National Programs Relating to Historical Records

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Contact Information:

Institute of Museum and Library Services
1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20506
(202) 606-8536, Office of the Director
(202) 606-8539, Office of Museum Services
(202) 606-5227, Office of Library Services Programs and Funding Categories
Email: imls@info.gov

Programs and Funding Categories:

Learning Opportunity Grants
Museum Assessment Program
Conservation Project Support
Conservation Assessment Program
National Leadership Grants
National Award for Museum and Library Service
Native American and Native Hawaiian Services

Museums for America funding will support projects and activities, designed by the institution, that strengthen museums as active resources for lifelong learning and key players in the establishment of livable communities. Museums for America Grants are designed to be flexible. They can be used for ongoing museum activities; improvement of infrastructure; planning activities; new programs or activities; purchase of equipment or services; or other activities that will support the efforts of museums to upgrade and integrate new technologies into their overall institutional effectiveness. All applications must demonstrate evidence of institutional strategic planning and the relationship between the funding applied for and the institution's plan. Projects should be investments for the future, not one-time activities with no long term institutional impact.

Application Deadline: January 15 Amount of Grant: $5,000 - $150,000
Grant Period: Generally up to two years, three years with strong justification
Matching Requirement: 1:1 match

The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) provides non-competitive grants of technical assistance for four types of Assessments: Institutional, Collections Management, Public Dimension, Governance.

Application Deadline: December 1
Amount of Grant: Varies, requires modest cost sharing.
Grant Period: Two years.

The Conservation Project Support (CP) program awards matching grants to help museums identify conservation needs and priorities and perform activities to ensure the safekeeping of their collections. Conservation Project Support was created to assist museums in developing a logical, institution-wide approach to care for their living and non-living collections. Applicants should apply for the project that meets the institution's highest collections care needs. All applications must demonstrate that the primary goal of the project is conservation and not collections management or maintenance. Collections may be in one of four categories: 1) non-living; 2) systematics/natural history; 3) living plants; 4) living animals. Grants are available for five broad types of conservation activities: 1) Surveys (general, detailed condition, or environmental; 2) Training; 3) Research; 4) Treatment; 5) Environmental improvements. An institution may submit one application for each fiscal year.

Application Deadline:October 15.
Amount of Grant: Up to $50,000,or up to $10,000 on additional fines for Education Component, up to $75,000 for exceptional projects
Matching Requirement: 1:1.
Grant Period: Two years.

The Conservation Assessment Program serves as an adjunct to the IMLS Conservation Project Support program. Funded by IMLS and administered by Heritage Preservation, the program provides eligible museums with a general conservation survey grant. Applications are funded on a first-come, first-served basis. Each museum may receive only one Conservation Assessment Program grant. Museums that have received a grant for a general conservation survey through the Conservation Project Support program are not eligible for the Conservation Assessment Program.

Application Deadline:December 1
Amount of Grant: Varies; requires modest cost-sharing
Grant Period: One year

National Endowment for the Arts

Contact Information:

Nancy Hanks Center
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20506
Email: webmgr@arts.endow.gov
Phone: (202) 682-5400

Programs and Funding Categories:

Challenge America: Access To The Arts Grants:
- Standard Review Grant
- Fast Track Review Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts provides national recognition and support to significant projects of artistic excellence, thus preserving and enhancing our nation's diverse cultural heritage. NEA seeks to broaden efforts to provide the American people with opportunities to experience the excellence and diversity of the arts.

Access to Artistic Excellence: To foster and preserve excellence in the arts and provide access to the arts for all Americans. This category combines the Artistic Creativity and Preservation and Challenge America: Access to the Arts Standard Review Grant categories that appeared in the FY 2004 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000-$150,000.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Contact Information:

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506
Phone: 202-606-8400 or 1-800-NEH-1121 (1-800-634-1121)

Programs and Funding Categories:

Office of Challenge Grants, 202-606-8309; challenge@neh.gov
Division of Education Programs, 202-606-8500; education@neh.gov
Division of Preservation and Access, 202-606-8570; preservation@neh.gov
Division of Public Programs, 202-606-8267; publicpgms@neh.gov

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) provides grants to individuals and institutions. Grants support a variety of programs including research in the humanities, educational opportunities for teachers, preservation of texts and material, and museum exhibitions.

Challenge Grants help institutions and organizations secure long-term improvements in and support for their humanities programs and resources. Awards are made to museums, public libraries, colleges, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, public television and radio stations, universities, scholarly associations, state humanities councils, and other nonprofit entities to improve the quality of their humanities activities and their financial stability. Challenge grants are offered only when NEH funds will make a significant improvement in humanities programs, help institutions carry out long-term plans for strengthening their basic resources and activities in the humanities, and enhance financial stability through increased nonfederal support.

Application Deadline: May 3 and November 3.
Amount of Grant: requested grant amount should be appropriate to the humanities needs and the fund-raising capacity of the institution. The federal portions of NEH challenge grants have ranged in recent years from $20,000 to $500,000.

Division of Education:
Through its Education Development and Demonstration program, the Division of Education Programs provides grants to schools, colleges, universities, libraries, museums and other cultural institutions to improve formal humanities education in the United States from kindergarten through college and university. The program supports projects that promise national significance by virtue of their content, approach, or reach.

Application Deadline: October 15
Amount of Grant: The size of a grant depends on the scope of the project, its duration (up to three years), and the number of participants. The Endowment seldom provides more than $250,000.

Division of Preservation and Access:
Grants to Preserve and Create Access to Humanities Collections: Awards are made for projects to preserve and create intellectual access to humanities collections, which, because of their intellectual content and value as cultural artifacts, are considered highly important for research, education, and public programming. Humanities collections may include, but are not limited to, books, journals, newspapers, manuscript and archival materials, maps, still and moving images, sound recordings, and objects of art and material culture.

Application Deadline: July 1
Amount of Grant: Range from $30,000 – $700,000

Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-size institutions--libraries, museums, and historical societies, town and county records offices, archival repositories, community colleges, and underserved departments and units within colleges and universities and other larger institutions--improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. These collections may include books, journals, manuscript and archival materials, maps, moving images, sound recordings, decorative and fine arts, prints and photographs, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects. Institutions that have never received an NEH grant are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline: May 15
Amount of Award: Up to $5,000.

Grants for Stabilizing Humanities Collections help museums, libraries, archives, and historical organizations preserve their humanities collections through support for improved housing and storage, environmental conditions, security, lighting, and fire protection.
Eligible activities include:

The purchase of storage furniture and the re-housing of humanities collections and materials that directly document the collections, such as field notes, site maps, or catalog records;
The improvement of environmental conditions under which collections are stored or exhibited (which may encompass the installation of climate control systems); and
The installation of security, lighting, and fire detection and suppression systems.

Application Deadline: October 1
Amount of Grant: Awards are made for up to five years and may range from $30,000 to $700,000.

Division of Public Programs:
Consultation grants are designed to help museums, libraries, historical organizations, and community organizations develop a new project or chart a new interpretive direction for an institution. By using a Consultation grant, institutions can confer with a team of advisors to help identify key humanities themes and questions that will guide the early stages of a project's development.

Application Deadline: April 7 and September 16
Amount of Award: Up to $10,000

Implementation Grants support the realization of programs that interpret and encourage the use of the collections of libraries and archives. Topics and interpretive themes should appeal to the interests and backgrounds of a wide range of people or directly to the project's target audience, and special attention should be given to the educational experience of the participants. Support is available for various activities that use a range of formats, including:

Book and film discussion programs
Exhibitions (major or traveling)
Public conferences, forums, and symposia
Websites

Application Deadline: February 3
Amount of Grant: Awards may be up to $300,000.

Implementation Grants for Museums and Historical Organizations support the realization of interpretive exhibitions (both long-term and traveling), the interpretation of historic sites, associated interpretive project components (such as publications and public symposia), public programming, and websites.

Application Deadline: February 3
Amount of Grant: Up to $300,000

Planning Grants for Museums, Libraries and Special Projects: Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations include interpretive exhibitions (both long-term and traveling), the interpretation of historic sites, and other complementary interpretive components, such as catalogs, public symposia, and websites.

Application Deadline: September 16
Amount of Grant: Up to $30,000

National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)

Contact Information:

National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Room 111
Washington, D.C. 20408-0001
Phone: 202-501-5610
Email: nhprc@nara.gov

The New York State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) reviews all applications that originate in New York State.

Information for NYS Applicants:

Room 9C35 Cultural Education Center
Albany, New York 12230
Phone: (518) 474-6926
E-mail: nyshrab@mail.nysed.gov

Programs and Funding Categories:

Archival Grants
Educational Programs and Fellowships
Educational Records
Publications Grants

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, supports a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources relating to the history of the United States.

The Commission funds projects that deal with the following kinds of documentary source material:

Records of state, county, municipal, tribal, or other non-federal units of government
Manuscripts, personal and family papers, or organizational and business archives
Collections of photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, electronic records, and/or such visual materials as unpublished architectural, cartographic, and engineering drawings

The Commission funds projects that focus on the following activities:

Collecting, describing, preserving, compiling, and publishing (including microfilming and other forms of reproduction) documentary sources significant to the history of the United States
Undertaking projects seeking solutions to the various questions in the Commission's research agenda on electronic records
Conducting institutes, training, and educational programs, and fellowships related to the activities of the Commission
Disseminating information about documentary sources through guides, directories, and other technical publications
Or more generally: documentary editing and publishing; archival preservation and process of records for access; developing or updating descriptive systems; creation and development of archival and records management programs; development of standards, tools, and techniques to advance the work of archivists, records managers, and documentary editors; and promotion of the use of records by teachers, students, and the public.

National Park Service (NPS)

Contact Information:

Associate Director, Cultural Resources
National Park Service (NPS)
P.O. Box 37127
Washington, DC 20013-7127

New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Empire State Plaza, Agency Building 1, 20th Floor
Albany, New York 12238
Phone: (518) 474-0443

Programs and Funding Categories:

Battlefield Partnership Grants
Archeological Assistance Program
Certified Local Government Program, 202-343-6005
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), 202-343-9618
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), 202-343-9618
National Historic Landmarks Program
National Natural Landmarks Program
National Register of Historic Places
Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program, 202-565-1200
PTT Grants
Historic Preservation Fund
NAGPRA
Natural Maritime Heritage Grants Program
Save America’s Treasures

The National Park Service provides cultural resource technical assistance, sources for expert advice and training, information on tax credits related to historic preservation, and special NPS grants for many purposes. Many of their publications are available on the Internet and from the offices listed above.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Contact Information:

National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C., 20036-2117
Phone: 202-588-6000

Programs and Funding Categories:

Community Partners Program
Inner-City Ventures Fund
Heritage Property Services
Preservation Services Fund
National Preservation Loan Fund
Johanna Favrot Fund
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund For Historic Interiors

The National Trust for Historical Preservation’s financial assistance programs are for the most part directed to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and community groups. Each of the following programs has a specific focus for the kinds of projects it will support.

The Preservation Services Fund provides matching grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 (typically from $1,000 to $1,500) to non-profit organizations and public agencies for preservation planning and education efforts. Funds may be used to support consultants with professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archeology, engineering, preservation, planning, land use planning, fundraising, organizational development and law as well as preservation education activities to educate the public.

The National Preservation Loan Fund provides loans to establish or expand local and statewide preservation revolving funds; to acquire and/or rehabilitate historic buildings, sites, structures and districts; to purchase easements; and to preserve National Historic Landmarks.

The Johanna Favrot Fund offers grants ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 (typically from $2,500 to $5,000) to non-profit organizations, public agencies and individuals for projects that contribute to the preservation or recapture of an authentic sense of place. Individuals and for-profit businesses may apply only if the project for which funding is requested involves a National Historic Landmark. Funds may be used to obtain professional advice in areas such as conferences, workshops and education programs.

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors provides nonprofit organizations and public agencies grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 to assist in the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of historic interiors. Individuals and for-profit businesses may apply only if the project for which funding is requested involves a National Historic Landmark. Funds may be used for professional expertise, print and video communications materials, and education programs.

Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP)

Contact Information:

Director
Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 4096
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: (202) 482-7002

Programs and Funding Categories:

Projects in education, culture, and lifelong learning that improve education and training for learners of all ages and provide cultural enrichment through the use of information infrastructure in both traditional and non-traditional settings.
Purchase equipment for connection to networks, including computers, video conferencing systems, network routers, and telephones
Buy software for organizing and processing all kinds of information, including computer graphics and databases
Train staff, users, and others in the use of equipment and software
Purchase communications services, such as Internet access

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s Offices of Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA) assists state and local governments, education and health care entities, libraries, public service agencies, and other groups in effectively using telecommunications and information technologies to better provide public services and advance other national goals. This is accomplished through the administration of the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP).

The PTFP is a competitive grant program that helps public broadcasting stations; state and local governments, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit organizations construct facilities to bring educational and cultural programs to the American Public using broadcast and non-broadcast telecommunications technologies. The main objective of the program is to extend the deliver of funds are also allocated to support the Pan-Pacific Educational and Cultural Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Project. PEACESAT provides satellite-delivered education, medical, and environmental emergency telecommunications to many small-island nations and territories in the Pacific Ocean Region.

The Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), formerly known as the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program is a highly competitive, merit based grant program that brings the benefits of digital network technologies to communities throughout the United States. TOP grants have played an important role in realizing the vision of an information society by demonstrating practical applications of new telecommunications and information technologies to serve the public interest.