For Institutional Projects
The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) helps small and mid-sized museums maintain and improve operations by providing guidance in meeting priorities and goals, and understanding how your museum compares to standards and best practices through a guided self-assessment with consulting services provided by a peer reviewer. This program is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Museums can apply for a Collections Stewardship Assessment. The most recent application cycle closed on February 15, 2025. If you would like to be notified when the next deadline becomes available, contact MAP staff at map@aam-us.org. Find more information about the program at aam-us.org/map.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has established a clearing house of information to assist the preservation community and the general public in exploring the range of preservation funding options. The emphasis is on federal funding, with more limited discussion of state, tribal, local, and non-profit funding opportunities. Federal grants fund the preservation, interpretation, and reuse of historic properties. The website also offers a Section 106 Digital Library with resources for the Section 106 application process and submission guidelines. achp.gov
This grant is intended to fund projects that uphold the AIA's mission to preserve and promote the world's archaeological heritage for future generations. The goal of the grant (which carries a maximum value of $15,000 to be awarded over the course of one to three years) is to enhance global preservation efforts and promote awareness of the need to protect threatened archaeological sites. Programs that include education and public outreach components are encouraged as the AIA seeks to support projects that not only directly preserve sites, but also create a positive impact on the local community, students, and the discipline of archaeology. Deadlines have not yet been announced for 2025, however submissions are typically due at the beginning of November.archaeological.org
The Bank of America Art Conservation Project provides grants to nonprofit museums throughout the world to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration - including objects that have been designated as national treasures. All nonprofit cultural institutions with artwork requiring much-needed conservation are encouraged. The 2025 Art Conservation Project proposal submission window has closed, proposals for 2026 funding will be accepted beginning in June 2025. For inquiries about the project and deadlines, reach out at arts@bofa.com, or https://about.bankofamerica.com/en/making-an-impact/art-conservation-project#acp
Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR):Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives - The CLIR funds programs, grants, and fellowships specifically dedicated to the preservation of archival and library resources. The Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives funding program can be used to fund digitization and organization of rare and original film and sound recordings, or to special archival projects within an institution. The grant program is funded through the Mellon Foundation. The call for proposals is now closed for the 2024-2025 cycle. The next cycle of Digitizing Hidden Collections: Amplifying Unheard Voices will open in August 2025. Sign up for the CLIR’s Grants and Programs Newsletter for the latest information or get in touch at hiddencollections@clir.org.
The Conservation Treatment Grant Program, administered by the Greater Hudson Heritage Network (Greater Hudson), in association with the Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), provides preservation support for treatment, collection component assessments, and collections management assistance. Museums, historical organizations, or other cultural institutions registered to do business in New York State are encouraged to apply and may apply for all three opportunities in the same year. Requests for conservation treatment, preservation supplies, or site assessments for library or archival collections or materials (i.e., books, ledgers, logbooks, letters, scrapbooks, newspapers, ephemera, maps, or any item primarily used for informational/research value) are ineligible.
The Greater Hudson Heritage Network offers three grant programs:
- The Conservation Treatment Grant Program provides support for treatment procedures to aid in stabilizing and preserving individual items in collections of museums and historical or cultural organizations in New York State. Support is available for conservation treatment of paintings, works on paper, textiles, furniture, frames, sculpture, historical, ethnographic, and decorative objects. Individual grant awards will not exceed $7,500. The application must include condition report(s) and treatment proposal(s). Priority consideration will be given to applicants who have not yet received three consecutive treatment grants. Application deadline: September 2, 2025
- The Preservation Supplies Grant Program provides funds to purchase collections management supplies for New York State museums, and historical, and cultural organizations. Organizations with budgets under $250,000 are strongly encouraged to apply. The maximum award is $650. Application deadline: June 2, 2025
The Site Assessment Grant Program provides funds for a half-day site visit by a collections consultant to discuss specific areas of stewardship for New York State museums and historical or cultural organizations. Organizations with budgets under $250,000 are strongly encouraged to apply. The maximum award is $1,000 and only travel within New York State borders will be supported. Application deadline: June 2, 2025
The J.M. Kaplan Fund – J.M.K Innovation Prize
Geared towards non-profits with operating budgets of less than $500,000, this is a wonderful opportunity for smaller organizations to harness their cross-disciplinary power. Designed to fill the gap in philanthropic support for startup organizations and untested ideas, the Prize will award catalytic funding and capacity-building resources for early-stage projects in three program areas:
- The Environment: Advancing climate solutions for a more resilient, vibrant planet.
- Heritage Conservation: Protecting the places and traditions that communities care about most.
- Social Justice: Working with communities to build a more welcoming and just society.
In 2025, the Fund will award up to 10 Prizes, each including $150,000 in unrestricted funding over three years, plus $25,000 for technical assistance. Awardees also have access to a dynamic peer community, strategic resources, and hands-on support to help turn their ideas into sustainable growth and impact. The application deadline is April 25, 2025.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. Application forms and Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO's) for the current fiscal year are made available approximately 90 days before the grant deadline, but until that time, applications and guidelines from the previous year are available for reference. Any changes to deadlines will be posted in an IMLS news release and on Grants.gov.
Current open grant programs identified by the IMLS’ Notices of Funding Opportunities are included here; many of them specifically target preservation and access, as well as innovation in museum and library services. IMLS grant opportunities include:
- 21st Century Museum Professionals Program: Supports projects that offer professional development to the current museum workforce, train and recruit future museum professionals, and identify and share effective practices in museum workforce education and training. Grant amount: $100,000- $500,000 Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Inspire! Grants for Small Museums: Designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public. Inspire! has three project categories: Lifelong Learning, Institutional Capacity, and Collections Stewardship and Access. Grant amount: $5,000- $75,000. Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Museum Grants for African American History and Culture: Designed to build the capacity of African American museums and support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums. Grant amount: $5,000- $500,000. Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Museum Grants for American Latino History and Culture: Designed to build the capacity of American Latino history and culture museums and support the growth and development of museum professionals in American Latino institutions. Grant amount: $5,000- $500,000. Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Museums Empowered: Supports professional development opportunities for museum staff to generate systemic change within museums of all types and sizes through four project categories: Digital Technology, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Evaluation, and Organizational Management. Grant amount: $5,000- $250,000. Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Museums for America: Supports museums of all sizes and disciplines in strategic, project-based efforts to serve the public in three project areas: Lifelong Learning, Community Engagement, and Collections Stewardship and Access. Grant amount: $5,000- $250,000. Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- National Leadership Grants for Museums: Supports projects that address critical needs of the museum field and have the potential to advance practice in the profession to strengthen museum services for the American public. Grant amount: $50,000- $750,000 Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Native American Library Services: Basic Grants: Designed to assist Native American tribes in improving core library services for their communities. Grant amount: $6,000- $10,000 Deadline: Tentative February 4, 2025
- Native American Library Services: Enhancement Grants: Designed to assist Native American tribes in improving core library services for their communities. Grant amount: $50,000- $150,000 Tentative Deadline: April 1, 2025
- Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program: Designed to support Indian tribes and organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining indigenous heritage, culture, and knowledge through exhibitions, educational services and programming, workforce professional development, organizational capacity building, and collections stewardship. Grant amount: $5,000- $250,000. Tentative Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Native Hawaiian Library Services: Designed to assist Native Hawaiian libraries in improving core library services for their communities. Grant amount: $50,000- $150,000. Tentative Deadline: April 1, 2025
- Other IMLS-funded programs administered by other organizations:
The Mellon Foundation (formerly known as The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation)
The Mellon Foundation program for art museums is designed to help cultural institutions build and sustain their capacity to undertake serious scholarship on their permanent collections; to preserve these collections; and to share the results of their work in appropriate ways with scholarly and other audiences. The Mellon Foundation actively works with grantee partners through grants designed to “activate the spirit of learning through the creation and sharing of bold new knowledge and the inspiration felt in art.” Mellon awards grants to 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States as well as organizations outside of the US that are equivalent to US public charities. Mellon does not fund tuition, K-12 education and programming, fundraising events, or provide direct unrestricted funding for individuals. Funding opportunities are divided into four core program areas:
As well as through signature Presidential Initiatives including:
Mellon only accepts proposals by invitation but does occasionally issue open calls for proposals. Sign up for more information and to be notified of future open calls.
Preservation Technology and Training Grants (PTT Grants) are intended to create better tools, better materials, and better approaches to conserving buildings, landscapes, sites, and collections. The PTT Grants are administered by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), the National Park Service’s innovation center for the preservation community. The competitive grants program will provide funding to federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, and non-profit organizations.
Further information about these grants is available at grants.gov. Grants support the following activities:
- Innovative research that develops new technologies or adapts existing technologies to preserve cultural resources (Up to $50,000)
- Specialized workshops or symposia that identify and address national preservation needs (Up to $25,000)
- Media: Graphic stories related to preservation practice, collated series of short videos showcasing best preservation practices, podcasts, or publications etc. which disseminate practical preservation methods or provide better tools for preservation practice (Up to $15,000)
Grant deadlines for 2025 are now closed; the application portal is typically open during the first two months of the year.
Each state, territory, Freely Associated State, and the District of Columbia (DC) has an appointed historic preservation officer who may be able to provide additional suggestions specific to your state or region. The offices of Historic Preservation Officers also provide federal preservation project review – section 106. To find the preservation officer in your state, visit ncshpo.org
The National Endowment for the Arts offers grants to organizations, individuals, and partnership agreements. While many of these funding opportunities may not specifically apply to preservation projects, they all share in the goal of laying “…the groundwork for systemic changes that sustain the integration of arts, culture, and design into local strategies for strengthening communities.” See: https://www.arts.gov/grants/apply-grant/grants-organizations. Current grants for organizations include:
- Grants for Art Projects – April 7, 2025 and July 22, 2025 (There are two application deadlines as some disciplines only accept certain project types at each deadline)
- Our Town - New application guidelines anticipated in May 2025
- Research Awards – April 3, 2025
- Partnership Agreement-New application deadlines to be announced
- The NEA administers the U.S. Government's Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program on behalf of the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities (FCAH). The Indemnity Program was created by Congress in 1975 for the purpose of minimizing the costs of insuring international exhibitions.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offers a variety of grant programs for individuals and institutions such as libraries, historical societies, museums, and universities to help build their humanities capacity and infrastructure. Grant programs are administered through seven divisions and offices. The Division of Preservation and Access grant program recognizes that good stewardship of cultural resources requires equal attention to both preservation and access. All of the division’s programs focus on ensuring the long-term and wide availability of primary resources in the humanities.
For more information on all NEH Grant Programs visit: https://www.neh.gov/grants
Current Division of Preservation and Access Grant Opportunities:
- Chair’s Disaster Recovery Grants for Humanities Collections – Available for organizations affected by the Hurricane and Tropical Storm Helene and Hurricane Milton. Maximum Award $15,000; Deadline: April 25, 2025
- Research and Development - Tier I Max $100,000; Tier II Max $350,000; Deadline: May 20, 2025
- Preservation and Access Education and Training - Maximum Award $350,000; Deadline: May 20, 2025
- Humanities Collections and Reference Resources - Maximum Award for Planning Projects $50,000; Implementation Projects $350,000; Deadline (anticipated): July 15, 2025
- Dynamic Language Infrastructure- Documenting Endangered Languages Senior Research Grants - Maximum Award $450,000; Deadline: February 18, 2025
- Save America’s Treasures - Deadline (anticipated): December 10, 2025
- Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions - Maximum Award $10,000; Deadline (anticipated): January 8, 2026
- National Digital Newspaper Program - Maximum Award $325,000; Deadline (anticipated): January 9, 2026
- Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections - Maximum Award for Planning Projects $50,000; Implementation Level I $100,000; Implementation Level II $350,000; Deadline (anticipated): January 9, 2026
The NFPF strives to help archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and universities preserve and increase the accessibility of American films by offering grants that support the preservation and increased accessibility of American orphan films of historic and cultural interest. Materials originally created for television or video are not eligible, including works produced with funds from broadcast or cable television entities. Applications are accepted from American public and nonprofit organizations of all sizes with an average of 30 to 40 preservation grants awarded annually in the following categories:
- Basic preservation grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 for laboratory work to preserve culturally and historically significant film materials. Registration Deadline: March 21, 2025; Application Deadline: April 25, 2025.
- Matching Grants are federally funded awards between $ 20,001 and $ 75,000 designed to facilitate complex, large-scale preservation, reconstruction, or restoration projects involving a single film or film collection of special cultural, historic, or artistic significance. Registration Deadline: March 21, 2025; Application Deadline: April 25, 2025.
- Avant-Garde Masters Grants ranging from $ 5000 - $ 50,000 funded through support from The Film Foundation, target the preservation of motion pictures significant to the development of the avant-garde in America. Registration Deadline: May 9, 2025; Application Deadline: June 13, 2025
The National Park Service funds a broad range of planning, development, and research projects for historic sites. Projects include the survey, inventory, documentation, architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and brick-and-mortar repair for historic structures and landscapes. Grants may also fund research in technology, training, interpretation and education programs and projects, and the respectful repatriation of human remains. The NPS supports grants through the NCPTT and the IMLS such as SOS. Current grant programs include:
- State Historic Preservation Office Grants (SHPO). This grant program includes Technical Preservation Services, National Register of Historic Places, the National Historic Landmarks Program, Historic Preservation, Certified Local Government Program, and State, Tribal, Local Plans & Grants.
- Maritime Heritage Grants. The National Maritime Heritage Grants Program provides funding for education and preservation projects designed to preserve historic maritime resources and to increase public awareness and appreciation for the maritime heritage of the United States. The current grant cycle is closed.
- Battlefield Restoration Projects. The Battlefield Restoration Grants (BARE) project supports preservation partners across the country in their effort to restore eligible American Revolution, War of 1821, and Civil War sites.
NSF grants fund a wide range of science initiatives, with broad impact in STEM research, biological and health sciences, data and computation, and others. Other natural science institutions have received funding for specific collection projects, such as the acquisition of new storage furniture.
Capacity: Biological Collections. This infrastructure grant supports major improvements to or digitization of biological collections and collection-based information, enabling the advancement of biological understanding in important research areas, and increasing the broader applicability of collections. Full proposals are accepted at any time and full program guidelines are available.
The National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is an umbrella group of grant funds intended to encourage preservation at the local level by supporting ongoing preservation work and by providing seed money for preservation projects. These grants aim to help stimulate public discussion, enable local groups to gain the technical expertise needed for specific projects, introduce the public to preservation concepts and techniques, and encourage financial participation by the private sector. Grants from this fund are generally between $ 2500 and $ 5000, but some programs grant up to $ 25,000. More information is available at grants.org. Current Programs available include:
The Society for Industrial Archeology offers Industrial Heritage Preservation Grants (IHPG) ranging from $1000 to $3000 for the study, documentation, recordation, and/or preservation of significant historic industrial sites, structures, and objects. The grant program is open to qualified individuals, independent scholars, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions; organizations are preferred, and collaborative applications are encouraged. Funds are awarded to projects that include but are not limited to: Increasing public awareness of preservation efforts; photography; videography, preparing inventories and developing measured drawings of extant significant industrial sites, structures, maritime facilities and industrial artifacts. Awards are made to both nonprofit organizations and qualified individuals. Applications must be received by March 1st.sia-web.org
The Kress Foundation supports grants in defined program areas and professional development fellowships for historians of art and architecture, art conservators, art museum curators and educators, and art librarians. The foundation supports grants in three areas: History of Art, Conservation, and Digital Art History. The Conservation Grants program supports a wide range of art conservation practices, especially as related to European works of art from antiquity to the early 19th century. Grants are primarily awarded through institutional applications. Grants are reviewed and awarded in three cycles: Spring (March 1, 2025), Fall (September 1, 2025), and Winter (December 15, 2025). www.kressfoundation.org. For example, Kress Foundation grants awarded through FAIC include:
Kress Conservation Fellowships provide a wide range of post-graduate fellowship opportunities for emerging conservators by providing funding to institutions. The Kress Conservation Fellowship program provides competitive grants to museums and other conservation facilities to sponsor supervised post-graduate fellowship opportunities to help develop the skills of emerging conservators. Applications are due on January 22, 2025.
FAIC/Samuel H. Kress Conservation Publication Fellowships are focused on improving the quality and quantity of publications in the field of conservation by encouraging conservation professionals to prepare publishable manuscripts. The cash award of $30,000 is payable in three installments as the manuscript is developed. The deadline for submission is currently TBD but is usually posted as January 22.
Established in 1998, the Save America's Treasures grant program celebrates America's premier cultural resources by providing funding for preservation projects through a partnership with the NEA, the NEH, and the IMLS. The program is administered through the NPS Historic Preservation Fund program. The program is divided into two parts:
- Preservation Projects (for properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places for national significance or designated a National Historic Landmark.
- Collections of significance (including artifacts, museum collections, documents, sculptures, and other works of art). These awards are managed by the IMLS.
For more information visit: www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/save-americas-treasures-grants.htm
For Individual Study or Research
Funding for individual study or research in conservation is limited to a small list of programs. The following sources may be of help.
For over a century, the American Academy in Rome has awarded the “Rome Prize” to support innovative and cross-disciplinary work in the arts and humanities. Each year, about thirty artists and scholars from various disciplines, including Historic Preservation and Conservation, are awarded the “Rome Prize.”Application Deadline: November 1, 2024. See https://www.aarome.org/apply/rome-prize for more details.
The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation’s mission is to support professionals in the field of historic preservation and to provide mid-career grants to those working in preservation, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, decorative arts, architectural design, and architectural history. Grants are awarded only to individuals, not organizations and the Foundation does not fund university-sponsored research projects or dissertation research. Deadline: December 23, 2024. email cpena@fitchfoundation with questions. http://fitchfoundation.org/
The Fulbright Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide and awards approximately 8,000 competitive, merit-based grants annually in most academic disciplines and fields of study. state.gov/fulbright
The Getty Foundation offers many funding programs for scholars around the world and also administers grants for scholars who come to work at the Getty Center on behalf of the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Getty Trust. Grants specifically focused on conservation include the Getty Rothschild Fellowship, which supports innovative scholarship in the history of art, collecting, and conservation, and the Conservation Guest Scholar Program which supports new ideas and perspectives in the field of conservation (with an emphasis on the visual arts including sites, buildings, objects) and the theoretical underpinnings of the field. Visit https://www.getty.edu/projects/ to learn more.
Grant programs include:
Preservation and Access, Federal/State Partnership, Research, Challenge Programs, Digital Humanities; seven divisions and offices. The division of Preservation and Access grant programs recognizes that good stewardship of cultural resources requires equal attention to both preservation and access. All the division’s programs focus on ensuring the long-term and wide availability of primary resources in the humanities and several grant programs are tailored to individuals. See: neh.gov/grants
Current Opportunities include:
Fellowships (for Individuals) Deadline April 9, 2025
Since 1983, the conservation division at the NGA has offered fellowships that have enable graduates of conservation programs to participate in the NGA’s mission to care for the collections. The program allows novice conservators to practice and refine their skills through the examination and treatment of works of art. The fellowships are supported by both The Mellon Foundation and the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation. Fellows serve for a three-year period in the painting, paper, object, or scientific research department. Conservation departments accepting fellowship applicants are listed on the website with detailed instructions on how to apply, see nga.gov for more details.
The FAIC/Samuel H. Kress Conservation Publication Fellowships are focused on improving the quality and quantity of publications in the field of conservation by encouraging conservation professionals to prepare publishable manuscripts. The cash award of $30,000 is payable in three installments as the manuscript is developed. This grant opportunity is funded by the Kress Foundation and administered by the FAIC; see AIC/FAIC
The Smithsonian Institution offers this fellowship program to provide opportunities for recent graduates of academic degree programs in art and archaeological conservation or the equivalent, or conservation scientists (including those at the postdoctoral level) who wish to conduct research and gain further training in Smithsonian conservation laboratories for conservation of objects in museum collections. The amount awarded for the Postgraduate Conservation/Predoctoral Fellowship is $42,000 annually, with a research allowance up to $5,000. Postdoctoral Fellowship stipends are $ 55,00, with a research allowance of up to $ 5,000. Applications for 2025 fellowships closed October 15, 2024. Check back for updates on 2026 opportunities. https://fellowships.si.edu/opportunity/CONS
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and its Renwick Gallery invite applications for research fellowships in art and visual culture of the United States. Fellowships are residential and support full-time independent and dissertation research. Applicants should propose a SAAM primary advisor and are encouraged to share proposals with prospective advisors before applying. Applications for 2025 fellowships closed October 15, 2024. Check back for updates on 2026 opportunities. SAAM offers a variety of fellowships, for more information see: americanart.si.edu/research/fellowships/apply
Since 1990, the Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship, co-sponsored by the American Architectural Foundation and the French Heritage Society, offers mid-career American and French design professionals an opportunity to work on a historic conservation and restoration design project overseas. Must be a French citizen with a sufficient knowledge of English to apply. Deadline: October 5, 2025. https://rmhprize.org/en/prize
The Cathleen A. Baker Fellowship provides financial support for conservators at various levels in their careers that allows them to spend time in the University of Michigan (U-M) Library's Conservation Lab to increase their knowledge about the conservation of paper-based collections. Projects that focus on the conservation of related non-paper materials, such as papyrus or parchment/vellum, will also be considered. While most fellows will work with U-M Library conservators to increase their own knowledge and skills, a fellow may also join the lab primarily to pass on her/his expertise to the U-M conservators. Building and sharing knowledge are the primary goals of this fellowship. Applications are due at the end of January each year for proposals to take place at some time in the 16-month period from May through the following August. lib.umich.edu/preservation-and-conservation/cathleen-baker-fellowship-conservation
Academic, independent, and museum scholars, as well as advanced graduate students, are invited to apply for short and long-term residential research fellowships. Research fellows conduct research in many areas of social and cultural history, including material culture, architecture, decorative arts, design, consumer culture, garden and landscape studies, Shaker studies, travel and tourism, the Atlantic World, and objects in literature. Check back for application deadlines.Application Deadline is January 15. Winterthur offers a variety of fellowships available to graduate students and several programs for independent scholars.
Research Fellowship Program: Deadline January 15, 2025; application for the next cycle should be available around November 2025
Formal Education Programs
Students from The George Washington University Museum Studies program update these listings annually. Page updated March 2025 by Emily Bolesta, George Washington University Museum Studies master’s program.