Deadline: 15-Nov-21
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has launched its Museum Grants to build the capacity of African American museums and support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums.
The program supports projects that nurture museum professionals, build institutional capacity, and increase access to museum and archival collections at African American museums and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As a result, the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program has significant potential to generate positive societal impact through project activities undertaken as part of the grant-funded work and activities that may be complementary to the project.
Projects designed to build the capacity of African American museums may involve increasing the number of museum professionals working at African American museums to enable the museum to expand educational programs, engage with the community, enhance organizational operations and resiliency, or provide for enhanced care of collections.
Projects to support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums may involve hosting paid internships at African American museums; creating mentorship opportunities for emerging and mid-career staff to connect with, learn from and engage with senior leaders and founders in the African American museum community; or creating learning and growth opportunities for museum staff to build skills, enhance knowledge and expertise in museum-related subjects and areas of need.
Goals and Objectives
Museum Grants for African American History and Culture has two program goals and three or four objectives associated with each goal. Each applicant should align their proposed project with one of these two goals and one or more of the associated objectives.
- Goal 1: Build the capacity of African American museums and their ability to serve their communities.
- Objective: Develop, enhance, or expand public programs, exhibitions, and/or school programs.
- Objective: Enhance professional management.
- Objective: Improve care of museum collections and expand access to collections and associated data.
- Objective: Foster partnerships and collaborations among museums and institutions of higher education.
- Goal 2: Support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums.
- Objective: Develop and implement internship, fellowship, and mentoring programs structured to support emerging professionals entering the museum field.
- Objective: Develop and implement equitable and inclusive staff recruitment and retention programs.
- Objective: Create learning and growth opportunities designed to build skills, enhance knowledge, and provide opportunities to share expertise.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $3,231,000
- Award Ceiling: $250,000
- Award Floor: $5,000
- Expected amount of individual awards
- Small Project $5,000 – $50,000
- Large Project $50,001 – $250,000
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for an award under this Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Notice of Funding Opportunity, your organization must meet all three of the following criteria:
- Must be either a unit of State, local, or tribal government or be a private, nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code;
- 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;
- 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, cultural heritage 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.
- A public or private nonprofit agency that is responsible for the operation of a museum that meets the eligibility criteria in 1, 2, and 3(a), applying on behalf of the museum;
- A museum service organization or association whose primary purpose, as reflected in its mission, is to support museums whose primary purpose, as reflected in their mission, is African American life, art, history, and/or culture; or
- A historically black college or university, as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. Section 2011, and pursuant to Executive Order 13256, dated February 12, 2002.
- Native American tribal organizations may apply if they otherwise meet the above eligibility requirements.
Eligibility of Museums Located within a Parent Organization
- A museum located within a parent organization that is a State, local, or tribal government or multipurpose nonprofit entity, such as a municipality, university, historical society, foundation, or cultural center, may apply on its own behalf if the museum:
- is able to independently fulfill all the eligibility requirements listed in the above three criteria;
- functions as a discrete unit within the parent organization;
- has its own fully segregated and itemized operating budget; and
- has the authority to make the application on its own.
- When any of the last three conditions cannot be met, a museum may only apply through its parent organization.
Eligibility of Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with a Museum
- IMLS may determine that a nonprofit organization that is affiliated with a museum is eligible for this program where the organization can demonstrate that it has the ability to administer the project and can ensure compliance with the terms of this Notice of Funding Opportunity and the applicable law, including the IMLS Assurances and Certifications.
- The applicant organization must submit an agreement from the museum that details the activities that the applicant and museum will perform and binds the museum to the statements and assurances made in the grant application.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=335328
