Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grants

Deadline: 1-Mar-21

As established under the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, funding under the Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grant program is available to nonprofit organizations and local governments for the planning and development for publicly accessible historic resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The purpose of the grant is to support projects that identify, preserve, promote and protect historic and archaeological resources of Pennsylvania for both the benefit of the public and the revitalization of communities.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission also annually uses a portion of the realty transfer tax revenue to rehabilitate and maintain Commonwealth-owned historic sites and museums.

Funding Categories

Funding is available in the categories of:

Cultural Resource Surveys
National Register Nominations
Planning and Development Assistance
Archaeology

Funding Information

Requests for funding to the Historic Preservation Planning Grants may range from $5,000 (for $10,000 projects) to $25,000 (for projects of $50,000 and over) and require a 50/50 CASH match.
The Commission may, at its discretion, consider applications for grants under $5,000 and may approve partial funding for larger requests.

Eligibility Criteria

The following are the types of organizations that are eligible to apply:
- Certified Local Governments
- Colleges and Universities
- Conservancies
- Historic Preservation Organizations
- Historical Societies
- Local Governments
- Museums
- Religious Institutions
- Other historical organizations
- Museums and historic sites that are owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission but operated by independent nonprofit organizations
- Multipurpose Organizations. Individual subunits (e.g. Moravian Pottery and Tile Works) within multipurpose government (e.g. County of Bucks) or tax-exempt organizations may apply for grants if they function as a discrete unit within the parent organization. A subunit that is part of a larger organization will be deemed eligible if:
- The unit has administrative autonomy for its operations;
- The unit has a fully segregated and itemized operating budget within that of the parent organization;
- The unit is able to separately and distinctly fulfill all eligibility and application requirements as defined in these guidelines.
- More than one qualified subunit within a multipurpose organization may apply for funding during the same grant cycle.
Organizations and others that are not eligible to apply include:
- Museums and historic sites operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission;
- Associate groups at museums and historic sites operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission;
- Management groups at museums and historic sites owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission;
- Museums and historic sites operated by state or federal government agencies;
- Associate groups at museums operated by state or federal government agencies;
- For-profit organizations or corporations;
- State government;
- Federal government;
- Individuals
To apply for Planning Grant, an organization must meet the following requirements:
- Must be located in Pennsylvania;
- Must have tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service or be an entity of local government;
- Must be incorporated and serving the public for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to the submission of the grant application; and,
- Must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations, as required.
The property, building, or community for which funds are requested must meet the following requirements:
- Must be located in Pennsylvania
- Must be documented as being listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places; either individually or as a contributing property in a National Register Historic District (Applications that do not include appropriate documentation from the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office will not be eligible for funding).