Deadline: 20-Oct-2025
The Digitizing Hidden Collections: Amplifying Unheard Voices program has opened its call, inviting nonprofit academic, independent, and community-based organizations across the US and Canada to submit projects that preserve and make rare and unique materials accessible to the public.
The focus areas of this program are the digitization of rare and unique historical and cultural materials in various formats, the creation and promotion of online access to these materials, and the dissemination of metadata dedicated to the public domain.
Eligible applicants include nonprofit academic, independent, and community-based organizations that collect, preserve, and share rare and unique materials with the general public. US organizations must be tax-exempt under IRS Code Section 501(c)3, 115, or 170(c)1, while Canadian organizations must be a registered charity listed by the Canada Revenue Agency or a designated educational institution eligible to receive Canada Student Loans. Government units at federal, state, provincial, territorial, municipal, tribal, or indigenous levels may also apply if collecting and preserving such materials is part of their purpose and normal functioning. Collaborations between two or more eligible organizations are encouraged, with one appointed as the lead applicant.
The program supports projects that digitize rare and unique materials owned by eligible organizations, ensuring that expenditures directly relate to these purposes. All materials must remain accessible, and public domain works in analog form must continue to be in the public domain once digitized. CLIR strongly encourages recipients to make collections available as public domain resources or under Creative Commons licenses, with limited exceptions for culturally sensitive content.
Funding requests may range from USD 50,000 to USD 300,000, with grants issued in USD or CAD depending on the lead applicant organization. Projects may last 12, 24, or 36 months, beginning January 1, 2027, and must conclude by December 31, 2029. Additional stipulations include signed agreements by head administrators, compliance with intellectual property laws, and the requirement to release metadata under a CC0 public domain waiver, except in cases involving sensitive personal or cultural information.
The application process consists of two stages. The Initial Application is open to all eligible organizations and requires responses to writing prompts. Final Applications will be invited from a selected pool of Initial Applications, with applicants receiving anonymous reviewer feedback and the opportunity to participate in information-sharing activities to strengthen their proposals.
For more information, visit CLIR.
