Share your club’s good work

Applications and requests for grant funding are reviewed in October and are approved at the sole discretion of the Marketing Committee (MC). The MC subjectively evaluates marketing grant applications on the following criteria: 

• MARKETING REACH—Marketing Reach refers to the ability to engage a large percentage of external (non-Lion) audiences, such as journalists, media consumers (i.e., television viewers, newspaper readers), social media or website views. Marketing reach does not include service activity numbers.
• BRAND AWARENESS—Brand awareness involves how prominently and frequently the Lions International brand will be displayed during the proposed grant activities. Examples of brand awareness may include developing advertisements, videos, promotional items or brochures that incorporate the official brand colors, logos or emblem of Lions International.
• GROWTH—Growth refers to how likely the proposed grant activities will result in securing new members or clubs in relation to the MISSION 1.5 initiative.
• VALUE—The MC will evaluate if the amount of grant funding requested seems appropriate for the proposed grant activities. Please send quotes or budget estimates with your application for consideration whenever possible. 

Marketing grants may be used to fund public relations, advertising or marketing efforts to external audiences (non-Lions) and members of the media. Marketing grant funding cannot be used for: 

• Funding service activities (i.e., buying food for a food pantry)
• Buying club supplies 
• Cash awards or donations 
• Internal meetings, training sessions or communications for Lions members only 
• Purchase of any items or services unrelated to the approved marketing grant activities 

Examples of approved marketing grant funding expenditures could include:

• Creating brochures or flyers to promote an upcoming service project 
• Hiring vendors or agencies to conduct PR, marketing, advertising or digital campaigns
• The purchase of branded giveaways that are handed out to the public at an event 
• Marketing material production costs, including printing and shipping
• Video or website production costs 
• External marketing or public relations efforts that target media professionals or the public 

All marketing grant recipients must contribute a minimum of a 10% match to their grant award. Please see the funding limits section in the program guidelines for more information The final post report must clearly document evidence of a 10% match. The 10% match must come from funds collected from multiple or single districts, zone, regions or areas and not from donated goods or services.

Approved marketing grant applications from single and multiple districts will receive 2/3 of the grant funding upfront. The remaining 1/3 in grant funding will be reimbursed after a complete post report is turned in and all marketing grant activities have concluded. All funds must be spent by June 30 of the fiscal year. Any unspent funds must be returned to Lions Clubs International by July 15 of the following fiscal year.

Within 30 days of the completion of the project, marketing grant recipients must submit a detailed post report. Grant recipients who do not submit a post report will not be eligible for future marketing grants. A single post report must be received no later than July 15 of the following fiscal year. Post reports consist of the following four sections: 

1. Project evaluation: Provide a detailed overview of the completed grant-funded activities and if the goals of the project were achieved. 
2. Project impact: Share all relevant data from your grant activities. Data may include the number of: 
   • New members joined or new clubs formed
   • Audience impressions 
   • News articles secured
   • Website or social media visits
3. Project financial: This is one of the most important elements of the post report, which requires a detailed accounting record of how the marketing grant funding was spent. All receipts and paid invoices must be submitted along with an itemized financial report in the provided accounting spreadsheet. In this section, you will also show evidence of the required 10% in matching funds. 
4. Project creative: Attach samples of any produced items. These items might include:
   • Photos from an event
   • Printed flyers or brochures
   • Copies of earned print or broadcast media 
   • Links or screenshots of websites or social media content  
   • Proof of placement of outdoor advertising