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ALTON – Alton will offer grants of up to $1,000 each to eligible event organizers under a newly approved grant program to support festivals and more across the city.
Alton City Council members unanimously approved a resolution on June 10, 2026 to establish a festival and event microgrant program to support city-wide events using Food and Beverage Tax revenue.
City Council Coordinator Beth Bear previously said grants of up to $1,000 would be awarded per event, with up to $10,000 in event funding available per fiscal year for each eligible applicant.
Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, Alton-based retail businesses, and other contributors to the city’s Food and Beverage Tax fund. Events also must also meet certain criteria, including being publicly available and taking place within the city and fiscal year.
When the resolution came up for a vote, Alderwoman Martha Pfister amended the item to establish a “rolling” schedule of application deadlines. She said this will better accommodate seasonal events by not requiring event organizers later in the year to plan so far in advance.
Rather than all grant applications being due each year on Feb. 1 as originally proposed, the new application deadlines will fall on March 1, June 1, Sept. 1, and Dec. 1 of each year – except this year, 2026, when the first grant application deadline falls on July 1. Pfister proposed the July 1 deadline for this year only to allow event organizers to take advantage of these grants before September.
Pfister’s application deadline amendment and the amended resolution were both approved unanimously. The item is set to return for final approval in ordinance form at a future meeting.
A full recording of the June 10, 2026 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
