Grantor:  Federal Highway Administration: Transportation Enhancement Funds

WebLink:  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/TE

Description:  The Federal Highway Administration provides funds for transportation enhancements to state departments of transportation. These funds must be used in a way that relates to surface transportation and that fits one of 12 eligibility requirements. The following eligible activities may be of special interest to museums and historical societies: acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites (including historic battlefields); historic preservation; archaeological planning and research; and establishment of transportation museums. Please visit the Web site for more information and to find a link to North Carolina’s Transportation Enhancement coordinator. This coordinator can discuss a potential project with you as well how to request funding.

Grantor:  Institute for Museum and Library Services: American Heritage Preservation Program

WebLink:  http://www.imls.gov/collections/grants/boa.htm

Description:  Deadline: September 15. Bank of America is partnering with IMLS to provide grants of up to $3,000 to small museums, libraries, and archives. The grants will raise awareness and fund preservation of treasures held in these small cultural organizations. Grants will help to preserve specific items, including works of art, artifacts, and historical documents that are in need of conservation. Applicants should build on completed conservation assessments of their collections, to ensure that the grants are used in accordance with best practices in the field. Grant programs that provide assistance with conservation planning and assessments include the Conservation Assessment Program offered by Heritage Preservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grants.

Grantor:  Institute for Museum and Library Services: Conservation Project Support

WebLink:  http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/conservProject.shtm

Description:  Deadline: October 1. The IMLS program awards grants to help museums identify collections needs and priorities and to perform activities to safeguard their collections. Grants are available for many types of collections activities, such as surveys, training, research, treatment, and environmental improvements. Grants range up to $150,000 and generally cover a two-year period.

Grantor:  Institute for Museum and Library Services: Museums for America

WebLink:  http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/forAmerica.shtm

Description:  Deadline: November 2. Museums for America grants support projects and ongoing activities that build museums' capacities to serve their communications. As the IMLS web page notes, "Museums for America grants are designed to be flexible; funds can be used for a wide variety of projects, including: ongoing museum work, research and other behind-the-scenes activities, planning, new programs, purchase of equipment or services, and activities that will support the efforts of museums to upgrade and integrate new technologies."

Grantor:  National Endowment for the Humanities: Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions

WebLink:  http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/pag.html

Description:  Deadline: Mid-May. The NEH offers $5,000 grants to small and mid-sized institutions to help them preserve and care for their humanities collections. Grants can be used to hire a consultant to conduct a general assessment; consult with professionals to address a specific preservation issue; purchase storage furniture and preservation supplies; purchase environmental monitoring equipment; pay for staff to attend workshops and training courses, or any combination of these projects. Institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply.

Grantor:  The National Park Service: Save America's Treasures

WebLink:  http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/treasures

Description:  Deadline: May. As its web site notes, "Save America's Treasures" is a national effort to protect "America's threatened cultural treasures, including historic structures, collections, works of art, maps, and journals that document and illuminate the history and culture of the United States." These grants help fund the preservation of and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts/collections and nationally significant historic structures and sites. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and require a dollar-for-dollar, non-federal match. The minimum grant request for collections projects is $25,000 federal share; the minimun grant request for historic property projects is $125,000 federal share. To qualify, the collection or historic property must be nationally significant and must be threatened or endangered, and project plans must substantially mitigate the threat and have a clear public benefit (such as collections being available to the public or scholars and historic sites being open for visitors). The deadline generally falls in the spring of each year.

Grantor:  The National Park Service: American Battlefield Protection Program

WebLink:  http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/funding.htm

Description:  The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) promotes the preservation of significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil. The goals of the significant battlefields associated with wars on American soil. The goals of the program are 1) to protect battlefields and sites associated with armed conflicts that influenced the course of our history, 2) to encourage all Americans in planning for this preservation, management, and interpretation of these sites, and 3) to raise awareness of the importance of preserving battlefields and related sites for future generations. The ABPP focuses primarily on land use, cultural resource and site management planning, and public education.

Grantor:  American Association of Museums: Museum Assessment Program

WebLink:  http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/map/about.cfm

Description:  The AAM and the IMLS support this annual program, which is designed to help museums assess their strengths and weaknesses and plan for the future. Museums can ask for one of four types of assessments: Collections Management Assessment, Institutional Assessment, Public Dimension Assessment, and Governance Assessment. Selected museums complete a self-study workbook and receive a visit by one or more museum professionals, who tour the museum and meet with staff, volunteers, and others. The museum then receives a report evaluating the museum, making recommendations, and suggesting resources. Participation in this program is free for museums with annual operating expences of $125,000 or less, with fees charged for museums with larger budgets. Applications are made available in November.

Grantor:  The Cannon Foundation

WebLink:  http://cannonfoundationinc.org

Description:  Although the Cannon Foundation's primary fields of interest include healthcare, higher education, and community service, it does offer some grants in the fields of culture and historic preservation. For instance, it has given money to support the reonovation of the museum building of the Ocracoke Preservation Society; the preparation of the site for Tryon Palace's new Education Center; exhibit construction at the Granville County Historical Society; the reonvation of the gallery and the Visitors Center at the Penland School of Crafts to make them ADA compliant; and the restoration of a steam locomotive at the NC Transportation Museum. The foundation focuses primarily on Cabarrus County, but it does make grants throughout the state, especially in rural areas.

Grantor:  Costume Society of America: Grants to Support Costume in Small Museums

WebLink:  http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/GrantsAwards/smallmuseum.html

Description:  Deadline: February 1. The Costume Society of America annually awards up to two $1,500 Grants to Support Costume in Small Museums. Eligible museums include small non-profit historical societies, historic houses or sites, and other similar institutions with very limited budget and staff to support their costume collection. These institutions must also be regularly open to the public for a minimum of forty days per year and must have a collection of tangible costume objects. Funds may be used for appropriate supplies or display items; the services of a consultant or specialist; or other projects which relate directly to the institution's costume collection and foster the care or use of the collection at a level appropriate to that collection's most pressing needs. For more information visit the web site or call (800) CSA-9447.

Grantor:  Heritage Preservation: Conservation Assessment Program

WebLink:  http://www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP/index.html

Description:  Deadline: December 1. Heritage Preservation is working with IMLS to provide the Conservation Assessment Program to help museums care for their collections. As the web site states, "CAP provides a general conservation assessment of your museum's collection, 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." Most museums are assigned a conservator to assess the museum's collections, while museums with a historic structure may also get an architectural assessor. Though the program allocates money to help cover the costs of the assessors, museums need to be prepared to pay any costs above that allocation. (Heritage Preservation estimates that these costs could be between $400 and $900, depending on how many assessors are assigned, their fees, the cost of lodging, mileage traveled, etc.) You must join Heritage Preservation's mailing list to receive an application; to be added to the list, contact the CAP staff at cap@heritagepreservation.org or call (202) 233-0800. Many museums who take part in this program later apply for an IMLS Conservation Project Support grant to implement recommended changes.

Grantor:  Kresge Foundation: Challenge Grant Program

WebLink:  http://www.kresge.org

Description:  As stated by its web page, the Kresge Foundation "supports communities by building the capacity of nonprofit organizations in six particular fields of interest: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services and community development." The foundation is especially interested in helping organizations that advance its values of creating opportunity; community impact; institutional transformation; risk; environmental conservation; innovation; collaboration; helping the underserved; and diversity. The Challenge Grant Program might be of particular interest for those who would like to renovate historic buildings for educational purposes. This program "supports nonprofit organizations that are engaged in comprehensive campaigns designed to support institutional growth through the construction of new facilities as well as the acquisition or renovation of existing facilities, the purchase of real property, and the purchase of major integrated equipment systems." The report at www.kresge.org/content/ar07/grantawards/artsculpture.pdf gives examples of grants made cultural organizations to renovate structures or build new structures to be used as museums or cultural centers.

Grantor:  Marion S. Covington Foundation

WebLink:  http://www.mscovingtonfoundation.org

Description:  Deadlines: September 1, March 1. The Marion S. Covington Foundation focuses on historic preservation in North Carolina, though it will also provide support for cultural and educational requests if they are related to historic preservation. The foundation provides money to help acquire and restore historic properties as well as for education, operating and program support, organizational development, publication, and research. The Hickory Landmarks Society, a Federation member, received a $5,000 Stedman Incentive Grant to help restore an 1888 chapel. Other grants have supported a heritage tour; supported the Interpretive Museum in the Single sisters' House at Salem Academy and College; helped pay for renovation of the Aycock auditorium at UNC-Greensboro; and more.

Grantor:  National Trust for Historic Preservation: Preservation Funds

WebLink:  http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/find-funding/grants

Description:  Deadlines: October 1, February 1, and June 1. The Preservation Funds provide two types of assistance to nonprofit organizations and public agencies: 1) matching grants from $500 to $5,000 for preservation planning and educational efforts, and 2) intervention funds for preservation emergencies. Matching grant funds may be used to obtain professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, fund raising, organizational development, and law as well as to provide preservation education activities to educate the public.

Grantor:  Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation

WebLink:  http://www.preservation.org/resources/find-funding/grants

Description:  Deadline: February 1. The Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation provides nonprofit organizations and public agencies matching grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for projects that contribute to the preservation or the recapture of an authentic sense of place. Funds may be used for professional advice, conferences, workshops, and education programs.

Grantor:  Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors

WebLink:  http://www.preservation.org/resources/find-funding/grants

Description:  Deadline: February 1. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors provides nonprofit organizations and public agencies matching grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 to assist in the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of historic interiors. Funds may be used for professional expertise, print and video communications materials, and education programs. Please note that the selection process for the above grants is very competitive. Applicants are encouraged to develop proposals carefully and to complete the application form with the guidance of the National Trust regional office serving their state. For more information, visit the Web site or contact the Southern Office of the National Trust at (843) 722-8552 or by email at soro@hthp.org.

Grantor:  The North Carolina Community Foundation

WebLink:  http://www.ncommunityfoundation.org

Description:  Grants through NCCF Affiliates. Deadline: varies according to Affiliate. As stated by its website, "The Foundation's community affiliates make grants from unrestricted endowments to support a broad range of charitable purposes in their communities including human services, education, health, arts, religion, civic affairs, and the conservation and preservation of historical, cultural, and environmental resources." The NCCF has affiliates that offer grants in dozens of counties across the state. To apply for a grant, first check to see if the foundation has an affiliate in your county by visiting www.ncommunityfoundation.org/_04_affiliates.php. Then click on a link to an affiliate's Web page to learn about that affiliate's grant program (areas of interest, deadline, how to apply, etc.) Many of these affiliates do have an interest in culture, the arts, education, and historic preservation. The Catawba Valley Community Foundation, for example, has given grants in the past to the Hickory Landmarks Society and the Caldwell County Historical Society. If you do not see an affiliate listed for your county, you can call the NCCF at (800) 201-9533 to discuss a referral to a community foundation in your area.

Grantor:  North Carolina Museums Council

WebLink:  http://www.ncmuseums.org/ncmc/focos.html

Description:  Free On-site Consultation Services (FOCoS). Deadline: March 31. Each year the NCMC offers two small museums a chance to participate in its Free On-site Consultation Services. Museums accepted into this program receive a free, two-day visit from two NCMC consultants. Museums can apply for consultations in two of the following categories: collections management, exhibit planning and installation, general administration, educational programming, and public-relations strategies. Preference is given to museums with budgets of less than $100,000; museums do not have to be NCMC members to apply.

Grantor:  North Carolina Preservation Consortium

WebLink:  http://www.ncpreservation.org/grants.html

Description:  Preservation Grants. Deadline: January 15. The NCPC offers grants to help North Carolina libraries, archives, museums, historic sites, and record centers improve the preservation of their collections. Grants may be used for a variety of collections-related projects such as hiring a consultant to conduct a collection assessment or general preservation assessment; hiring a consultant to conduct a collection assessment or general preservation assessment; hiring a consultant to provide advice for developing a disaster preparedness and response plan; purchasing environmental monitoring equipment; purchasing tools and equipment for the repair and conservation of damanged materials; hiring a conservator to repair or restore damaged material of significant value; funding for staff to attend workshops and courses that focus on the preservation of collections, and more. Though priority is given to members of the Preservation Consortium, any library, archive, museum, historic site, record center, or other heritage organization is eligible to apply. The maximum grant is $2,000.

Grantor:  Tourism Cares

WebLink:  http://www.tourismcares.org

Description:  Worldwide Grant Program. Deadline: June 1. As noted by the Web site, Tourism Cares' Worldwide Grant Program "distributes charitable grants to worthy tourism-related non-profit organizations worldwide for capital improvements or educational programs… [The program's] primary consideration is to fund projects and programs, whose goal is capital ('brick-and-mortar') improvements that serve to protect, restore, or conserve sites of exceptional cultural, historic, or natural significance;or the education of local host communities and the traveling public about conservation and preservation of sites of exceptional cultural, historical, or natural significance." Bellamy Mansion/Preservation NC won a Tourism Cares grant in 2007 for the restoration of its slave quarters. Organizations are invited to submit letters of inquiry; these letters will be reviewed, and some groups will be asked to provide a full proposal for further consideration. For more information, visit www.tourismcares.org, or call (781) 821-8949.

Grantor:  Free Guide to Preservation-Related Grants and Resources

WebLink:  http://www.loc.gov/preserv/foundtn-grants.pdf

Description:  The Institute for Museum and Library Services and the Foundation Center have joined forces to create Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums, a free online guide that lists 1,725 grants of $5,000 or more awarded by 474 foundations, from 2003 through 2007. This publication offers contact information for the foundations as well as any limitations on the grants; it also provides details of grants given and allows you to search the list of grants by geographic region, recipient name, and subject key word. Examples of grants listed in this publication include archives conservation, art conservation, collections management, computer systems development, disaster funding, education, electronic media and online services, endowments, environment, equipment, exhibit preservation and treatment, faculty and staff development, fellowships and internships, film and video preservation, higher education, historical and archaeological preservation, historical societies, international exchanges, library preservation, museum preservation, painting conservation, photography preservation, program evaluations, publications, research, scholarship funds, and more. This publication may help you find grants to meet your preservation and conservation needs.

Grantor:  Publications Relating to Grants

WebLink:  http://foundationcenter.org

Description:  Grants for Arts, Culture, & The Humanities. Digital Edition: $39.95. According to the Foundation Center, this digital publication in pdf format includes descriptions of more than 25,500 grants from more than 1,150 foundations. Grants included in this publication support projects ranging from architecture to video and include grants made to museums and for historic preservation.