State, Regional, and Foundation Grant Opportunities

About MBLC:

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is the agency of state government with the statutory authority and responsibility to organize, develop, coordinate and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth.

Authorized to administer the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States Program, the MBLC uses LSTA funding to support statewide initiatives that enhance the services local libraries can supply, and a competitive grant program that provides local libraries the financial resources to develop programs and innovative ideas. 

Preservation activities supported include needs assessments, digitization, conservation treatment, rehousing, and purchase of storage furniture. Eligibility has been extended to include all types of libraries that belong to regional networks.

Program Overview:

This program will allow libraries hire a preservation consultant who will conduct an institutional preservation assessment. The institution will contract with an MBLC-approved preservation consultant to provide a report that will:

• Focus attention on preservation concerns and will identify the types of work that this might entail, including actual treatment as well as storage, handling, and security suggestions
• Help the library staff determine the treatment priorities of those items in need of work and the steps necessary to accomplish it
• Examine the library building and make suggestions as to steps to be taken to prolong the life of the materials, including environmental conditions and controls
• Review policies and procedures for collection management

Libraries must have completed a Critical Collections Questionnaire as it relates to the library’s special collections and have it on file at the MBLC by the time of the application due date.

As part of the grant, libraries will be expected to produce a five-year Preservation Long-Range Plan, based on the recommendations of the consultant. This plan, a copy of the assessment report, and an update to the library’s Critical Collections Questionnaire should be filed with the MBLC at the completion of the project.

Once the assessment has been completed, it will be up to the library to pursue the recommendations of the consultant. LSTA funds may be available through another grant category to address these recommendations.

For more information, contact:
Evan Knight
Preservation Specialist
evan.knight1@state.ma.us or (617) 725-1860 x 236

Program Overview:
This program will support the preservation/conservation of library and/or archival research materials with significant long-term research value. Proof of ownership will be required for any project that involves the direct treatment of materials. Funded projects will require a commitment on the part of the library to return conserved materials to a storage location that meets recommended standards for the materials involved. Libraries also need to provide a current finding aid for the collection  based on current practices recommended by the Society of American Archivists.

Libraries that choose to include a digitization component for their project must follow all appropriate and applicable standards and best practices. It is expected that libraries will maintain digital files and make them available to researchers for the forseeable future, both in-house and through Digital Commonwealth.

To apply for this program, a library must have completed a Preservation Assessment within the past five years and developed a Long-range Preservation Plan based on this assessment.

For more information, contact:
Evan Knight
Preservation Specialist
evan.knight1@state.ma.us or (617) 725-1860 x 236

Through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission (NHPRC), the Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board (MA
SHRAB) is pleased to provide funding for the purchase of supplies and materials needed
to arrange, describe, preserve, and make accessible archival collections.

Preference will be given to institutions with smaller collections, within the range of 500
linear feet or less.

Applicants will be required to provide matching funds or services covering 25% of the
total project cost are requesting from the MA SHRAB (see calculation guide below).
Applicants who receive services through the MA SHRAB Roving Archivist program are
encouraged to apply for these funds to implement recommendations from their reports.

Institutions who receive funds agree to the use of their name in promotional materials
for the program and will work with the SHRAB and Roving Archivist to include the
collections in the Commonwealth Historical Collaborative directory and catalog
(chc.library.umass.edu).

View complete information and guidelines.

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 cultural resources 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.

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

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

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

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.   

Enabling New Scholarship through Increasing Access to Unique Materials

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has generously awarded the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funds to support the Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives program.

The purpose of this program is to digitize and provide access to non-digital collections of rare or unique content in cultural heritage institutions. Its aims are to enhance the emerging global digital research environment in ways that support new kinds of scholarship for the long term and to ensure that the full wealth of resources held by memory institutions becomes integrated with the open Web. 

The application process has two phases. The initial proposal round is open, and anyone interested in applying for a grant through this program must submit an initial proposal by April. The final proposal round is by invitation only. Only those applicants whose initial proposals have been approved by the program's review panel will be able to submit a final proposal.

Eligible Formats
The range of media that can be termed special collections or archives is not restricted. Increasingly, valuable collections are composed of many formats, from paper, moving images on film or video, all types of sound recordings, ephemera, specimens, electronic files or data sets, works of art, to myriad types of artifacts. 

What qualifies as a hidden collection?
For the purposes of this program, applicants must convincingly argue that their collections are "hidden" in the sense that they cannot be exploited for important scholarly work until they are fully digitized, discoverable and accessible.

For complete grant information and eligibility requirements:
See the Digitizing Hidden Collections application guidelines. CLIR has verified that reformatting of appropriate hidden audio collections using IRENE would be eligible under this grant.

QUESTIONS?

For questions which are not answered in the application guidelines, contact CLIR program staff at hiddencollections@clir.org. During the application period, CLIR accepts inquiries by e-mail only; no phone calls, please.

Recordings at Risk is a national regranting program administered by CLIR to support the preservation of rare and unique audio and audiovisual content of high scholarly value through digital reformatting.

NEWS!   The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded CLIR $2,807,000 to continue its regranting program to digitize “at-risk” audio and audiovisual materials of high scholarly value. The program will run four competitions between May 2019 and April 2021, awarding a total of $2.2 million.

Audio and audiovisual recordings document vital, irreplaceable aspects of twentieth and twenty-first century life, but if the current generation of professionals fails to act, vast amounts of this history will be lost. Digital reformatting is currently the best available solution for ensuring the survival and utility of recorded content stored on fragile or obsolete media such as magnetic tape, grooved discs, cylinders, or film.

Open Competitions: Audio and/or Audiovisual Media  

Recordings at Risk encourages professionals who may be constrained by limited resources and/or technical expertise to take action against the threats of degradation and obsolescence. The program aims to help institutions identify priorities and develop practical strategies for digital reformatting, build relationships with partners, and raise awareness of best practices.

Awards from the open competitions will range from $10,000 to $50,000 and will cover costs of preservation reformatting for audio and/or audiovisual content by eligible institutions working independently or with qualified service providers.

CLIR’s review panelists will assess:

- the potential scholarly and public impact of proposed projects
- the urgency of undertaking the reformatting to avoid risk of loss
- the viability of applicants’ plans for long-term preservation
- the overall cost-effectiveness of the proposals

For Complete Information and Guidelines, visit CLIR Recordings at Risk 

The Foundation plans to offer a total of $1 million in support of community-based archives in two annual calls for proposals, one in 2019 and the second in 2020.  The 2019 Call for Proposals (CFP) is now open and directed towards community-based archives that represent and serve communities marginalized due to oppression based on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, and/or geographic location.  For the purposes of this CFP, community-based archives must demonstrate that community members actively participate in their archival processes, making key decisions about what to collect and how.

For complete eligibility information and application guidelines, visit Scholarly Communications, Community-based Archives Grants.

If you would like to sign up for email alerts, or if you have any questions about this CFP, please write to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at communityarchives@mellon.org or call 212-500-2475.

Chicago Office
35 East Wacker Drive
Syite 2600
Chicago, IL 60601
312-977-2700

Lowcountry Office
4 North Atlantic Wharf
Charleston, SC 29401
843-277-2041

Grant funding is available for:

• 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.   

The Foundation advises calling to discuss your project before submitting.

Complete Information and Guidelines

The Bank of America Art Conservation Project provides grants to nonprofit museums to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of degeneration, including works that have been designated as national treasures.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please first complete the eligibility self-assessment.  If your project meets the program criteria, you will be given instructions on how to submit a proposal. Take the eligibility self-assessment.

View past Bank of America Art Conservation Project grant recipients here.

QUESTIONS? 

Contact Bank of America Art Conservation program at art.conservation@bankofamerica.com