The 2026 application cycle for the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s Legacy Investment From Tourism (LIFT) Fund is now open. The LIFT Fund provides strategic investment in tourism-related capital projects that increase patronage of lodging, meeting, and convention facilities in Buncombe County while benefiting the community at large.
The LIFT Fund is supported by occupancy tax paid by visitors who stay overnight in Buncombe County’s lodging properties, including hotels, vacation rentals, and bed-and-breakfast inns. The authority estimates that approximately $11 million will be available for investment in this year’s funding cycle.
APPLY FOR LIFT FUND INVESTMENT
Projects eligible for the LIFT Fund must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Applicant must be a federally recognized non-profit organization or government entity.
- If the applicant is a non-profit organization, the organization must have been in operation for at least 2 years at the time of application.
- Project must be principally located in Buncombe County.
- Project must be a tourism-related capital project.
- Project must (1) demonstrate ability to increase patronage of lodging facilities, meeting facilities, and convention facilities in Buncombe County by attracting tourists, business travelers, or both and (2) benefit the community at large in Buncombe County.
- Project must demonstrate ability to balance both resident and visitor needs.
- Project must not solely benefit a single lodging owner, lodging property, or be situated on a lodging property.
- At the time of application, the applicant must have legal control of the property through a recorded deed or a long-term lease agreement.
- Applicant must show how a minimum of a 1-to-1 funding match to the requested grant amount (excluding in-kind goods and services) will be achieved.
Use Of Funds
- Construction of a new location or relocation
- Expansion of an existing location
- Restoration or rehabilitation of an existing location
- Maintenance of a tourism-related capital project
- Design of a tourism-related capital project
- Project administration of a tourism-related capital project
- Enhancement of natural resources
- Expansion of necessary infrastructure
2026 LIFT Fund Program Guidelines
LIFT Fund 2026 Cycle Schedule
- April 1: Phase I Application Opens
- May 1: LIFT Fund Phase I Application Closes
- May 20: Phase I Applicants Notified and Invited to Phase II
- July 15: Phase II Application Closes
- Week of August 3: Project Presentations
- Week of August 10: Project Site Visits
- September Board Meeting: Funding recommendations presented to the authority's board of directors
For questions about the LIFT Fund and the upcoming grant cycle, please contact Kimberly Puryear, Destination Investment & Project Manager.