Nonprofit Organization and Public Agency Funding
For nonprofit organizations and federal, state, or local government agencies
Built in 1912 as the first full-
service YMCA for African-
Americans, the Thurgood
Marshall Center for Service and
Heritage now houses a Shaw
Heritage Museum.
There are several publications available to help with your preservation project. The National Trust's Historic Building Information Sheet can help you get started, along with publications from Preservation Books, including Fundraising Basics for Preservation Organizations and Successful Fundraising Activities for Preservation Organizations.
Funding and tax incentives may be available for your restoration project at the federal, state and local level. To begin your search, contact your state historic preservation office (SHPO) and your statewide preservation organization. The National Trust has prepared a state-by-state list of tax incentives, detailing state tax incentive programs for historic preservation; however, the most up to date information will be available from your SHPO. You may also be able to find assistance at the local level by contacting your local preservation commission and your local planning, community development, or housing offices. In addition, please review the following programs.
Funding Available through the National Trust Preservation Fund
The National Trust Preservation Fund includes funds that provide two types of assistance to nonprofit organizations and public agencies: 1) matching grants from $2,500 to $5,000 for preservation planning and educational efforts, and 2) intervention funds for preservation emergencies. Matching grant funds may be used to obtain professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, fund raising, organizational development and law as well as to provide preservation education activities to educate the public. The next deadline for the National Trust Preservation Fund is February 1, 2012. A link to the application can be found on the guidelines page.
The Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation provides nonprofit organizations and public agencies grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for projects that contribute to the preservation or the recapture of an authentic sense of place. Funds may be used for professional advice, conferences, workshops and education programs. The Johanna Favrot Fund has an annual deadline of February 1. A link to the application can be found on the guidelines page.
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors provides nonprofit organizations and public agencies grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 to assist in the preservation and interpretation of historic interiors. Funds may be used for professional expertise, print and video communications materials, and education programs. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund has an annual deadline of February 1. A link to the application can be found on the guidelines page.
The Southwest Intervention Fund is intended to further preservation efforts of the traditional cultures of the Southwest region, exclusively in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, West Texas and Utah. Local partners, nonprofit organizations and government agencies that have strategic opportunities to save sites or help jumpstart preservation projects are eligible for the Fund’s small, catalytic grants (typical award $5,000 to $10,000). The Fund can support assistance for a single prehistoric or historic place or actions affecting an entire state or part of a state, or several states, so long as all of the states are among the five designated states. The last application deadline closed on September 1, 2011. When there is a new deadline it will be advertised on this page.
The Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund helps build the capacity of existing non profit preservation organizations and encourages collaboration among these organizations by providing grants for mentoring and other peer-to-peer and direct organizational development and learning opportunities. The purpose of these grants is to support the leadership and effectiveness of staff and board members of preservation organizations to fulfill their mission and to create a stronger, more effective preservation movement. Grants from the Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund reimburse travel costs and provide an honorarium for the mentor up to a maximum total of $1,500. For more information on the fund and to obtain an application, please contact us by email.
If you would like more information on any of these grant programs, please contact us by email or call
202-588-6277.
National Trust Community Investment Corporation
The National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC), makes equity investments in the rehabilitation of historic properties eligible for the 20 percent federal historic rehabilitation tax credit, and where available, state historic tax credits and the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC). NTCIC invests in projects that have at least $6.0 million in total development costs and that generate at least $1.5 million in historic tax credit equity. Smaller deals will be referred to the Small Deal Fund for equity investment consideration. Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations and public-sector developers may be eligible for an NTCIC equity investment by creating a limited liability partnership. NTCIC has a special interest in those projects with a high community benefit.
NTCIC pays a referral fee to National Trust Advisors, Regional Offices, Statewide and Local Partners and Main Street programs who refer deals that ultimately result in an equity investment by NTCIC.
Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit
Federal law provides a federal income tax credit equal to 20% of the cost of rehabilitating a historic building for commercial use. To qualify for the credit, the property must be a certified historic structure—that is, on the National Register of Historic Places or contributing to a registered historic district. (Non-historic buildings built before 1936 qualify for a 10% tax credit.) A substantial rehabilitation is necessary, and the work must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Applications for the credit are available through your state historic preservation office, and the final decisions are made by the National Park Service. For more information, take a look at our Rehabilitation Tax Credit Guide, prepared by our for-profit subsidiary, NTCIC. In addition, the National Park Service's website offers helpful information on this tax credit. (At present, individuals rehabilitating a historic property for their primary residence do not qualify for this tax credit.)
Transportation Enhancements Funding
Since 1991, states have dedicated over $2 billion in Federal-aid highway funds to thousands of transportation-related historic preservation projects; historic resources have also benefited from transportation enhancement money for landscaping, land acquisition, historic bridge and road activities, and streetscapes in historic commercial districts. For more information on transportation enhancements funding, download Building on the Past, Traveling to the Future, a free guide prepared by the National Trust and the Federal Highway Administration, or visit the Transportation section of this website.
Historic Preservation Fund
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides grants to states, tribes, and local governments to use for activities like education, preparation of National Register nominations and development of comprehensive preservation plans. The HPF receives annual appropriations from Congress, and this federal money is matched by state dollars. The fund is administered in a partnership between the National Park Service and the states through state historic preservation offices, tribes and local governments.
National Park Service
Since 1968, the National Park Service has provided funding for a variety of grant programs aimed at protecting our most significant historic and cultural sites and our diverse cultural heritage. More than one billion dollars has been awarded to federal, state and local governments, tribes, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions for preservation projects in all 50 states and the U.S. Territories. The Historic Preservation Grants Division is responsible for the administration of the National Park Service's preservation grant programs.
A quick search of the Internet using "historic preservation" and "funding" will bring up a number of other websites that will be useful, including those of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Foundation Center, and Cornell University. These sites include listings of private foundations and other groups that offer grants for historic preservation.
