$968K Grants Awarded To Boost Tourism, Day Trippers In Harford County

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Two dozen nonprofits and community organizations have received tourism grant money to help attract day trippers from outside the county and to help boost the number of overnight stays in the county.

The $968,000 in fiscal year 2026 tourism grants, funded through the county’s six percent hotel tax, are organized into two funds: the Partnership Fund and the Community Impact Fund. The Partnership Fund encourages multiple nonprofit organizations to plan extended events together to encourage guests’ overnight stays, which will then generate additional tourism revenue to reinvest into the program. The Community Impact Fund supports individual nonprofits or municipalities in creating, expanding or enhancing activities that drive tourism and economic growth in Harford County. This fund is for organizations that use innovative approaches to increase tourism, with an emphasis on the attraction of out-of-county visitors.

This year’s directive for awarding the tourism grants was to expand geographic distribution and consolidate nonprofit organizational funding requests into a single application process, with an emphasis on accountability and sustainability, according to the county. Organizations were encouraged to think creatively about how their programming and event missions could strategically support Harford’s overall tourism initiative.

The Tourism Activity Review Committee, comprised of members of the Harford County Economic Development Advisory Board, reviewed the applications and sent recommendations for funding awards to the county executive, who then approved the final allocations. Harford County will distribute a total of $538,000 in Partnership Fund grants.

“Tourism is a significant economic driver in Harford County and our tourism grant program, funded by the hotel tax, is designed to support nonprofit activities that attract visitors and generate additional overnight stays,” Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly said in a news release.

The 11 organizations receiving funds are:

• Bel Air Downtown Alliance - $75,000
• Community Projects of Havre de Grace, Inc. LLC - $11,000
• Governor William Paca Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) - $5,000
• Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center, Inc.- $40,000
• Havre de Grace Decoy Museum - $80,000
• Havre de Grace Maritime Museum - $25,000
• Highland Community Association - $70,000
• Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. - $70,000
• Maryland Center for the Arts - $57,000
• Society of Italian American Businessmen - $50,000
• Susquehannock Wildlife Society - $55,000 Harford County will distribute $430,000 in Community Impact grants.

The 13 organizations receiving funds are:

• 755 Alliance – $30,000
• City of Havre de Grace - $20,000
• Discovery Center at Water's Edge - $50,000
• Eden Mill Nature Committee - $5,000

• Friends of Concord Point Lighthouse - $20,000
• Friends of the Aberdeen B&O Train Station - $10,000 • Harford Community College Foundation - $40,000
• Harmer's Town Art Center - $30,000
• Hosanna Community House, Inc (DBA Hosanna School Museum) - $50,000
• Ladew Topiary Gardens - $75,000
• Rockfield Manor - $30,000
• Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra - $20,000
• The Liriodendron Foundation - $50,000