Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
Division of Preservation and Access
THE DEADLINE FOR THIS CYCLE HAS PASSED.
Updated guidelines will be posted in advance of the next deadline. In the meantime, please use these guidelines to get a sense of what is involved in assembling an application.
Grant Snapshot
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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 on which their projects focus. Within the conservation field, conservators usually specialize in the care of specific types of collections, such as objects, paper, or paintings. Applicants should choose a conservator whose specialty is appropriate for the nature of their collections. Similarly, when assessing the preservation needs of library, museum, or archival holdings, applicants should seek a consultant specifically knowledgeable about the preservation of collections in these types of institutions.
The program encourages applications from small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant; community colleges, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities; and Native American tribes and Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian organizations with significant humanities collections. Furthermore, organizations or collections that represent the contributions of under-represented communities are highly encouraged.
An instructional webinar with Q&A was held on October 28, 2022. A recording of the webinar is available below.
Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity to ensure you understand the expectations and restrictions for projects delivered under this program and are prepared to write the most effective application.
Application Materials
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2023
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions FAQ, 2023
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions Grants.gov application package
Recently funded Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
Sample Application Narratives
Asheville Art Museum, item-level assessment of works on paper
Chicago Film Archive, digital preservation plan
City of Boston, purchase of preservation furniture and supplies
Hula Preservation Society, general preservation assessment, training, and supplies
Johns Hopkins University (Historic House Museum), purchase of preservation furniture and supplies
Karuk Tribe, improving the preservation environment with training and supplies
Spelman College (Archives), general preservation assessment and training
University of Central Oklahoma (Textile Museum), general preservation assessment and training
When you are ready to apply, register for an account with SAM.gov and Grants.gov; both are required. If you already have completed the registrations, make sure they are current.
Follow the instructions outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and in the Grants.gov instructions.
You will receive a confirmation from Grants.gov when you’ve successfully submitted your application. Subsequently, you will receive up to five more notices confirming different stages in the application process. Verify that you have received all confirmations. Note that email filters may send these messages to your spam or junk folder