The board and/or regional tourist promotion council are hereby authorized to accept gifts, grants or donations from the federal government or agencies thereof, and from private individuals, foundations or concerns to be used in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
The board shall annually review the amount of funds appropriated by the Mississippi Legislature, and other funds that may be available therefor, and shall apportion said funds to various participating regional tourist promotion councils for grant purposes on the following basis: Twenty percent (20%) shall be apportioned to each of the five (5) congressional districts. If, at the end of a six (6) month period, an area has not applied for the full amount allocated to it, the money shall be reallocated to the other areas during the last six (6) months of the fiscal year for use in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.