Independent research tool — not a government agency. Official notices govern.Refreshed
GrantsJunctionAmerican funding, sourcedMethodology
ClosedOpportunity 21MP-FY25

21st Century Museum Professionals Program (2025)

Institute of Museum and Library Services

At a glance

21st Century Museum Professionals Program (2025) is a closed federal grant opportunity from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The application deadline was November 15, 2024. Individual awards are listed as $100K – $500K, with about 8 awards expected and $2M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include others (see notice). Cost sharing or matching is required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 45.032 (21st Century Museum Professional Program).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

  1. Aug 15, 2024Posted
  2. Nov 15, 2024Application deadline
  3. Jun 15, 2025 (est.)Est. award date
Posted
Aug 15, 2024
Close date
Nov 15, 2024
Est. award date
Jun 15, 2025
Award floor
$100,000
Award ceiling
$500,000
Est. total funding
$2,000,000
Expected awards
8
Cost sharing
Required
Funding instrument
Grant
Opportunity category
Discretionary

Who can apply

  • Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

See the Notice of Funding Opportunity for program eligibility criteria. IMLS is extending the deadline for the 21st Century Museum Professional grant program from November 15, 2024, to December 13, 2024, for institutions located in Federally declared emergency and/or major disaster areas who have not been able to meet the current November 15, 2024, deadline because they have been adversely impacted by such emergencies and/or disasters. An affected organization must, by December 13 at 11:59pm EST, submit its completed application with a written statement from its Authorizing Official that: • Specifies the applicable Emergency Declaration and/or Major Disaster Declaration for the area in which the applicant organization is located (see FEMA’s listing of Declared Disasters https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations) and • Confirms that the applicant organization was unable to meet the original application deadline of November 15, 2024, due to the emergency or disaster. This statement should be prepared as a Supporting Document and uploaded as part of the application submitted through Grants.gov. For those applicants who have not been adversely affected by such emergencies and/or disasters, the deadline remains November 15, 2024, at 11:59pm EST.

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The 21st Century Museum Professional (21MP) grant program supports projects that offer professional development to the current museum workforce, train and recruit future museum professionals, and identify and share effective practices in museum workforce education and training.

IMLS recognizes the important role of strong local and regional networks in providing peer-to-peer learning, training, and mentoring opportunities for the museum workforce. Partnerships among museums, museum-serving organizations, and institutions of higher education are vital to expanding career pathways for broad groups of museum professionals throughout a city, county, state, region, or the nation. The 21MP Program encourages applications from museum associations, museum studies programs at institutions of higher education, and museums that serve as essential parts of the professional learning and training environment.

Additional information from the agency ↗

Full announcement & documents

The full announcement has the complete rules — page limits, required attachments, evaluation criteria and any letter-of-intent dates. Files download directly from Grants.gov.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

Reported obligations under ALN 45.032

Historical data · not a prediction
FY24$2M
FY25$2.5M
FY26$2M est.
Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 45.032. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 45.032

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 24 grant awards had funding actions under 21st Century Museum Professional Program, with 2 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

  1. UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA$500K
  2. SCIENCENTER DISCOVERY MUSEUM$500K
  3. THE HIGH DESERT MUSEUM$483K
  4. MUSEO DE HISTORIA NATURAL Y CONSERVACION DE PUERTO RICO$450K
  5. COUNCIL OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSEUMS, INC.$433K
Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

Institute of Museum and Library Services
imls-museumgrants@imls.gov
202-653-4634

Quick answers

Who is eligible to apply for “21st Century Museum Professionals Program (2025)”?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: Others (see notice). Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through “21st Century Museum Professionals Program (2025)”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as $100k – $500k, total estimated program funding is $2,000,000 and the agency expects to make about 8 awards.

How do I apply for “21st Century Museum Professionals Program (2025)”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity 21MP-FY25), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.