Application Deadline: January 15, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

Grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund are designed to advance ongoing preservation activities for historic places such as sites, museums, and landscapes representing African American cultural heritage. The fund supports work in four primary areas: Capital Projects, Organizational Capacity Building, Project Planning, and Programming and Interpretation.

Grants made from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund will range from $50,000 to $150,000. In 2020, the National Trust awarded $1.6 million to 27 projects. Read more about them here. Since establishing the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund’s National Grant Program in 2017, the National Trust has invested $4.3 million in 67 diverse preservation projects across the country.  WATCH TWO INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS FROM THE AACHAF HERE.

2021 National Grant Program Guidelines

Read the answers to some of our frequently asked questions here. It will be updated as new questions come in.

Eligibility

Grant-funded projects must focus on African American cultural heritage. If applying for an Organizational Capacity Building grant, the organization’s primary mission must be focused on African American cultural heritage.

Public agencies, 501(c)(3), and other (federally designated) nonprofit organizations are eligible. Applicants that have received previous National Trust financial assistance are eligible provided that all grant requirements are current.

Only one grant will be awarded per organization in any grant round. Only one type of grant will be awarded for each project phase. Grant recipients from previous rounds of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund National Grant Program are eligible to apply.

If an applicant is invited to submit a full application, the applicant will be required to become an organizational level Forum member of the National Trust to move forward with the application process. This requirement is designed to engage the applicants with the larger preservation community as they work through the project. More information on Forum can be found here, and more details will be provided if an applicant is selected to move forward in the process (see “Application Process” below).

Application Process

There is a two-step process to receive a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund:

Grant Conditions

Grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund may be used to fund up to 100% of the proposed project. While matching funds are not required for this program, projects that are leveraging additional investments are strongly preferred. The following grant conditions apply:

• If the project involves a property, the grant recipient must either own the property or have a written agreement with the property owner stating that the grantee has permission to undertake the grant-funded project.

• Grants or any matching funds cannot be used directly or indirectly to influence a member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriation.
• Any documents or plans for preservation work that result from the project must conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• Any construction projects must conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• Unless prior written approval of a bid waiver is obtained from the National Trust, at least three (3) competitive bids/quotes must be obtained for any procurement of services that exceed $50,000. This provision applies only to portions of the project supported by National Trust grant funds.
• Grant recipients must include appropriate acknowledgement of National Trust and its philanthropic partners’ financial support in all printed materials generated for the project. As part of the grant agreement, a toolkit for promoting the grant will be provided to each grantee.
• Consultants must be approved by the National Trust before grant funds are disbursed. Board members of the application organization cannot serve as consultants unless appropriate conflict of interest procedures are followed and documented.
• Grant recipients are required to sign a contract agreeing to the conditions of the program.
• Capital, Planning and Programming-related grants must be completed within one year of the initial grant disbursement date.
• Recipients of Organizational Capacity grants to hire new staff, or to increase staff from part-time to full-time, will have two years to complete their project. All other Organizational Capacity grant-funded projects will follow a one-year completion timeline. See the Eligible Activities and Expenses section below for more details.
• Upon the project’s completion, a final narrative report and financial accounting of the expenditure of the grants must be submitted. If the project is not completed in accordance with the contract, the grant funds must be returned.
• Applicants must agree not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or sexual orientation. This obligation also extends to disabled veterans, Vietnam-era veterans, and handicapped persons.
• Additional grant conditions may be required by the National Trust’s philanthropic partners. They will be outlined in the grant contract.

Eligible Activities and Expenses

Grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund are designed to advance ongoing preservation activities for historic places representing African American cultural heritage, such as sites, museums, theaters, sports venues, churches, schools, universities, and landscapes. Grants awards may be made for activities and projects in the following categories:

Capital Projects

• Restoration, rehabilitation, stabilization, and preservation of historic places and structures, including bricks-and-mortar construction and planning costs
• Applicants can request up to $150,000 and can direct up to 15% of awarded grant funds for construction planning and documents

Organizational Capacity Building

• Hiring new senior/director-level or leadership staff to increase the organization’s capacity (funds can be used to support salaries and benefits for grant-supported staff.) Applicants can request up to $150,000 for a two-year period
• Increasing current part-time staff to full-time in order to advance preservation priorities. Applicants can request up to $100,000 for a two-year period
• Convening board, governance and nonprofit management trainings and organizational development activities such as strategic planning. Applicants can request $50,000 and can direct up to 10% for indirect support/overhead costs. 

Project Planning

• Obtaining the services of consultants with expertise in the areas such as preservation architecture, business development, engineering and environmental studies, legal issues, fundraising and financial sustainability, organizational development, education, etc. to develop plans for implementation by organization
• Development of viable business plans, reuse and feasibility studies, preservation plans, engineering and environmental studies, architectural plans, etc.
• Applicants can request up to $75,000 and can direct up to 10% for indirect support/overhead costs

Programming and Interpretation

• Sponsoring preservation conferences and workshops
• Designing and implementing innovative preservation education, scholarship, mapping, and interpretative programs
• Collaborating with artists, creatives, and scholars to re-imagine interpretation and programming, while advancing new approaches to storytelling and public engagement
• Designing, producing, and marketing printed materials or other media communications
• Applicants can request $50,000 and can direct up to 10% for indirect support/overhead costs

Up to 10% of awarded grant funds may be used for organizational overhead and administration costs. Grants awarded for Capital Projects and Programming and Interpretation may include funding for both the planning and implementation of those projects. In the case of Capital Projects, up to 15% of awarded grant funds may be used for construction planning such as architectural and engineering services, code review, drawings, specifications, and geotechnical services.

Ineligible Activities and Expenses

• Catering, entertainment, food and beverage costs
• Costs associated with planning for or constructing new buildings or structures, including the creation of monuments and statues
• Costs associated with creation or maintenance of archival collections (books, documents, ephemera, etc.)
• Expenses incurred prior to the grant award date

Criteria

The National Trust, in consultation with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund National Advisory Council, will select grant recipients by considering, among other points, the following criteria:

• The historic significance of the property to be assisted and its association to African American cultural heritage
• The extent to which the requested assistance will make a difference in preserving, restoring or interpreting the historic property or site, including what other funds might be leveraged by an existing award
• The level of local support for the project, demonstrated through letters of support and information collected on the full application such as site visitation information, volunteer statistics, and other related metrics
• The potential of the project to be a catalyst for further positive action to benefit other historic properties, neighborhoods or communities
• The adequacy of plans and resources for future maintenance of the property or the continuation of activity for which grant support is requested
• The ability and willingness of the applicant to carry out the proposed plans or activity within the project’s time frame if awarded
• The amount of additional resources being brought to the project, either through additional cash investments or donated materials and services

Themes

While this is not an exhaustive list, there are several themes we are particularly interested in:

• Activism and Protest Movements
• Achievement and Innovation (education, science, business, politics, etc.)
• Architecture and Black Architects
• Arts, Culture, and Creative Expression
• Cemeteries and Burial Grounds
• Education (Not Rosenwald School Specific)
• Free Black Settlements and Agricultural History
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• Sacred Places and Churches
• Landscapes of Slavery
• Sports & Recreation
• Green Book Sites
• Statewide African American preservation organizations
• Reconstruction Era Sites
• Rosenwald Schools
• Women’s History
• LGBTQ History
• Cities (addressing issues of displacement, gentrification, and affordability, and advancing solutions for historic urban redevelopment)

How to Apply

A Letter of Intent (LOI) must be submitted using the National Trust’s online grant application system. The LOI form will capture basic information about your organization and your project. When completing the forum, you may need the following items:

• An IRS letter of determination (nonprofit applicants)
• A list of major donors to your organization or project
• Up to three photos of your site, if applicable

Application

Click here to access the Letter of Intent form. (Please note: You will be taken to the National Trust grants application system where you will need to create a user profile for your organization. This is a separate login than your National Trust login.)