Preservation and conservation efforts can be costly but will only extend the life of the materials housed within. Factors to consider will be product costs, time, staff, and resources. Grants are a highly desirable funding source for the implementation of preservation and conservation measures. Not only do grants provide revenue without increased collection exposure, they are educational tools based on research and analysis and help others interested in participating in similar undertakings.
The Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services,
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities grant # 45.301
is a general operating support grant. The average grant issued is $6,000 with
direct payments and unrestricted use. This grant is slotted for several different
cultural institutions, including historic houses, and is not dependent on
museum status.
The Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities grant # 45.304
is a conservation assessment program grant. The average grant issued is $6,000
with direct payments and specified use. Conservation Assessment Program grants
are awarded on a first come first served basis.
The Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities grant # 45.303
is a Conservation Project support grant. This is a competitive grant that
funds projects related to the safe keeping of collections. This includes surveys,
environmental conditions, treatment, research and training of museum staff
on collection care. Conservation grants do not exceed $50,000. This grant
requires a fifty-percent match from the applicant.
The Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities grant # 45.312 is National Leadership grants that promote cooperative discourse between libraries and museums. This grant is an opportunity to increase collection access and therefore community value. Projects such as classification and organization of collection materials, finding aids, and on-line resources would encourage opportunities to expand mission statements to include education and open up several avenues of potential resources. Awards over $250,000 must be matched one-to-one. The range of assistance is $15,000 to $500,000.
The Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services,
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities grant # 15.904
is a grant aimed at protecting sites, buildings, objects, and structures
significant in American history. The grant is distributed on the State level
and would require a cooperative endeavor with a State institution such as
the State Historical Society. The money can be used for several things including
staff salary and development projects.This type of grant ensures the continual
growth of historical communities. This grant requires a 60/40 matching requirement
and has a range of $160,847 to 934,281.
Details about these programs and 1,400 other grant and loan programs can be
found through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: http://www.cfda.gov/public/allprogs.asp
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Heritage Preservation Services offers a Cultural Resource Training Initiative
grant that support training and education of historic house staff. This type
of grant must be written in partnership with a cultural resource organization.
Educational opportunities can be used as an initiative to attract interns
and a reliable source for educating volunteer staff.
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Call: Michael Auer at (202) 343 9594; fax (202) 343-3921
email: hps-info@nps.gov
The Getty Conservation Institute has an in the field program that partners
with sites in need of conservation assessment and application. The J. Paul
Getty Trust engages in activities dedicated to furthering conservation practice
and education in order to enhance and encourage the preservation, understanding,
and interpretation of the visual arts- broadly interpreted to include objects,
collections, architecture, and sites.
http://www.getty.edu/conservation/work/field.html
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has a grant concerning Heritage and
Preservation; a Preservation and Access grant; the Our History is America's
History grant; and a Research and Education grant. The NEA also maintains
a database of online resources available to cultural institutes.
http://www.arts.gov/federal.html
The National Park Service offers the Save America's Treasures preservation
grant.
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Art Works
offers up to $1,000 for their Angel Project grants in order to pair conservators
with collections that need conservation treatment. A group of conservators
typically volunteer 1-2 days of their time to work with curators, archivists,
or collections managers to provide basic care and rehousing for specific collections.
A successful Angels Project includes local and regional publicity such as
television, newspaper and magazine coverage to publicize the need for collections
care and preservation.
http://aic.stanford.edu/faic/angels.html
The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, Inc. provides grants equaling
$25,000 and in special circumstances $10,000 for innovative research in historic
preservation.
http://www.fitchfoundation.org/
The Mellon Foundation has grants available for the advanced training of future
museum and art conservators.
http://www.mellon.org/
Finding Funders provides annotated links to over 2,000 grantmaker website
http://fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/index.html
Grant Writing offers tips and how to's of grant writing as well as funding
sources.
http://www.progressiveimaging.com/grants.htm
A pathfinder for grant money worldwide.
http://www.fundsnetservices.com/internat.htm