Core Preservation Administration Interest Group

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NEH Grants for Sustaining Cultural Heritage

  • 1.  NEH Grants for Sustaining Cultural Heritage

    Posted Aug 19, 2010 03:19 PM

    NEH Grants for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections

    NEH grants are available to plan and implement preventive conservation projects that prolong the useful life of humanities collections. Cultural institutions are increasingly interested in sustainable preservation strategies, which balance preservation effectiveness, cost, and environmental impact. And a growing body of research suggests that institutions can develop effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally sensitive preservation measures, particularly for managing the environmental conditions under which collections are stored or exhibited.  NEH therefore encourages projects that explore and implement sustainable preservation measures that are designed to mitigate the greatest risks to collections rather than to meet prescriptive targets.
    The program offers two kinds of awards: 

    Planning grants up to $40,000
    These grants can help institutions identify realistic approaches for mitigating risks to collections; examine passive and low-energy alternatives to conventional energy-intensive systems for managing environmental conditions; and analyze existing climate control systems and the performance characteristics of buildings and building envelopes to develop a plan for improved operation, effectiveness, and energy efficiency.

    Implementation grants up to $400,000
    These grants can support managing interior relative humidity and temperature by passive methods; installing or re-commissioning heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems; installing storage systems and rehousing collections; improving security and the protection of collections from fire, flood, and other disasters; and upgrading lighting systems and controls to achieve levels suitable for collections that are energy efficient.

    The deadline is November 16, 2010 and the guidelines are on the NEH Web site: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SCHC.html  U.S. nonprofit museums, libraries, and archives, as well as state and local governmental agencies and tribal governments with humanities collections are eligible to apply.
    Please contact the division for more information by emailing preservation@neh.gov or calling 202-606-8570.