funding sOURCES
federal
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
National Endowment for the Arts
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
1800 M Street NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20036-5841
(202) 653-4657
(202) 653-4600 Fax
imlsinfo@imls.gov
www.imls.gov
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) supports all types of museums, from art and history to science and zoos, and all types of libraries and archives, from public and academic to research and schools. Eligibility requirements differ for each library and museum program.
Programs include:
IMLS Conservation Project Support Grants
ANTICIPATED DEADLINE: October, 2012
Grant amounts: Up to $150,000
Conservation Project Support grants help museums develop and implement a logical, institution-wide approach to caring for their living and material collections.
Applicants should apply for the project that meets one of the institution’s highest conservation needs. All applications must demonstrate that the primary goal of the project is conservation care and not collection management or maintenance. Note: Applicants may receive up to $10,000 in additional project funding to develop an Education Component that directly relates to their project.
Applicants seeking support for detailed surveys, treatment, or environmental improvements should define projects that address one of the institution's formally recognized highest conservation needs. In every case, applications must demonstrate that the primary goal of the project is conservation care—not collection management or maintenance.
Grants are available for five broad types of conservation activities: (1) surveys (general, detailed condition, or environmental), (2) training, (3) research, (4) treatment, and (5) environmental improvements. An institution may submit one application each fiscal year.
For complete information:
http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/conservProject.shtm.
or contact:
Connie Bodner, Senior Program Officer
(202) 653-4636
cbodner@imls.gov
or
Mark Feitl, Program Specialist
(202) 653-4635
mfeitl@imls.gov
To discuss the development of a Conservation Project Support Grant project with NEDCC,
contact:
Angelina Altobellis, Preservation Specialist
(978) 470-1010 ext. 244,
aaltobellis@nedcc.org
IMLS/Heritage Preservation Conservation Assessment Program (CAP)
DEADLINE PASSED
The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) provides a general conservation assessment of your museum's collections, environmental conditions, and site.
Conservation priorities are identified by professional conservators who spend two days on-site and three days writing a report. The report can help your museum develop strategies for improved collections care and provide a tool for long-range planning and fund-raising. CAP is supported through a cooperative agreement with Heritage Preservation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The 2012 CAP application will be available on Heritage Preservation’s Web site, www.heritagepreservation.org, on Monday, October 3, 2011. Heritage Preservation evaluates CAP applications in the order in which they are received, so museums are encouraged to submit their completed applications as soon as possible. The postmark deadline for applications is December 1, 2011. To be added to the CAP application mailing list or for more information, call 202-233-0800 or email cap@heritagepreservation.org.
ReCAP: Museums previously awarded an IMLS-funded conservation assessment may be eligible to update their CAP assessment if seven years have passed since the original assessment. Applicants must report on their preservation efforts and the need for a new assessment.
See: “How to Make the Most of CAP” on the Heritage Preservation Web site for helpful information on preparing your application: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP/most.htmlNOTE: September 2011 - CAP News Update from Heritage Preservation. Click here.
For complete information: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP/index.html
Or contact Heritage Preservation CAP staff
(202) 233-0800
cap@heritagepreservation.org
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Division of Preservation and Access
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Rm. 802
Washington, DC 20506
(202) 606-8570
www.neh.gov
Contact:
Laura Word
(202) 606-8570
lword@neh.gov
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government, dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
Division of Preservation and Access programs include:
Preservation Assistance Grants — For Smaller Institutions
DEADLINE: May 1, 2012
The focus of this program is to promote preservation planning and preservation activities within the country’s smaller institutions.
The Preservation Assistance Grants program awards grants of up to $6,000 on a non-matching basis to support the preservation of materials in libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations.
Activities that can be supported through a Preservation Assistance Grant include:
- Preservation needs assessment for analog and digital collections
- Consultations with preservation professionals to develop a plan to address a specific preservation problem, including digital preservation issues
- Attendance at preservation workshops, now including training in best practices for digitization
- Purchase of storages furniture and preservation supplies
- Purchase of environmental monitoring equipment
Note: 2012 Preservation Assistance Grant applications will only be accepted through Grants.gov, the government-wide grants portal.
NEDCC is offering a FREE webinar on prepareing your PAG application - March 22, 2012
For complete information: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/pag.html.
or contact Division of Preservation and Access staff
(202) 606-8570
preservation@neh.gov
NEH Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grants
ANTICIPATED DEADLINE: July, 2012
The NEH Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program supports projects that provide an essential foundation for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities.
Funding from this program strengthens efforts to extend the life of humanities materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology. Awards are also made to create various reference resources that facilitate use of cultural materials, from works that provide basic information quickly to tools that synthesize and codify knowledge of a subject for in-depth investigation.
Applications may be submitted for projects activities including:
- providing conservation treatment for collections
- digitizing collections
- preserving and improving access to born-digital sources
- developing databases, virtual collections, or other electronic resources to codify information on a subject or to provide integrated access to selected humanities materials
- arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections
- cataloging collections of printed works, photographs, recorded sound, moving images, art, and material culture
Maximum award is $350,000 for up to three years.
(Although cost sharing is not required, NEH is rarely able to support the full costs of projects approved for funding. In most cases, NEH Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grants cover no more than 50 to 67 percent of project costs. A 50 percent level is most likely to pertain in the case of projects that deal exclusively with the applicant’s own holdings.)
For complete information: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/HCRR.html
Or contact:
NEH Division of Preservation and Access
(202) 606-8570
preservation@neh.gov
Preservation and Access Education and Training Grants
ANTICIPATED DEADLINE: June, 2012
Preservation and Access Education and Training grants help the staff of cultural institutions, large and small, obtain the knowledge and skills needed to serve as effective stewards of humanities collections. Grants also support educational programs that prepare the next generation of conservators and preservation professionals, as well as projects that introduce the staff of cultural institutions to new information and advances in preservation and access practices.
Preservation and Access Education and Training grants support activities including:
- Master’s degree programs in preservation and conservation
- Workshops that address preservation and access topics of national significance and broad impact, such as collections care training for staff members who are responsible for the day-to-day care and management of humanities collections; preventive conservation and sustainable preservation strategies; disaster preparedness, response, and recovery; the preservation of and provision of access to recorded sound and moving image collections; digital preservation; and best practices for enhancing and integrating access to collections in libraries, archives, and museums.
For complete information, visit:
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/pet.html
Contact:
NEH Division of Preservation and Access
(202) 606-8570
preservation@neh.gov
Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
ANNUAL DEADLINE: December, 2012
NEH announces the third deadline for its new grant program, Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections, which helps institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials by supporting preventive preservation measures that mitigate risks and prolong the useful life of collections. Preventive conservation measures include managing relative humidity and temperature levels in collection spaces, providing protective storage enclosures and systems for collections, and safeguarding collections from theft and fire.
These grants are intended to serve institutions working on complex projects requiring interdisciplinary planning teams. Be sure to call NEH with eligibility questions. Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections offers two kinds of grants:
1. Grants for Planning
To help an institution assess risks to collections and identify realistic approaches for mitigating them, grants of up to $40,000 will support such activities as site visits, meetings, monitoring, testing, project-specific research, and preliminary designs for implementation projects.
Planning grants might be used to:
- examine passive and low-energy alternatives to conventional energy-intensive systems for managing environmental conditions
- analyze existing climate control systems and the performance characteristics of buildings and building systems to develop a plan for improved operation, effectiveness, and energy efficiency
- evaluate the effectiveness of preventive conservation strategies previously implemented, including energy-efficient upgrades to existing systems, and performance upgrades to buildings and building envelopes
Planning grant projects must involve an interdisciplinary team appropriate to the goals of the project. The team may consist of consultants and members of the institution’s staff and might include architects, building engineers, conservation scientists, conservators, curators, and facilities managers, among others.
2. Grants for Implementation
To help an institution implement a preventive conservation project, grants of up to $400,000 are available. Implementation grants should be based on planning that has been specific to the needs of the institution and its collection within the context of its local environment. However, an NEH Planning and Evaluation grant is NOT a prerequisite for an Implementation grant.
Implementation grants might be used to:
- manage interior relative humidity and temperature by passive methods such a creating buffered spaces and housing, controlling moisture at its sources, or improving the thermal and moisture performance of the building envelope
- install or re-commission heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems
- install storage systems and rehouse collections
- improve security and the protections from fire, flood, or other disasters
- upgrade lighting systems and controls to achieve levels suitable for collections that are energy efficient
Implementation grants may also cover costs associated with renovation required to implement for preventive conservation measures. Because Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections grants may NOT fund new construction, the costs of installing climate control, security, and fire protection systems in a building under construction are not eligible. However, grants may support the purchase of storage furniture and the rehousing of collections that will be moved into a new building.
NEW FOR 2011-2012: To enhance the outcomes of planning grants and to encourage incremental improvements in the care of collections, applicants for planning projects may request up to an additional $10,000 to carry out one or more recommendations made by the interdisciplinary planning team during the course of the project. Such work could help demonstrate the benefits of sustainable preservation strategies or lead to new information or changes in conditions that would influence "next steps." For such planning projects, the maximum award would be $50,000.
For complete information:
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SCHC.html
Contact:
NEH Division of Preservation and Access
(202) 606-8570
preservation@neh.gov
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
(202) 682-5400
www.nea.gov
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts — both new and established — bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. (Watch the NEA Web site for details of the next grant cycle.)
Save America's Treasures
Save America’s Treasures grants fund preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and historic structures and sites. Intellectual and cultural artifacts include artifacts, collections, documents, sculpture, and works of art. Historic structures and sites include historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects.
2011 UPDATE:
Attention: Public Law 112-10, providing appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011, does not include funds for Save America's Treasures grants. Therefore, NPS will not accept applications or award grants in FY 2011. The budget for FY 2012 is currently under review by Congress. We will post the status of FY 2012 funding when there is a change in the status of the FY 2012 appropriations bill.The National Park Service's Historic Preservation Grants division is not closing and will continue to manage all previously awarded and existing active grants including Save America's Treasures and Preserve America grants. Grants awarded in FY 2010 and earlier will not be affected by the closure of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Save America's Treasures office.
For more information: http://www.nps.gov/hps/treasures/application.htm
Michael McLaughlin
(202) 682-5457
mclaughm@arts.gov
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
8601 Adelphia Road
College Park, MD 20740
(866) 272-6272
http://www.archives.gov
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, promotes the preservation and use of America's documentary heritage essential to understanding our democracy, history, and culture.
Digitizing Historical Records
DEADLINE: June 7, 2012
Draft deadline (optional): April 2, 2012
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) seeks proposals that use cost-effective methods to digitize nationally significant historical record collections and make the digital versions freely available online. Projects must make use of existing holdings of historical repositories and consist of entire collections or series. The materials should already be available to the public at the archives and described so that projects can re-use existing information to serve as metadata for the digitized collection.
Award Information:
A grant normally is for 1 to 3 years and up to $150,000. The Commission expects to make up to 8 grants in this category, for a total of up to $700,000.
Eligible applicants:
- United States nonprofit organizations or institutions
- Colleges, universities, and other academic institutions
- State or local government agencies
- Federally-acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups
Or contact:
Nancy Melley
NHPRC Director for Technology Initiatives
202-357-5452, or nancy.melley@nara.gov.
Nancy Melley can advise the applicant about the review process; answer questions about what activities are eligible for support; supply samples of successful applications; read and comment on a preliminary draft. Applicants should submit a draft at least 2 months before the deadline.
Applicants may also contact your State Historical Records Advisory Board Coordinator about your proposal and seek the board's advice. Many state boards have requirements for submitting draft proposals with deadlines earlier than those of the NHPRC.
Documenting Democracy: Access to Historical Records Projects
ANTICIPATED DEADLINE: October, 2012
This grant funds projects that promote the preservation and use of the nation's most valuable archival resources. Projects should expand our understanding of the American past by facilitating and enhancing access to primary source materials.
Eligible activities include establishing archives programs, processing archival collections at the basic or detailed levels, surveying and accessioning archival records, and converting existing archival collection finding aids to new online formats.
Applicants may submit proposals for one or any combination of the following four project categories:
- Basic Processing
Eligible activities include establishing archives and undertaking basic processing activities. Applications may request funds for limited preservation activities, such as preservation surveys of collections, the evaluation of environmental controls, and risk assessments.
- Detailed Processing
Eligible activities include detailed processing and preservation reformatting of collections of national significance. Activities may also include item-level processing or preservation treatment, such as refoldering, cleaning, flattening, copying, encapsulating, de-acidifying, and mending documents. Applicants may propose limited digitization of series or items that have the most potential to benefit a broad public.
- Documentary Heritage
Eligible activities include arrangement and description projects, documentation surveys, archival needs assessments, or some combination of the three.
Awards: Up to $200,000, and for one or two years. (NHPRC expects to make up to 25 grants in this category for a total of up to $2,000,000.)
- Retrospective Conversion of Descriptive Information
Eligible activities include converting card catalogs and paper finding aids so that they may be made available electronically, or creating a comprehensive online database or finding aid from information only available in a variety of non-compatible formats.
For complete information: http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/access.html
or contact:
NHPRC
(202) 357-5010
nhprc@nara.gov