Museum Grant/Fundraising/Development Resources

Richard Pekelney

Association of Fundraising Professionals.
http://www.afpnet.org/
This site provides information on fund-raising ethics and certification, as well as links to other Web sites of interest to fund raisers.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant finding opportunities.
http://www.grants.gov

U.S. Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/
This act replaces the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The grants are allocated through the states. Contact your state Department of Transportation for further information on the requirements. Museums come under the "Transportation Enhancement Activities" provision (funded at over $600 million annually) of the act. The process typically takes two years to complete. (Note: USS Cobia, Tug Luna and Army Corps of Engineers dredge William M. Black were among HNSA Fleet Members who received grants under the former Act) The TEA-21. A guide to the program, "Building on the Past, Traveling to the Future: A Preservationist's Guide to the ISTEA Transportation Enhancement Provision" has been jointly produced by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Federal Highway Administration. It is available for free from the Trust. Call (202) 588-6296. The Government and Public Affairs office of the American Association of Museums at (202) 289-9125 can also provide information on this program. Successful applicants for TEA-21 grants include Tug Luna and SS City of Milwaukee.

U.S. National Park Service (Heritage Preservation Services) Grants.
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/treasures/search.htm
The "Save America's Treasures" Millennium Grants Program includes monies to be awarded competitively for preservation or conservation of nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and historic properties.
The Maritime Heritage Grants program has been unfunded for several years, but this could change.
http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/grants.htm

U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities.
http://www.neh.gov/
U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.
http://www.nea.gov/

National Historical Publications and Records Grants from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
http://www.archives.gov/grants/index.html

Museum Services Grants Awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
http://www.imls.gov/.
The IMLS awards a series of grants to museums annually. They include General Operating Support, Museum Assessment Program, Conservation Project Support, Conservation Assessment Program and National Leadership for Museums grants. A number of HNSA Fleet Members have received these grants in years past.  Most recently, in 2000 the Wisconsin Maritime Museum with USS Cobia received a General Operating Support Grant of $104,671.

The Foundation Center.
http://foundationcenter.org/
This is a national organization that produces a set of publications listing available foundation and corporate grants. It is a comprehensive summary. The Center also produces a "Foundation Grants Index" on CD-ROM that allows you to click through their database of 100,000 grants to target foundations by the grants they have already made. The printed directories are found in the reference sections of many city libraries. The Center's Web site provides information about purchasing the CD-ROM. By clicking on Cooperating Collections on their home page you can find the nearest library in your state holding the directories. The Foundation Center's phone number is (800) 424-9836.

Ship-Type Organization Grants.
http://www.hnsa.org/associates.htm
The Naval Submarine League makes grants to submarine museums; Tin Can Sailors, Inc. to private nonprofit museums with destroyers; and the USN Cruiser Sailors Association to cruiser museums. All three organizations are Associate Members of HNSA.

Conservation Assessment Program Grants.
CAP is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by Heritage Preservation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the care of collections. CAP provides funds for small to mid-sized museums in the U.S. to hire a professional conservator, approved by Heritage Preservation, for a two-day visit. The CAP assessor examines the museum's collections, environmental conditions, and sites. The assessor then prepares a report recommending priorities to improve collections care. Grants are awarded to eligible applicants on a non-competitive, first-come, first-served basis. The 2002 CAP applications are available on Heritage Preservation's Web site at
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
To be added to Heritage Preservation's CAP mailing list, contact Heritage Preservation by mail, phone, fax or e-mail. It is recommended that potential applicants request a sample application to review the eligibility requirements and prepare for the application process. For further information contact CAP Program Assistant Cindy Olsen at Heritage Preservation, 1730 K St., NW, Suite 566, Washington, DC 20006-3836, phone (202) 634-1422, e-mail colsen@heritagepreservation.org.

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