Partnerships

What DMO Partners Receive:

Heritage Trail Integration
Access to documented African American heritage sites formatted as visitor experiences. Walking tours, self-guided routes, and educational programming ready for your marketing channels.

Co-Marketing Opportunities
Joint campaigns featuring heritage tourism alongside your existing destination marketing. Shared content creation, cross-promotional materials, and collaborative storytelling.

Event Sponsorship
Recognition at signature events including Surrender & Jubilation (April), Come Home Harvest Feast (June), 1619 Arrival (August), and the State of Cultural Heritage Symposium.

Visitor Data & Analytics
Access to Heritage Points data showing visitor behavior, site engagement, economic impact metrics, and tourism pattern analysis for your region.

Partnership Coordination
Monthly meetings on 4th Thursdays bring together regional DMOs for collaborative planning, shared marketing strategies, and collective problem-solving.

Investment Model
$5,000 annually, plus a 5% in-kind marketing credit based on a percentage of tourism revenue generated through AAHTN programming in your region.

What Educational Partners Receive:

Experiential Learning Opportunities
Students conduct research at active heritage sites. Business students analyze tourism economics. History students document oral histories. Communications students create digital content. Sociology students study community development through heritage preservation.

Research Access
Access to heritage site networks, community elder interviews, archival materials, and historical documentation for academic research projects and thesis work.

Service Learning Integration
Structured programs connecting academic curriculum to community heritage preservation. Students earn credit while contributing to real preservation work.

Internship Pathways
Paid internship opportunities in heritage tourism, content creation, event management, and community engagement. Students build professional experience while supporting organizational operations.

Faculty Collaboration
Joint research projects, grant applications, and academic publications connecting university faculty expertise to heritage preservation challenges.

Investment Model
Partnership framework negotiated based on institutional capacity and program scope. Options range from course partnerships (no cost) to comprehensive research collaborations with grant funding support.

What Corporate Partners Receive:

Brand Visibility
Recognition across digital platforms reaching 60,000+ annual participants. Logo placement on website, social media, event materials, and Heritage Points platform.

CSR Impact Documentation
Detailed reports showing how sponsorship investment translates to community economic development, heritage preservation, and educational programming. Data formatted for corporate social responsibility reporting.

Employee Engagement
Exclusive heritage experiences for corporate teams. Walking tours, educational programs, and volunteer opportunities connecting employees to Virginia’s African American heritage.

Networking Access
Invitations to signature events, symposiums, and monthly Consensus Network meetings. Connect with tourism industry leaders, educational institutions, and community organizations.

Customized Partnerships
Flexible collaboration frameworks matching corporate strategic goals. From title sponsorships of major events to targeted support for specific heritage sites or educational programs.

Sponsorship Tiers:

Founders Level – $20,000
Premier homepage positioning, exclusive naming rights, co-branded content, VIP access to all events, speaking opportunities at symposium.

Trailblazer Level – $15,000
Prominent logo placement, monthly social media features, event sponsorship, speaking opportunities, VIP event access.

Legacy Level – $10,000
Website links, priority placement in materials, newsletter features, VIP event access, recognition at symposium.

Pioneers Level – $5,000
Website recognition, social media mentions, newsletter inclusion, networking event invitations.

What Business Partners Receive:

AAHTN Directory Listing
Featured placement in the African American Heritage Tourism Network business directory. Visible to thousands of heritage tourists planning Virginia trips through our Seeker.io platform.

Heritage Trail Integration
Your business becomes a recommended stop on walking tour routes. Heritage tourists earn Heritage Points for visiting partner businesses, driving consistent traffic to your location.

Co-Marketing
Featured business spotlights in monthly newsletters, social media campaigns, and digital content. Professional photography and storytelling highlighting your business’s connection to community heritage.

Heritage Points Integration
Customers visiting your business earn Heritage Points rewards. This loyalty system encourages repeat visits and builds customer relationships beyond single transactions.

Event Vendor Opportunities
Priority access to vendor spaces at signature events including Come Home Harvest Feast, Surrender & Jubilation, and monthly heritage gatherings.

Investment Model
$600 annual marketing investment serves as your membership fee, plus you contribute 5% of revenue directly attributed to AAHTN visitor traffic to network promotions.

Transparent Governance
Participate in monthly Consensus Network meetings where partners collectively shape heritage tourism strategy. Your organization has voice in decision-making.

Measurable Outcomes
Quarterly reports documenting partnership impact including visitor numbers, economic activity, community benefit, and programmatic achievements.

Network Access
Connect with other partners across sectors. DMOs meet educational institutions. Corporate sponsors meet community businesses. Collaboration creates opportunities beyond initial partnership scope.

Heritage Preservation Impact
Every partnership directly supports African American heritage site preservation, oral history documentation, and community economic development in the places where history lives.

Tier 1: Destination Marketing Organizations 
   Annual Investment: $5,000
   Performance Share: In-kind marketing credit-based on a percentage of tourism revenue generated through AAHTN in the partner region
   Return Mechanism: Economic impact data, visitor engagement metrics, co-marketing value, brand visibility across AAHTN platforms

Tier 2: Community Businesses
   Annual Investment: $600
   Performance Share: Contribute 5% of revenue directly attributed to AAHTN visitor traffic to network promotions
   Return Mechanism: Foot traffic increase, Heritage Points customer loyalty, co-marketing exposure, event vendor opportunities

Tier 3: Community Organizations
   Annual Investment: Free participation
   Performance Share: 3% of economic activity generated through AAHTN in the organization’s service area to network promotions
   Return Mechanism: Funds directed to Community Infrastructure & Beautification Fund, used for clean & safe initiatives, tourism training, and site improvement materials

Step 2: Schedule Consultation
Contact our partnership team to discuss how AAHA! Virginia partnership aligns with your organizational goals and capacity.

SCHEDULE PARTNERSHIP CONSULTATION