OpenOpportunity MFA-FY27

Museums for America (2027)

Institute of Museum and Library Services

At a glance

Museums for America (2027) is an open federal grant opportunity from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Applications are due November 13, 2026. Individual awards are listed as $5K – $350K, with about 122 awards expected and $21.7M 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 45.301 (Museums for America).

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

Key facts

Sep 1, 2026Posted
Nov 13, 2026Application deadlinenext date

Posted: Sep 1, 2026
Close date: Nov 13, 2026
Award floor: $5,000
Award ceiling: $350,000
Est. total funding: $21,699,000
Expected awards: 122
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 eligibility requirements.

Can your organization apply?

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.

he Museums for America (MFA) program invests in museums of all sizes – from small to large – and disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through educational programs and exhibits, community partnerships, and collections stewardship activities.

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.

FY27 Notice of Funding Opportunity - Museums for AmericaFull Announcement · fy27-oms-mfa-NOFO.pdfOCTE · 922 KB

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above, and plan for the required cost sharing/match.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number MFA-FY27 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · imls-museumgrants@imls.gov Open ↗
Submit before November 13, 2026Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

45.301Museums for AmericaProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 45.301

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$29.9M

FY25

$15.3M

FY26

$28.7M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 45.301. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

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

Quick answers

When is the deadline for “Museums for America (2027)”?

According to the official notice, applications are due November 13, 2026. Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for “Museums for America (2027)”?

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

How much funding is available through “Museums for America (2027)”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as $5k – $350k, total estimated program funding is $21,699,000 and the agency expects to make about 122 awards.

How do I apply for “Museums for America (2027)”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity MFA-FY27), 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.

OpenALN 45.301