OpenOpportunity NLG-LIBRARIES-FY27

National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2027)

Institute of Museum and Library Services

At a glance

National Leadership Grants for Libraries (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 $25K – $1M, with about 45 awards expected and $11.5M 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 45.312 (National Leadership Grants).

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: $25,000
Award ceiling: $1,000,000
Est. total funding: $11,500,000
Expected awards: 45
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.

National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) projects enhance the quality of library services nationwide. The program supports projects that: promote adult reading, and health and financial literacies; focus on programming and archival practices related to our shared American history; manage and preserve the national information infrastructure; serve the public’s information and education needs; enhance library and information services through effective and efficient use of new and emerging technologies; improve community prosperity; provide emergency services to communities during disasters and emergencies; and build collaborative partnerships between libraries, archives, and museums that benefit the communities they serve.

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 - National Leadership Grants for LibrariesFull Announcement · fy27-ols-nlgl-NOFO.pdfOCTE · 920 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 NLG-LIBRARIES-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-librarygrants@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?

45.312National Leadership GrantsProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 45.312

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$24.9M

FY25

$25.6M

FY26

$24.6M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 45.312. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

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

Quick answers

When is the deadline for “National Leadership Grants for Libraries (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 “National Leadership Grants for Libraries (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 “National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2027)”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as $25k – $1m, total estimated program funding is $11,500,000 and the agency expects to make about 45 awards.

How do I apply for “National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2027)”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity NLG-LIBRARIES-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 45.312