Archival Projects

The NHPRC seeks archival projects that will significantly improve online public discovery and use of historical records collections. We welcome projects that engage the public, expand civic education, and promote understanding of the nation’s history, democracy, and culture from the founding era to the present day. The Commission encourages projects focused on collections of America’s early legal records, such as the records of colonial, territorial, county, and early statehood and tribal proceedings that document the evolution of the nation’s legal history.
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Collections that center the voices and document the history of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are especially welcome. In addition, with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, the Commission is particularly interested in projects that promote discovery and access to collections that explore the ideals behind our nation’s founding and the continuous debate over those ideals to the present day.
Projects, to preserve and process historical records, may:
? Arrange or re-house and describe collections;
? Convert existing description for online access;
? Create new online finding aids to collections;
? Digitize historical records collections and make them freely available online.
All types of historical records are eligible, including documents, photographs, born-digital records, and analog audio and moving images.
The successful application will:
? demonstrate the value of the collections to the understanding of United States democracy, history, and culture;
? outline a work plan that uses archival best practices,
? be appropriately staffed with archivists;
? propose a cost-effective budget; and outline activities that connect researchers to the project’s collections, as well as the rest of the repository’s holdings.
For a comprehensive list of Commission limitations on funding, please see: "What we do and do not fund".
Award Information
A grant is for one to two years and for up to $150,000. The Commission expects to make up to 12 grants in this category for a total of up to $1,200,000. The Commission requires that grant recipients acknowledge NHPRC grant assistance in all publicity, publications, and other products that result from its support.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants:
? Nonprofit organizations or institutions
? Colleges, universities, and other academic institutions
? State or local government agencies
? Federally-recognized or -acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups
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Projects must include at least one of the eligible activities described for this program. Applications must include all required elements (SF424, Narrative, NHPRC Budget form, and Supplemental Materials). Applications that do not meet both of these criteria will not be considered.
In order to ensure eligibility, applicants should first review the rules and regulations governing NHPRC grants under the Administering an NHPRC Grant section.
Cost Sharing
The total costs of a project are shared between the NHPRC and the applicant organization.
Cost sharing is required. The applicant's financial contribution may include both direct and indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project. NHPRC grant recipients are not permitted to use grant funds for indirect costs (as indicated in 2 CFR 2600.101). Indirect costs must be listed under the applicant's cost sharing contribution if they are included in the budget.
The Commission provides no more than 75 percent of total project costs in the Archival Projects program. For example, a grant funds request of $150,000 will require $50,000 in cost share from the applicant institution, for a total project cost of $200,000.
Other Requirements
Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting an application, maintain SAM registration throughout the application and award process, and include a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in their application. Details on SAM registration and requesting a UEI can be found at the System for Award Management website at https://sam.gov. Please refer to the User Guides section and the Grants Registrations PDF.
Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current. It may take up to one month to register or reactivate your registration with SAM.gov and Grants.gov. NHPRC will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.