Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (SCHC) grant opportunity, offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through its Division of Preservation and Access (CFDA 45.149), is designed to help cultural institutions protect humanities collections over the long term by funding preventive conservation work. The program focuses on the real-world problem many repositories face: they hold large, varied collections that are constantly at risk of gradual deterioration, yet they must preserve access for researchers, educators, and the public. SCHC supports efforts that slow damage and extend the useful life of collections so that materials remain available for humanities teaching, programming, scholarship, and lifelong learning.

At the center of this opportunity is preventive conservation, meaning practical measures that reduce deterioration before it happens rather than only repairing items after they have been damaged. The announcement highlights core areas of preservation management such as controlling relative humidity and temperature, managing light exposure, and reducing pollutants in collection environments. It also emphasizes improving storage conditions through protective enclosures and storage systems, along with safeguarding collections against theft and against natural and human-made disasters. In other words, SCHC is geared toward strengthening the overall conditions that collections live in, from building systems and storage infrastructure to risk preparedness, so that many different types of materials can be protected at once.

A distinctive feature of SCHC is its emphasis on approaches that are not only effective but also sustainable and scientifically sound. NEH frames sustainability as a balance among preservation outcomes, cost, and environmental impact. The program encourages institutions to pursue strategies that make sense financially and operationally while also reducing reliance on fossil fuels and supporting broader "green" initiatives. The idea is that responsible stewardship can align with energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, helping institutions maintain healthier budgets and facilities while still meeting professional standards for collection care.

The eligible applicants list is broad and includes many types of public-serving organizations that commonly hold humanities collections. Eligible entities include state, local, and tribal governments (including federally recognized Native American tribal governments), city or township governments, county governments, special district governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) nonprofits as well as certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status). This range reflects the program's national scope and the fact that significant humanities collections are stewarded by many different kinds of institutions, not just major museums or large universities.

From a funding standpoint, SCHC is a discretionary grant program with no cost sharing or matching requirement, which can make it more accessible to institutions that may not have the ability to raise required matching funds. The award floor is listed as $1, and the award ceiling is $350,000, allowing for projects that range from small-scale planning or targeted improvements to larger implementation efforts. The opportunity was posted on August 27, 2013, with an original closing date of December 3, 2013, later updated to a current closing date of December 12, 2013, under funding opportunity number 20131203 PF.

For more details, the opportunity points applicants to the NEH web page for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (listed in the notice as http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/sustaining cultural heritage collections). Applicants or institutions that have trouble accessing the full announcement are directed to contact the NEH Division of Preservation and Access by phone at 202-606-8570 or by email at preservation@neh.gov, with the mailing address provided as Room 411, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506.

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Endowment for the Humanities

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