to the Ames area.
Activity: An organized, supervised, extracurricular and recreational occasion that is beneficial to the Ames area and its residents

• Ongoing operating expenditures
• Permanent infrastructure
• Capital building projects
• Professional services including legal, medical, engineering, accounting or auditing
• General fundraising or donations
• Salaries, wages or administrative fees
• Debt retirement or associated fees
• Anything contrary to federal, state or local law or ordinance
• Private events (not open to the public) 

• “The Bells of Iowa State” Gala Anniversary Concert (2019)
• A Bevy: Studio Curiosities Exhibit (2019)
• Ames Fireworks
• Iowa Able Run
• Lincoln Highway Days