Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants

Deadline: 1-Mar-21

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is seeking applications for its Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants to support projects that rehabilitate, restore, or preserve historic resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Funding is available to nonprofit organizations and local governments for small construction projects for publicly accessible historic resources. (Private property owners are not eligible for funding under this program and may wish to refer directly to Federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit Program for information on historic tax credits.)

Funding Categories

Funding is available in the categories of:

Preservation
Rehabilitation
Restoration

Funding Information

Requests for funding to the Historic Preservation Construction Grants may range from $5,000 (for $10,000 projects) to $100,000 (for projects of $200,000 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

Nonprofit organizations and public agencies that own or support a publicly accessible historic property listed, or eligible for listing, in the National Register of Historic Places, or that own or support a contributing historic property in a National Register Historic District may apply for grant assistance.

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

Who May Not Apply

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 and historic sites operated by state or federal government agencies;
Commonwealth-assisted libraries (Grants are available through the Department of Education.);
For-profit organizations or corporations;
State government;
Federal government; and
Individuals.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

To apply for a Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grant, an organization must meet the following requirements:
- Must be located in Pennsylvania
- Must have tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Service or entity of local government;
- Must be incorporated and serving the public for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to the submission of the application; and
- Must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations, as required. Information may be obtained by writing Bureau of Charitable Organizations, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of State, P.O. Box 8723, Harrisburg, PA 17105 or by calling (800) 732-0999.
The property 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.);
- Must be open and accessible to the public on a regular basis, not less than 100 days per year. (If it is not currently accessible to the public, the applicant must include detailed plans to open the property to the public as a result of the grant.)