NEH Grant Programs
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions Receipt Deadline: May 1, 2012 for projects beginning January 2013)
Date posted: January 9, 2012
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.149
Questions?
Program questions should be directed to NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access at 202-606-8570 or preservation@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
Grant Program Description
Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions—such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities—improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials. Applicants must draw on the knowledge of consultants whose preservation skills and experience are related to the types of collections and the nature of the activities that are the focus of their projects. Within the conservation field, for example, conservators usually specialize in the care of specific types of collections, such as objects, paper, or paintings. Applicants should therefore choose a conservator whose specialty is appropriate for the nature of their collections. Similarly, when assessing the preservation needs of archival holdings, applicants must seek a consultant specifically knowledgeable about archives and preservation. Because the organization and the preservation of archival collections must be approached in tandem, an archival consultant should also provide advice about the management and processing needs of such holdings as part of a preservation assessment that includes long-term plans for the arrangement and description of archival collections. Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply.
Preservation Assistance Grants may be used for purposes like these.
  • General preservation assessments
    Applicants may engage a conservator, preservation librarian, archivist, or other appropriate consultant to conduct a general preservation assessment and to help draft a long-range plan for the care of humanities collections. The consultant visits the institution to assess policies, practices, and conditions affecting the care and preservation of humanities collections and prepares a report that summarizes the findings and contains prioritized recommendations for future preservation action.
  • Consultations with professionals to address a specific preservation issue, need, or problem
    Applicants may hire a consultant to help address challenges in the stewardship of humanities collections. For example, consultants can provide advice about
    • developing disaster preparedness and response plans;
    • establishing environmental monitoring programs, instituting integrated pest management programs, and developing plans for improving environmental conditions or security or fire protection for collections;
    • studying light levels in exhibition and storage spaces and recommending appropriate methods for controlling light and reducing damage to collections;
    • developing detailed plans for improving storage or rehousing a collection; and
    • assessing the conservation treatment needs of selected items in a collection.
    From preliminary discussions about the proposed assessment, a consultant may be able to anticipate an institution’s need for basic preservation supplies. In such cases, the applicant may request funds to purchase the recommended supplies, but only if the consultant’s letter of commitment provides a description of the supplies and justification for their use. After the on-site visit, the consultant can refine the list of supplies to be purchased.
  • Purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies
    Applicants who have completed a preservation assessment or consulted with an appropriate professional may request funds to purchase permanent and durable furniture and supplies (for example, cabinets and shelving units, storage containers, boxes, folders, and sleeves). Grant funds may be used to support vendor fees for shipping and installation of storage furniture. If an institution’s staff and volunteers have limited experience in rehousing collections, the institution should enlist a consultant to provide guidance and training at the beginning of the project. Applicants requesting storage supplies should discuss how plans for the organization or arrangement of the collections have informed the selection of supplies and equipment.
  • Purchase of environmental monitoring equipment for humanities collections
    Applicants may purchase environmental monitoring equipment (for example, dataloggers, hygrothermographs, and light meters). If the institution’s staff does not have experience using the equipment, the application should include a request for training in the use and installation of the equipment and the interpretation of the monitoring data.
  • Education and training
    Applicants may request support to send staff members who work with humanities collections to workshops and training courses addressing preservation and access topics.
    Applicants may also hire a consultant to conduct on-site training for staff and volunteers. On-site workshops may be tailored to meet specific needs and holdings of the institution. Staff and volunteers from neighboring organizations may also be invited to participate.
    Education and training requests may address both preservation and access topics. For example, workshops could focus on topics such as the following:
    • preservation and care of humanities collections (often offered by collection type, for example, textiles, paintings, photographs, archival records, manuscripts, and books),
    • methods and materials for the storage of collections,
    • environmental monitoring programs,
    • disaster preparedness and response,
    • best practices for cataloging art and material culture collections,
    • proper methods for the arrangement and description of archival collections,
    • best practices for sustaining digital collections,
    • standards for digital preservation, and
    • care and handling of collections during digitization.
Applicants may combine two or more elements of the project types listed above in a single application. For example, an applicant may request funds for a consultant to conduct a preservation assessment and an on-site preservation workshop for the institution’s staff. In such cases, the consultant’s letter of commitment should fully describe both proposed activities and the associated fees.
NEH grants may support consultant fees, workshop registration fees, travel and per diem expenses, and the costs of purchasing and shipping preservation supplies and equipment.
Previously funded projects
An institution that has received a Preservation Assistance Grant may apply for another grant to support the next phase of its preservation efforts. For example, after completing a preservation assessment, an institution might apply to purchase storage supplies and cabinets to rehouse a collection identified as a high priority for improved storage. These proposals receive no special consideration and will be judged by the same criteria as others in the grant competition.
Preservation Assistance Grants may not be used for
  • projects focusing on collections that fall outside the humanities;
  • projects focusing on collections or materials that are not accessible for research, education, or public programming;
  • projects focusing on collections or materials that are the responsibility of an agency of the federal government;
  • appraisals of collections to determine their historical or financial value;
  • conservation or restoration treatments (including deacidification and encapsulation) or the purchase of conservation or restoration treatment supplies and equipment (for example, mending tape, erasers, and cleaning supplies), or library binding;
  • treatment of collections for pest infestation;
  • graduate-level conservation training or training related to advanced conservation treatment;
  • projects that focus on preserving or restoring buildings or other structures;
  • capital improvements to buildings and building systems, including the purchase of equipment such as air conditioners, dehumidifiers, lighting systems, and security and fire protection systems;
  • projects to catalog, index, or arrange and describe collections;
  • the exhibition or display of collections, and the purchase of furniture and display cases intended for this purpose;
  • reformatting of collections (for example, digitizing, photocopying, microfilming, or copying to another medium) or the purchase of equipment for reformatting (for example, computers, scanners, digital cameras, cassette decks, and CD-ROM drives);
  • development of digitization programs or digital asset management systems;
  • purchase of computers;
  • salaries and fringe benefits for the staff of an institution, including the hiring of student interns;
  • attendance at regular meetings of museum, library, archives, or preservation organizations; or
  • the recovery of indirect costs.
III. Award Information
Grants of up to $6,000 will be awarded.
All grants are awarded for a period of eighteen months, although a grantee may complete a project in a shorter period of time.
Cost sharing
Cost sharing is not required in this program. If eligible expenses are more than $6,000, an applicant may cover the difference and show this as cost sharing in the project’s budget.
Eligibility
U.S. nonprofit organizations are eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. Individuals are not eligible to apply.
Only one application for a Preservation Assistance Grant may be submitted annually by an institution, although distinct collecting entities of a larger organization may apply in the same year, such as the library and museum of a university or two historic sites within a historical society.
Applicants must demonstrate that they
  • care for and have custody of the humanities collections that are the focus of the application;
  • have at least one staff member or the full-time equivalent, whether paid or unpaid; and
  • make their collections open and available for the purpose of education, research, and/or public programming, as evidenced by the number of days on which the institution is open to the public, the capacity to support access and use, and the availability of staff for this purpose.
NEH generally does not award grants to other federal entities or to applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities. This does not preclude applicants from using grant funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in their projects.
Late, incomplete, or ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
Application and Submission Information
Application advice
Prior to preparing and submitting a proposal, applicants are encouraged to look at the list ofsample projects, review sample narratives (Chicago Film Archives, City of Ontario, Mills College Art Museum, the Museum of Printing History, the National Japanese American Historical Society, Shady Side Rural Heritage Society, and Sunflower County Library]), and review the Frequently Asked Questions. Please note, though, that program staff is not able to review draft applications.
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION
You will prepare your application for submission via Grants.gov just as you would a paper application. Your application should consist of the following parts.
  1. Project abstract
    Provide a one-paragraph abstract (up to one thousand characters) describing the nature of the collections that are the focus of the project, their significance to the humanities, and the specific goal(s) and activities that the grant would support. Applicants should copy this paragraph into the Project Information field in the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance—Short Organizational form (see below).
  2. Narrative

    Project narratives are limited to five single-spaced pages. The font size should be no smaller than eleven point and all pages should have one-inch margins. Applicants should keep the application review criteria (see below) in mind when writing their narratives.

    Answer the following questions in order. State each question as the heading for the answer to that question.

    1. What activity (or activities) would the grant support?
      State the specific activity or activities that the grant would support and the goals of the proposed project.
    2. What are the content and size of the humanities collections that are the focus of the project?
      Describe the collections that are the focus of the project, emphasizing their significance to the humanities. The description should be at least one page long.
      • Identify the categories of materials and indicate, where pertinent, the date ranges, quantities, and intellectual content.
      • Highlight specific examples of important items in the collections.
      A description of an archival collection, for example, might begin by stating that the collection comprises two hundred letters written by prominent political figures between 1870 and 1885; twenty-four linear feet of records documenting the environmental impact of a regional coal mining company active from 1940 through 1970; fifty-two maps documenting the history and development of the local transportation system; twelve volumes of birth and death records for local residents from 1860 to 1950; and nine hundred photographs depicting community life during the 1930s and 1940s.
      The description should then proceed to discuss in detail the content of these materials and their significance to the humanities. For example, an applicant might explore topics such as the social, political, or economic development of a community, showing how the collections could illuminate these broader humanities themes in American history and culture.
      If the project focuses only on a portion of an institution’s collections, briefly describe the overall collections and then provide a detailed account of the portion on which the project focuses.
    3. How are these humanities collections used?
      Explain in detail the use of the collections on which the project focuses and provide evidence of how the collections are or might be used in scholarly publications, educational activities, exhibitions, or media programming. For example, explain how the collections have been or could be used to illuminate specific humanities themes in an exhibition, or how they have been or could be used in educational programs and classroom instructional materials. If the collections are used for research, describe the range of subjects that have been (or could be) explored and show how these materials could contribute to new interpretations of national or regional history. Provide examples of research projects conducted by students, scholars, or genealogists. By discussing the use of collections and the ways in which they can increase the understanding of broad humanities themes, an applicant will help evaluators understand their importance to the humanities and to the institution’s mission. This section of the application should be at least one page long.
    4. What is the nature and mission of your institution?
      Describe the mission of the institution and discuss specific budget or staffing considerations that characterize it as a small or mid-sized institution. Demonstrate your institutional commitment to making your collection accessible for education, research, and public programming in the humanities, as evidenced by the following information:
      • the number of full-time, part-time, and volunteer staff;
      • the number of days per year on which the institution is open to the public; and
      • the size of the institutional or departmental budget.
      Libraries, archives, or museums that are part of a larger organization, such as a college or university, should provide this information for their institutional unit.
      Applicants should also complete the Institutional Profile form. (See below.)
    5. Has your institution ever had a preservation or conservation assessment or consultation?
      If yes, provide the date of the assessment, the name(s) of the assessor(s), and, if applicable, explain how any previous assessments or consultations relate to or support the proposed project activity.
      Has your institution ever engaged a preservation consultant for purposes other than a general preservation or conservation assessment? If yes, briefly elaborate.
    6. What is the importance of this project to your institution?
      Discuss how this project fits into the institution’s overall preservation needs or plans. Describe the current condition of collections and the environment in which they are stored. Explain how the proposed activities build on previous preservation efforts and how the project fits into future preservation plans. In addition, explain how the project would increase your institution’s ability to improve collection care beyond the period of the grant. For projects involving preservation assessments or consultations, explain how the findings will be disseminated within your institution.
      Applicants proposing to attend workshops or training courses should describe their content and explain how the knowledge gained would be used to improve preservation practices at the institution. Workshops must be attended during the period of the grant. If a regularly offered workshop has not been scheduled at the time of application, contact the workshop’s provider to confirm that it will be offered. In an appendix, provide information about the workshop (for example, a description, announcement, or program) obtained from the provider.
    7. What are the names and qualifications of the consultant(s) and staff involved in the project?
      Using short paragraphs, provide the name(s) and qualifications of the consultant(s) selected for the project, as well as the names and relevant experiences of the participating staff. Applicants requesting training in the care and preservation of humanities collections must seek a consultant specifically knowledgeable about the collection type or types on which the project focuses. For preservation training projects, identify the staff person(s) who will attend the training and state their positions and responsibilities.
      Consultants are required to submit letters of commitment that guarantee their participation in the project and describe their plan of work. These letters should be included in one of the application’s appendices, along with the consultants’ résumés.
    8. What is the plan of work for the project?
      Outline the steps of the project, the sequence in which they will occur, and indicate who is responsible for which activities.
  3. Budget
    Provide an itemized budget showing the project’s expenses rounded to the nearest dollar. To illustrate the format that you should follow, please consult the sample budget.
    Cost sharing is not required for Preservation Assistance Grants. However, if eligible expenses are greater than $6,000, the applicant will need to cover the difference and should enter the amount in excess of $6,000 on the cost-sharing line of the Supplementary Cover Sheet and in the budget. For example, if a project costs $8,850, the applicant may request $6,000 from NEH and provide cost sharing in the amount of $2,850.
  4. Appendices
    • Supporting documentation
      For projects based on a previous preservation assessment, attach a copy of the executive summary of the assessment.
      For projects that involve purchasing supplies and equipment, provide a list that identifies each item, quantity, unit cost, and the name of the vendor.
      For projects that involve purchasing storage furniture, provide a description of the furniture, the materials from which it is made, unit cost, and the name of the vendor.
      For preservation training projects, attach workshop descriptions, announcements, or programs.
      For projects that involve the hiring of a consultant, attach a résumé for and letter of commitment from the consultant.
      All projects must include brief résumés (no longer than two pages) for the project director and other key staff.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION VIA GRANTS.GOV
Register or Verify Registration with Grants.gov
Applications for this program must be submitted via Grants.gov. Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register with the website to create an institutional profile. Once registered, your organization can then apply for any government grant on the Grants.gov website.
If your organization has already registered and you have verified that your registration is still valid, you may skip this step. If not, please see our handy checklist to guide you through the registration process. We strongly recommend that you complete or verify your registration at least two weeks before the application deadline, as it takes time for your registration to be processed. If you have problems registering with Grants.gov, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726.
As part of the Grants.gov registration process, applicants are required to register with Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Grantees are also required to maintain the currency of their information in the CCR by reviewing and updating their information at least annually after the initial registration, and more frequently if required by changes in information.
Download the Free Adobe Reader Software
To fill out a Grants.gov application package, you will need to download and install the current version of Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader, which is designed to function with PCs and Macintosh computers using a variety of popular operating systems, is available at no charge from the Adobe website (www.adobe.com). Click on “Get Adobe Reader” and then “Download Now.”
Once installed, the current version of Adobe Reader will allow you to view and fill out Grants.gov application packages for any federal agency. If you have a problem installing Adobe Reader, it may be because you do not have permission to install a new program on your computer. Many organizations have rules about installing new programs. If you encounter a problem, contact your system administrator.
Download the Application Package
To submit your application, you will need to download the application package from the Grants.gov website. You can download the application package at any time. (You do not have to wait for your Grants.gov registration to be complete.) Click the button to the right to download the package.
Save the application package to your computer’s hard drive. To open the application package, select the file and double click. You do not have to be online to work on it.
You can save your application package at any time by clicking the “Save” button at the top of your screen. Tip: If you choose to save your application package before you have completed it, you may receive an error message indicating that your application is not valid if all of the forms have not been completed. Click “OK” to save your work and complete the package another time. You can also use e-mail to share the application package with members of your organization or project team.
The application package contains four forms that you must complete in order to submit your application:
  1. Application for Federal Domestic Assistance - Short Organizational—this form asks for basic information about the project, the project director, and the institution.
  2. Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs—this form asks for additional information about the project director, the institution, and the budget.
  3. Institutional Profile Form—this form asks for additional information about the institution.
  4. Attachments Form—this form allows you to attach your narrative, budget, and the other parts of your application.
To assist applicants, Grants.gov provides a helpful troubleshooting page.
How to Fill Out the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance—Short Organizational
Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. In Items 6, 7, 8, and 9 below, NEH recommends that the project title, brief project description, project director’s name, primary contact/grants administrator’s name, and authorized representative’s name be typed directly onto the form, instead of being pasted in; pasted-in quotation marks, diacritics, and other symbols are often converted into question marks during transmittal.
Please provide the following information:
  1. Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically with “National Endowment for the Humanities.”
  2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This will be filled in automatically with the CFDA number and title of the NEH program to which you are applying.
  3. Date Received: Please leave blank.
  4. Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
  5. Applicant Information: In this section, please supply the name, address, employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN), DUNS number, website address, and congressional district of the institution. Also choose the “type” that best describes your institution (you only need to select one).
    If your institution is located, for example, in the 5th Congressional District of your state, put a “5.” If your institution doesn’t have a congressional district (for example, it is in a state or U.S. territory that doesn’t have districts or is in a foreign country), put a “0” (zero).
    All institutions applying to federal grant programs are required to provide a DUNS number, issued by Dun & Bradstreet, as part of their application. Project directors should contact their institution’s grants administrator or chief financial officer to obtain their institution’s DUNS number. Federal grant applicants can obtain a DUNS number free of charge by calling 1-866-705-5711. (Learn more about the requirement.)
  6. Project Information: Provide the title of your project. Your title should be brief (no more than 125 characters), descriptive, and substantive. It should also be informative to a nonspecialist audience. Provide a brief (no more than one thousand characters) description of your project. The description should be written for a nonspecialist audience and clearly state the importance of the proposed work and its relation to larger issues in the humanities. List the starting and ending dates for your project. Applicants should copy their project abstracts into this field.
  7. Project Director: Provide the name, title, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers for the project director.
  8. Primary Contact/Grants Administrator: Provide the contact information for the official responsible for the administration of the grant (that is, negotiating the project budget and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of the award). This person is often a grants or research officer, or a sponsored programs official. Normally, the Primary Contact/Grants Administrator is not the same person as the Project Director. If the project director and the grants administrator are the same person, skip to Item 9.
  9. Authorized Representative: Provide the contact information for the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) who is submitting the application on behalf of the institution. This person, often called an “Authorizing Official,” is typically the president, vice president, executive director, provost, or chancellor. In order to become an AOR, the person must be designated by the institution’s E-Business Point of Contact. For more information, please consult the Grants.gov user guide, which is available at www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp.
How to Fill Out the Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs
Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please provide the following information:
  1. Project Director: Use the pull-down menu to select the major field of study for the project director.
  2. Institution Information: Use the pull-down menu to select your type of institution.
  3. Project Funding: Enter your project funding information. Note that applicants for Challenge Grants should use the right column only; applicants to all other programs should use the left column only.
  4. Application Information: Indicate whether the application will be submitted to other NEH grant programs, government agencies, or private entities for funding. If so, please indicate where and when. NEH frequently cosponsors projects with other funding sources. Providing this information will not prejudice the review of your application.
    For Type of Application, check “new” if the application requests a new period of funding, whether for a new project or the next phase of a project previously funded by NEH. Check “supplement” if the application requests additional funding for a current NEH grant. Applicants requesting a supplement should provide the current grant number. Before submitting an application for a supplement, applicants should discuss their request with an NEH program officer.
    For Project Field Code, use the pull-down menu to select the humanities field of the project. If the project is multidisciplinary, choose the field that corresponds to the project’s predominant discipline.
How to Fill Out the Institutional Profile Form
Please choose the appropriate response to each of the six questions on the form.
How to Use the Attachments Form
You will use this form to attach the various files that make up your application.
Your attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). We cannot accept attachments in their original word processing or spreadsheet formats. If you don’t already have software to convert your files into PDFs, many low-cost and free software packages will do so. To learn more, go to www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html.
When you open the Attachments Form, you will find fifteen attachment buttons, labeled “Attachment 1” through “Attachment 15.” By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order so that we can identify them. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below:
ATTACHMENT 1: To this button, please attach your project abstract. Name the file “abstract.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your narrative. Name the file “narrative.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your budget. Name the file “budget.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your supporting documentation. Name the file “documentation.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your résumés for project director and other key staff. Name the file “staffresumes.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 6: To this button, please attach your résumé(s) and letter(s) of commitment for project consultant(s). Name the file “consultantresumes.pdf”.
Use the remaining buttons to attach any additional materials (if appropriate). Please give these attachments meaningful file names and ensure that they are PDFs.
UPLOADING YOUR APPLICATION TO GRANTS.GOV
When you have completed all four forms, use the right-facing arrow to move each of them to the “Mandatory Documents for Submission” column. Once they have been moved over, the “Submit” button will activate. You are now ready to upload your application package to Grants.gov.
During the registration process, your institution designated one or more AORs (Authorized Organization Representatives). These AORs typically work in your institution’s Sponsored Research Office or Grants Office. When you have completed your application, you must ask your AOR to submit the application, using the special username and password that were assigned to him or her during the registration process.
To submit your application, your computer must have an active connection to the Internet. To begin the submission process, click the “Submit” button. A page will appear, asking you to sign and submit your application. At this point, your AOR will enter his or her username and password. When you click the “Sign and Submit Application” button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov. Please note that it may take some time to upload your application package, depending on the size of your files and the speed of your Internet connection.
After the upload is complete, a confirmation page will appear. This confirmation page indicates that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov and includes a tracking number. Please print this page for your records. The AOR will also receive a confirmation e-mail message.
NEH suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. Doing so will leave you time to contact the Grants.gov help desk for support, should you encounter a technical problem of some kind. The Grants.gov help desk is now available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day (except for federal holidays), at 1-800-518-4726. You can also send an e-mail message to support@grants.gov.
To assist applicants, Grants.gov provides a helpful troubleshooting page.
DEADLINES
Applications must be received by Grants.gov by May 1, 2012. Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded. Applications submitted after that date will not be accepted.
Application Review
NEH asks panelists knowledgeable about the preservation and use of humanities collections to assess applications according to the following criteria:
The collections and their use in education, research, or public programming in the humanities:
  • How adequately has the applicant described the content of the collections that are the focus of the project? Has the applicant provided a detailed description of that content, including the type of materials, their quantity, date ranges, and intellectual and historical content?
  • How thoroughly and persuasively has the applicant explained the significance of the collections for education, research, or public programming in the humanities, as appropriate?
  • Does the applicant demonstrate a sufficient commitment to making its collections accessible, as evidenced by the number of days on which the institution is open to the public, the institutional capacity to support access and use, and the availability of staff for this purpose?
The proposed activities and the justification of their importance to the institution:
  • Are the proposed activities clearly described and feasible?
  • How will this project contribute to the institution’s capacity to preserve its collections and make them accessible?
The adequacy of the plan of work:
  • Has the applicant provided a feasible and clearly described plan of work, timetable, and budget?
  • Have supplies and equipment been adequately described and do they meet preservation standards?
  • Have workshop topics been described and are the topics appropriate for the applicant’s needs?
  • Are the roles of the consultants and staff explained?
  • Do the consultants and staff have experience and qualifications appropriate to the project’s goals?
Review and selection process
Knowledgeable persons outside NEH will read each application and advise the agency about its merits. NEH staff comments on matters of fact or on significant issues that otherwise would be missing from these reviews, then makes recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.
Award Administration Information
Award notices
Applicants will be notified by e-mail in January 2013. Institutional grants administrators and project directors of successful applications will also receive at that time award documents by e-mail. Applicants may obtain the evaluations of their applications by sending a letter to NEH, Division of Preservation and Access, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 411, Washington, D.C. 20506 or an e-mail message to preservation@neh.gov.
Administrative requirements
Before submitting an application, applicants should review their responsibilities as an award recipient.
Award conditions
The requirements for awards are contained in the General Terms and Conditions for Awards, the Addendum to it, any specific terms and conditions contained in the award document, and the applicable OMB circulars governing federal grants management.
Reporting requirements
A schedule of report due dates will be included with the award document. Reports must be submitted electronically via eGMS, NEH’s online grant management system
A final performance report will be required. Further details can be found in Performance Reporting Requirements.
A final Federal Financial Report (SF-425) will be due within ninety days after the completion date of the award period. For further details, please see the Financial Reporting Requirements.
Points of Contact
If you have questions about the program, contact:
Division of Preservation and Access
Room 411
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8570
preservation@neh.gov
If you need help using Grants.gov, contact:
Grants.gov: www.grants.gov
Grants.gov help desk: support@grants.gov
Grants.gov customer support tutorials and manuals:
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp
Grant.gov support line: 1-800-518-GRANTS (4726)
Grants.gov troubleshooting tips.
Other Information
Privacy policy
Information in these guidelines is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 956. The principal purpose for which the information will be used is to process the grant application. The information may also be used for statistical research, analysis of trends, and Congressional oversight. Failure to provide the information may result in the delay or rejection of the application.
Application completion time
The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden.NEH estimates that the average time to complete this application is fifteen hours per response. This estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, researching, gathering, and maintaining the information needed, and completing and reviewing the application.
Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Chief Guidelines Officer, at guidelines@neh.gov; the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, DC 20506; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, DC 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.

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