[MassHistPres] Grant Opportunity: National Trust Preservation Funds

[Doherty, Jennifer @ SEC]

This grant is offered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and is not offered by nor affiliated with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Please contact the National Trust directly if you have questions or wish to apply.

National Trust Preservation Funds Application Now Available

Grants from National Trust Preservation Funds (NTPF)<https://savingplaces.org/preservation-funds> are intended to encourage preservation at the local level by supporting on-going preservation work and by providing seed money for preservation projects. These grants help stimulate public discussion, enable local groups to gain the technical expertise needed for preservation projects, introduce the public to preservation concepts and techniques, and encourage financial participation by the private sector. A small grant at the right time can go a long way and is often the catalyst that inspires a community to take action on a preservation project. Grants generally start at $2,500 and range up to $5,000.

Application and Review Timeline
The next deadline for this program will be February 3, 2025. The review process is generally completed within ten weeks of the application deadline, and applicants are notified via email once the review process is complete.

Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be either a public agency, 501(c) (3), or other nonprofit organization to be considered eligible. Applicants that have received previous National Trust financial assistance are eligible provided that all grant requirements are current.

No more than three grants will be awarded in any two-year period to a single grantee. Only one grant will be awarded per organization in any grant round. Only one grant will be awarded for a particular project phase.

Only Organizational Level Preservation Leadership Forum Members, Main Street America Community Members, and Main Street America General Members are eligible to receive funding from the National Trust Preservation Fund. Organizations do not need to have an active membership to apply for a grant, but selected grantees will be required to become members prior to the release of funds. Your membership status will be verified by our grants office once award decisions have been made. If you have questions about your membership status, please email members at savingplaces.org.

Grant Conditions
Applicants must be capable of matching the grant amount on a one-to-one basis. Both cash and in-kind donations count toward the one-to-one required match.

The required match can come from private or public sources, from income earned from registration fees or sales, or from fundraising activities. In-kind donations of labor, materials or services will also be considered eligible for meeting the matching requirement. Matching funds must be used to fund eligible expenses listed below. Other funding from the National Trust may not be used to match an NTPF grant.

Other conditions are listed on the National Trust's website.

Eligible Activities
National Trust Preservation Fund grants are awarded for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation. Grant funds can be used to launch new initiatives or to provide additional support to on-going efforts.

Planning: Supporting existing staff (nonprofit applicants only) or obtaining professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archaeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, and law. Eligible planning activities include, but are not limited to:


*         Hiring a preservation architect or landscape architect, or funding existing staff with expertise in these areas, to produce a historic structure report or historic landscape master plan.

*         Hiring a preservation planner, or funding existing staff with expertise in this area, to produce design guidelines for a historic district.

*         Hiring a real estate development consultant, or funding existing staff with expertise in this area, to produce an economic feasibility study for the reuse of a threatened structure.

*         Sponsoring a community forum to develop a shared vision for the future of a historic neighborhood.

*         Organizational capacity building activities such as hiring fundraising consultants, conducting board training, etc.

Education and Outreach: Support for preservation education activities aimed at the public. The National Trust is particularly interested in programs aimed at reaching new audiences. Funding will be provided to projects that employ innovative techniques and formats aimed at introducing new audiences to the preservation movement, whether that be through education programming or conference sessions.

Ineligible Activities

*         Building or other construction activities

*         Academic research

*         Acquisition of real property or objects

*         General support for conferences

Eligible Expenses

*         Nonprofit applicants may include staff salaries for staff members directly working on the funded project

*         Fees for consultant services

*         Speaker fees/faculty costs for educational programs and conference sessions

*         Mailing costs for distribution of materials

*         The development of materials for education and outreach campaigns

*         Materials and services such as printing, photographs, telephone, and supplies. With the exception of publications projects, these costs may not exceed 10 percent of the project budget.

Ineligible Expenses

*         Organizational overhead costs

*         Catering, food and beverage, entertainment

*         Construction or other capital improvement costs

*         Acquisition of real property or objects

*         Expenses incurred prior to application date

Criteria
Grant recipients will be selected by considering, among other points, the following criteria:

*         The significance of the project or resource.

*         The need for funding and the urgency of the project.

*         The project's budget and the applicant's proven ability to secure a match.

*         The project's timeline.

*         The long-term objectives or impact of the project.

*         The qualifications of the key personnel, including consultants or staff.

*         The demonstrated ability of the applicant to complete preservation projects.

*         The potential to replicate the project in other communities.

How to Apply
You will need the following items as part of your Preservation Funds application:

*         Up to three digital images of high quality (300 dpi) with caption and credit information.

*         Applicant's Internal Revenue Service determination letter of tax-exempt status. If tax-exempt status has not been fully approved by the IRS, please provide evidence of filing for certification and letter of opinion from an attorney concerning the applicant's tax status (nonprofit organizations).

*         Letter of consent from property owner (if applicant does not own property).

*         Completed National Trust Preservation Funds application, which includes a budget section that outlines proposed expenses and revenue for the project.
National Trust grants staff can provide helpful guidance for the application process if you have questions. If you have specific questions about your project's eligibility, please contact our grants staff.

Application Procedure
Access the application for the National Trust Preservation Funds.<https://www.grantinterface.com/Common/LogOn.aspx?eqs=wG-r-jJPukaZXX0vZfjnMw2>

You will be taken to the National Trust grants application system where you will need to create a user profile for your organization. If your organization has applied for a grant previously, you will sign into your existing organization profile. If you have questions please email us<mailto:grants at savingplaces.org>.



Jennifer B. Doherty
Local Government Programs Coordinator
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3314
Office: (617) 727-8470
Remote: (617) 807-0685
Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us<mailto:Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us>

Register for virtual workshops<https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/mhc/programs/workshops.htm>

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