State Grant Opportunities

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is the result of nearly two decades of hard work devoted to passing legislation that would give all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns a tool to preserve their most unique natural, community, and built features in the face of rapid growth and development. CPA allows communities to create a local Community Preservation Fund for open space protection, historic preservation, affordable housing and outdoor recreation. Community preservation monies are raised locally through the imposition of a surcharge of not more than 3% of the tax levy against real property, and municipalities must adopt CPA by ballot referendum. View a map of all CPA communities, or learn more about CPA adoption

The CPA statute also creates a statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, administered by the Department of Revenue (DOR), which provides distributions each year to communities that have adopted CPA. These annual disbursements serve as an incentive for communities to pass CPA.

Download a useful handout about CPA Funding for Conservation, Digitization, or Assessments.

The Maine Humanities Council is a statewide, private, nonprofit, organization whose mission is to engage the people of Maine with the power and pleasure of ideas. The Council’s programs, and the projects which it supports through grants, are intended to encourage a deeper understanding of ourselves and others, foster wisdom in an age of information, and provide context in a time of change.

MHC is particularly interested in supporting projects that are collaborative, that stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences, are participatory and engaging, and invite discovery of the humanities in interesting and exciting ways. Projects in rural areas, and projects that reach intergenerational audiences are also of particular interest. Grants are awarded to not-for-profit organizations that serve a Maine audience.

For more information, contact:
Anne Schlitt or Lizz Sinclair
207-773-5051 or 1-866-ME-READER

Program Overview:
The primary purpose of this program is to preserve Maine’s significant historical records (archives) and make them available to the public. Projects dealing with agricultural collections and Civil War collections are especially encouraged.

In general, the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board favors the following approaches: 

• Basic preservation steps, not intensive item-level conservation work.
• Describing your archival collection should be a logical process: A basic inventory of the entire collection, followed by a basic level of organization (description at the collection or series level; housed appropriately) before doing folder or item-level description. This program does not normally fund item-level description, except for photographs, which may be described individually at a basic level.
• Preservation of original information over preservation of the object.
• Cost effective approaches to the preservation of information.
• Digitization can be an effective method for improving access to a collection, but for most media, it is not a preservation method. Any digitization projects should also insure that the originals are archivally housed and are monitored.

 Match: 1:1

Program Overview:
The primary purpose of this program is to preserve Maine’s significant historical records (archives) and make them available to the public. Projects dealing with agricultural collections and Civil War collections are especially encouraged.

In general, the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board favors the following approaches:

• Basic preservation steps, not intensive item-level conservation work.
• Describing your archival collection should be a logical process: A basic inventory of the entire collection, followed by a basic level of organization (description at the collection or series level; housed appropriately) before doing folder or item-level description. This program does not normally fund item-level description, except for photographs, which may be described individually at a basic level.
• Preservation of original information over preservation of the object.
• Cost effective approaches to the preservation of information.
• Digitization can be an effective method for improving access to a collection, but for most media, it is not a preservation method. Any digitization projects should also insure that the originals are archivally housed and are monitored.

Major Goals:

• To explore Maine’s history from the many perspectives of its multiple past and current populations.
• To celebrate Maine’s present people, places, institutions, and economy.
• To envision the public and private actions that will enhance Maine’s future prosperity.

Core outcomes of project funding relating to the Maine Bicentennial commemoration include:

1. Allowing citizens—especially our youngest ones—to come together to envision a successful and prosperous future for themselves and the state as a whole;
2. Include the challenges experienced, and contributions made by, a diversity of the people—racial/tribal, geographic, gender, and socioeconomic—who make Maine what it is today;
3. Have long-term value for imparting historical information, and creating conversations that strengthen individuals, communities and their connections;
4. Spotlight artwork and products of our past, while showcasing and providing market access for the emerging next generation of artists, makers, and innovators;
5. Enhance and broaden community leadership to drive commemorations at a local level; and
6. Allow our citizens to better understand key sustainability issues for Maine’s future, including demographics, environment, energy, and more.

For complete information and eligibility requirements, visit:
Maine 200 - Leading the Way - 1820-2020

QUESTIONS?

Contact Kerstin Gilg at the Maine Arts Commission - 207-287-6719

PROGRAM SCOPE:

Targeted Grants - Supporting records projects in one or more departments. (Every municipality in good standing that submits a properly completed application for an eligible project by the appropriate deadline is eligible to receive a Targeted grant from the fund.)
Disaster Recovery Grants - Grants are intended to help defray records recovery costs not covered by insurance in the event of a natural of man-made disaster affecting essential, permanent, or archival records.

GRANT CATEGORIES:

There are 5 grant categories intended to provide many options for municipal records projects:  Inventory/Planning; Organizing/Indexing; Program Development; Storage/Facilities; and Preservation/Conservation.  See the Guidelines for complete information.

Complete Details and FY2020 Grant Guidelines

QUESTIONS? 

Contact Kathy Makover,  Field Archivist, Office of the Public Records Administrator
kathy.makover@ct.gov or (860) 566-1100 ext. 303

Program Overview:

The Conservation License Plate Program is a state of New Hampshire funding source available to non-profit institutions to implement and to conduct preservation and conservation activities on publicly owned artifacts, paper based collections, microfilm, photographs and manuscripts that contribute to New Hampshire’s historic and cultural heritage. Funding is made possible through the sale of Moose License Plates.

Match: none

Application instructions

For more information, contact:
Charles Shipman at 603- 271-2144

Program Overview:

A partnership of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN) that provides support for treatment procedures by professional conservators to aid in stabilizing and preserving objects in collections of museums, historical and cultural organizations in New York State.

Support is available for conservation treatment of paintings, works on paper (including individual drawings, watercolors, prints or photographs), textiles (including costumes, domestic textiles and upholstery), furniture, frames, sculpture, historical, ethnographic and decorative objects. Since frames are an integral part of a work of art, support is also available for treatment costs for supports, frames, stands and mounts that are integral to the treatment of the object.

[Grants will not support conservation of archival collections. Funds are not available for preventive care, such as rehousing or reformatting of objects, purchase of storage furniture, monitoring or upgrading of environmental systems.]

Match: none

GHHN Resource: About Selecting a Conservator

For more information, contact:
Priscilla Brendler
director@greaterhudson.org or (914) 414-6726

The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Inc. (“The Foundation”) is a New York State not-for-profit corporation for the study of New York State history, with an special emphasis on the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, and for Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island, NY.  The Foundation’s fiscal year is December 1 to November 30; grants are reviewed twice per year. 

Before submitting your application, you must contact the Foundation Office.
No application will be considered without prior discussion and site visits.

Contact: Kathryn M. Curran, Executive Director 
631-594-3990

Grants for Management of Current, Inactive, and Archival Records

The Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) supports projects sponsored by not-for-profit archives, libraries, historical societies, and similar institutions within New York State, and from consortia or cooperating groups of such agencies.

The Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF) supports records management and archives-related projects in local governments of all types and sizes throughout New York. In addition to the competitive grants program, the LGRMIF also supports disaster recovery grants.

Grants Promoting Use of Historical Records

The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program supports doctoral candidates, those at the postdoctoral level, and other scholars/researchers with awards for advanced research in New York State history, government, or public policy. The Residency Program is made possible by and administered by the Archives Partnership Trust.

The Student Research Award promotes and recognizes excellence in student research. This statewide competition is open to all New York State students in grades 4-12.

Contact:
New York State Archives
Grant Administration Unit
9A81 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Email: archgrants@nysed.gov(link sends e-mail)
Phone: (518) 474-6926

Preservation grants from the North Carolina Preservation Consortium (NCPC) promote the preservation of collections in libraries, museums, archives, and historic sites; monuments, memorials, and outdoor art; archaeological sites and collections; and historic and cultural architecture. Maximum award is $2,000.00. Grant applications are due March 15th.

For complete information and application instructions: NC Preservation Grants

Funding for History Fund grants comes from three sources: donations of Ohio income tax refunds (the "tax check-off"), sales of Ohio History Mastadon license plates and individual contributions.

In the first three years of the Ohio History Fund, it has given almost $348,000 in grants to 33 local history projects in a quarter of Ohio's 88 counties. At the same time, the History Fund received more than $2.1 million in grant requests!

The History Fund's capability to make grants is limited only by the amount donated annually to the program. The more you give, the more we can grant to local history. Donate here.

LEARN MORE HERE
View funded projects here.

QUESTIONS?
Contact:
Ohio History Connection

Program Description:

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board announces the availability of grants between $500 and $5,000 to archival institutions to fund projects to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio’s historical records.  The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).  Projects eligible for funding in 2018 include:

• Assessment and Strategic Planning: hiring consultants to identify needs and priorities for improving the organization, description, preservation and access to collections.
• Access, Arrangement and Description: identifying, organizing, and improving access to historical records.
• Preservation: purchasing archival file folders, archival boxes, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, hygrothermographs, or HEPA vacuum cleaners.
• Website Development: Adding collections to online catalog, developing virtual archives, or creating an on-line database. Websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits) will receive preference in funding.

Please Note: all projects should produce some type of online content, such as a finding aid, report or digital images. 

Complete Information and Application Package

In a bequest to The Rhode Island Foundation in 1994, Joseph O'Neill Ott, a leader in the preservation and antiquities community in the state, established a permanent endowment dedicated to document preservation. He requested that the income generated be used to preserve historical manuscripts, documents, and municipal records dating from the 19th century and earlier for the smaller cities and towns in Rhode Island.

Grants support direct conservation efforts for paper-based documents, photographs, and other two-dimensional historical evidence (excluding artwork). This can include conservation, preservation (including the purchase of containers or housing for documents), or to defray the costs associated with the acquisition of documents. Proposals that demonstrate concern about long-term storage issues or have planned document storage will be looked upon most favorably. All historical and preservation societies from the smaller cities and towns of Rhode Island are eligible to apply for an Ott grant.

For more information, contact:
Libby Monahan
Funds Administrator
(401) 427-4017

• At-risk Collections 

  • The Foundation offers project grants to organizations to preserve at-risk collections. At-risk collections include orphan collections (those being deaccessioned with no identified future home), those in private hands (proverbial ones in basements, attics and forgotten storerooms), collections held by organizations with limited capacities, and occasionally collections within larger institutions.

    For at-risk collections, the Foundation supports a range of projects, from stabilization, to restoration, to archival processing.

    Grants for at-risk collections vary in size, depending on several factors.

• Creative Interpretation 

  • The Foundation offers project planning grants for institutions to work with artists, curators, historians and other creatives to engage audiences in new, dynamic ways; that push the envelope of presentation and interpretation; that go beyond the typical array of exhibits and exhibitions in drawing attention to collections of exceptional regional significance.

    Institutions that receive planning grants may be eligible in the future for partial funding support to implement projects of exceptional promise.

    Planning grants may be up to $25,000. 

• Digitization 

  • The Foundation offers challenge grants for digitization projects of the highest value, regionally-focused collections. A higher priority will be placed on those digitized collections that can be made available through one of the regional digital portals: Lowcountry Digital Library (College of Charleston), EXPLORE Chicago Collections(Chicago Collections Consortium) or the Community Collections Portal (Chicago Cultural Alliance.)

    The purpose of challenge grants, beyond supporting expanded public accessibility, is to help institutions build a stronger base of support for stewarding its collections long-term.

    Organizations may apply for a maximum of three challenge grants, provided they demonstrate progress toward building and sustaining long-term support.

    Grants for digitizing collections vary in size, depending on several factors.