Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections | 20230112 PF

Opportunity Information: Apply for 20230112 PF

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections is a discretionary grant program run by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), specifically through its Division of Preservation and Access. The program is designed for cultural institutions that hold humanities collections and need practical, long-term strategies to keep those materials safe and usable for future generations. The central goal is to support sustainable conservation measures that slow or prevent deterioration across large and varied collections, extend the life of materials, and help institutions become more resilient in the face of emergencies. In this context, resilience means having the capacity to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disasters or damaging events caused by natural forces (like floods, storms, or wildfires) as well as human activity (such as accidents, infrastructure failures, or other disruptions).

The opportunity is funded as a grant and falls under the humanities funding activity category, with CFDA number 45.149. NEH anticipates making about 14 awards, and the maximum award amount (the ceiling) is $350,000. The funding is aimed at addressing the real-world challenge that many libraries, archives, museums, and similar institutions face: they often care for extensive holdings with mixed formats and conditions, and they must manage environmental risks, storage limitations, and disaster threats while working within constrained budgets. Rather than focusing only on item-by-item treatment, the program emphasizes broad, sustainable approaches that improve overall collections care and reduce ongoing risk.

Eligibility is fairly broad and includes multiple types of public and nonprofit entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions within that nonprofit category). This makes the program relevant to a wide range of institutions responsible for stewarding humanities materials, from local government archives and state historical societies to university libraries and tribal cultural organizations.

Key administrative details in the source information include a funding opportunity number of 20230112 PF, with an original application closing date of January 12, 2023. The opportunity record lists a creation date of November 4, 2022, under the agency name National Endowment for the Humanities. Overall, the program is best understood as NEH support for institutions that want to make lasting, systems-level improvements to how they preserve and protect humanities collections, especially by reducing environmental and disaster-related risks and by adopting conservation practices that remain effective over time.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.149.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 04, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 12, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 14 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for 20230112 PF

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: