March 2018
PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR SMALLER
INSTITUTIONS
GUIDELINES NOW AVAILABLE!
The National
Endowment for the Humanities’ Division of Preservation and Access has offered
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions since 2000. These
grants help smaller and mid-sized cultural heritage institutions such as
libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and
county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to
preserve and care for their humanities collections.
Awards of up to
$6,000 support preservation-related collection assessments, consultations,
purchase of preservation supplies and equipment, training and workshops, and
institutional and collaborative disaster and emergency planning. (Applicants
may request up to $7,000 if the project would support emerging professionals, as
discussed below.) Preservation Assistance Grants also support assessments of
digital collections, education and training in standards and best practices for
digital preservation, and the care and handling of collections during
digitization. NEH does not fund digitization or the development of digital
programs in this grant category.
All applications
to NEH must be submitted through Grants.gov; see the application guidelines for
details. The 2018 guidelines for Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller
Institutions are available at www.neh.gov/files/grants/pres-assist-grants-may-1-2018.pdf. You will also find sample project
descriptions, sample narratives, and a list of frequently asked questions. The
deadline for applications is May 1, 2018.
Smaller and
mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are encouraged to
apply. We also have a special encouragement for applications from
Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities,
and Tribal Colleges and Universities, and from Native American tribes and
Native Hawaiian and Native Alaskan organizations with significant humanities
collections.
Mindful
of the importance of preserving cultural heritage in regions affected by
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires and mudslides in
California, the program is offering special assistance of up to $10,000 to
applicants in federally declared disaster areas. In addition to the
regular activities supported by Preservation Assistance Grants, applicants in
these areas are encouraged to seek additional support for disaster planning,
response, recovery, and mitigation; preservation assessments; conservation
treatments; the temporary relocation and storage of collections; the purchase
of supplies; education and training related to disaster planning and response;
and the reformatting of collections as a preservation methodology.
NEH is also offering encouragements to address issues facing smaller
institutions and the preservation field. To provide practical experience to emerging preservation
professionals, we encourage consultants to work as mentors with advanced
students or recent graduates from preservation programs who may assist in
conducting preservation assessments, addressing specific preservation issues,
and/or training staff at the applicant institution. Applicants may request up
to an additional $1,000 if the consultant is working with emerging
professionals. To address the risk to cultural heritage materials from
natural disasters, theft, and other types of destruction, NEH encourages all
applicants to develop disaster plans and to work collaboratively with local
institutions for training in disaster preparedness and emergency response.
See our Web
series, 50 States of Preservation, about PAG awardees across the country, on
our Web site: www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project.
For more
information, contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access at
202-606-8570 or [email protected].