IMLS: Seeking Applications for Museum Grants for African American History and Culture

Deadline: 1 December 2017

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is seeking applications for its “Museum Grants for African American History and Culture” to improve the operations, care of collections, and development of professional management at African American museums.

The mission of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement.

Characteristics

Institutional Impact: The project improves the operations, care of collections, or development of professional management of the museum.
In-depth Knowledge: The project design reflects a thorough understanding of current practice and knowledge about the subject matter.
Project-based Design: The work plan consists of a set of logical, interrelated activities tied directly to addressing the key need or challenge identified in the application.
Demonstrable Results: The project generates measureable results that tie directly to the need or challenge it was designed to address.

Goals

IMLS places the learner at the center and supports engaging experiences in libraries and museums that prepare people to be full participants in their local communities and their global society.
IMLS promotes museums and libraries as strong community anchors that enhance civic engagement, cultural opportunities, and economic vitality.
IMLS supports exemplary stewardship of museum and library collections and promotes the use of technology to facilitate discovery of knowledge and cultural heritage.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,407,000
Award Ceiling: $150,000
Award Floor: $5,000

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be either a unit of State or local government or be a private, nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code;
Applicants must be located in one of the 50 States of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and
Applicants must qualify as one of the following:
- A museum whose primary purpose, as reflected in its mission, is African American life, art, history, and/or culture, encompassing: the period of slavery; the era of Reconstruction; the Harlem renaissance; the civil rights movement; and other periods of the African American diaspora; and using a professional staff, is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes; owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; cares for these objects; and exhibits these objects to the general public on a regular basis through facilities that it owns or operates.