Funding Resources - Updated APRIL 2020

This list is provided as a service, and is published with the understanding that the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia does not in any manner recommend, endorse or assume responsibility for the quality of work of any individual or firm on this list.  This list is not inclusive. ​

Tax Credits

Commercial Rehabilitation Tax Credit - A 20% federal income tax credit and a 25% state income tax credit are available for the rehabilitation of historic, income-producing buildings that are determined by the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to be “certified historic structures.” Properties must be individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places or listed as a contributing building within a historic district.

​Residential Rehabilitation Tax Credit - A 20% state income tax credit, which is based on qualified expenditures undertaken as part of the rehabilitation to a historic private residence. The credit is applied directly against taxes owed by the owner. This credit is available to private homeowners for approved rehabilitation work on their own residence. The building must be either individually listed or a contributing building in an historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Download the Historic Tax Credit Tool Kit

Bricks & Mortar Preservation Grants

Cultural Facilities and Capital Resources Grant - ​Used for acquisition of real property, renovation or construction, or equipment purchase. Priority is given to projects that increase or assure public access to the arts, involve collaborations and partnerships that leverage additional public and private investment. Funds are awarded in five levels ranging from $2,500 - $500,000.

DAR Special Projects Grant - The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Special Projects Grants Program provides local community grant funding to support projects exemplifying the organization's mission areas of Historic Preservation, Education and Patriotism. The program is open to public charity 501(c)(3) entities only. Grants of $1,000 - $2,000 are encouraged, with a maximum amount of $10,000. Applicants are required to match the grant award 1:1 in order to allow for broader distribution of funds. Matching funds are not required to originate with the organization applying for the grant, but may originate with multiple donors or completed fundraising. Projects must be completed within one year of initial grant funding (official grant year is July 1 - June 30).

Development Grants - Used for the rehabilitation of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places or as contributing structures in a historic district or archaeological site. Doesn’t fund anything less than $1,000 and only supports 50% of the project costs. A 50% cash match is required. Grant applications are generally due in March.

Governor’s Community Participation Grant Program - Provides state funds for community and economic development projects. Eligible activities include community centers, libraries, construction and renovation of public spaces, preservation and beautification, and land and property acquisition. Funds are provided to units of local government. Contact Jennifer Ferrell for more information at Jennifer.L.Ferrell@wv.gov

Land and Water Conservation Fund - Available to local government, park boards, commissions, districts, and state government for renovation of outdoor facilities such as support facilities (bathrooms), visitor information centers, or interpretative centers. For more information, contact James E. Bush, Program Manager at 304-957-2041 or by email at James.E.Bush@wv.gov

Small Cities Block Grant - Provides funds to local governments or for non-profits that have a sub-grant agreement with the unit of local government for activities such as community centers, economic development, acquisition, preservation and beautification, and community facilities restoration. For more information, contact Todd Goddard at 304-957-2054 or by email at Todd.A.Goddard@wv.gov or Ryan Hansley at 304-957-2096 or by email at Ryan.J.Halsey@wv.gov

Transportation Alternatives Program - Intent to apply and application periods are currently closed. Sign up for email alerts about this grant at http://dohgrants.wv.gov/Subscription.

Generally can be used to fund 1) pedestrian and bicycle facilities; 2) safe routes for non-drivers; 3) conversion of abandoned railway corridors to trails; 4) scenic turnouts and overlooks; 5) outdoor advertising management; 6) historic preservation and rehabilitation of historic transportation facilities; 7) vegetation management; 8) archaeological activities; 9) storm water mitigation; 10) wildlife management. Project sponsors include local governments, regional transportation authorities, transit agencies, natural resource or public land agencies, school districts, local education agencies, school, tribal government, and regional governmental entities responsible for oversight of transportation or recreational trails.

​Home Depot Community Impact Grant - As of March 17, 2020, The Home Depot Foundation has temporarily suspended the Community Impact Grant program while we focus our resources on the immediate needs of its national nonprofit partners.

Survey & Planning Grants

National Trust Preservation Fund - Only National Trust for Historic Preservation Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. Used for preservation planning and educational uses such as obtaining professional expertise or preservation education activities. Grant awards from $2,500 - $5,000.  Application deadlines are February 1, June 1 and October 1.  If the first of the month falls on a weekend, applications will be due the following Monday.

Survey & Planning Grants - Issued by the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office generally to certified local governments. Used for conducting archaeological/architectural surveys, National Register nominations, pre-development plans, and heritage education projects. Doesn’t fund anything less than $1,000. Grant awards fund up to 70% of the project costs. A 30% match is required. Applications are generally due in October.
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​Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections - Used to plan and implement interdisciplinary approaches to preventive preservation strategies for such projects as risk assessments, planning sessions, thermal imaging of buildings, preliminary designs for implementation projects, HVAC installation, security improvements, and other conservation measures. There are two types of grants: planning (grant awards up to $40,000) and implementation (grant awards up to $350,000).

Emergency Preservation Grants

Endangered Properties Fund - Provides emergency assistance for preservation of threatened and endangered historic and prehistoric structures and sites through stabilization, protection, or data recovery. Properties must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places or be a contributing building in a National Register historic district. Funds are awarded for properties recently impacted by a disaster.  For more information see page 24 of the State Historic Preservation Office Grants Program Manual.

​Emergency/Intervention Fund - Awarded in emergency situations when immediate and unanticipated work is needed to save a historic structure, such as when a fire or other natural disaster strikes. Funding is restricted to nonprofit organizations and public agencies. Emergency grants typically range from $1,000 to $5,000, but unlike the majority of grant funding, a cash match is not required for intervention projects.​

Travel Scholarships

Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund - Only National Trust for Historic Preservation Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. A reimbursable grant that supports travel costs and mentor honoraria with a maximum reimbursement of $2,500.

​Travel Assistance Program Grants - Funds educational travel for individuals associated with West Virginia museums, historical societies, institutions of higher and secondary education, and other nonprofit groups. Grant awards will fund conference registration fees, transportation, lodging, and food at professional meetings and conferences. Maximum award is $500, and applications must be postmarked 60 days prior to travel.

Grants for Public Programming in the Humanities

America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations Planning Grants - 
NEW: Additional $100,000 If you are applying for the Implementation funding level, you may now request an additional $100,000 to create a two-year staff full-time position during a four-year period of performance (or $50,000 for a one-year period of performance, and a one-year full-time staff position) within your institution to work on the proposed project. These additional funds support full-time employment opportunities for recent graduates with an MA or PhD in the humanities. Applicants that wish to increase annual compensation above $50,000 for these positions must use their own funds to do so.

Used for public programming development in the humanities including research travel, text creation, and preliminary design. Public programming includes exhibitions, site interpretation, book/film discussion programs, living history presentations, and interpretive websites. Grant awards range from $40,000-$75,000 depending on the complexity of the project.

America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations Implementation Grants –
NEW: Additional $100,000 If you are applying for the Implementation funding level, you may now request an additional $100,000 to create a two-year staff full-time position during a four-year period of performance (or $50,000 for a one-year period of performance, and a one-year full-time staff position) within your institution to work on the proposed project. These additional funds support full-time employment opportunities for recent graduates with an MA or PhD in the humanities. Applicants that wish to increase annual compensation above $50,000 for these positions must use their own funds to do so.

Used for final scholarly research and consultation, design development, production, and installation of a project for the public. Allowable projects include exhibitions, site interpretation, book/film discussion programs, living history presentations, and interpretive websites. Awards typically do not exceed $400,000. 

West Virginia Humanities Council Grants - Fund brochures and booklets, exhibit development and implementation, archival projects, or media projects. Mini Grants $1,500 or less (February 1, April 1, June 1, and October 1 deadline). Major grants $20,000 or less (February 1 and September 1 deadline). Media and Publication Grants are both $20,000 or less (September 1 deadline). 

West Virginia Tourism Cooperative Advertising Program - The West Virginia Tourism Office cooperative advertising program provides partners with the opportunity to leverage state resources and brand identity to advertise individual destinations, attractions and events.  The program will offer a mix of regional and local advertising opportunities and will leverage marketing dollars from the Tourism Office and the participating travel industry partner(s). The program will be a dollar for dollar match partnership that offers a variety of investment tiers.

The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation ArtsCONNECT Program - Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s grant programs for organizations strengthen the region’s presenter network, give communities access to high quality artistic experiences, build audiences, and provide opportunities for greater understanding and appreciation of the arts. The program recognizes that offering funding support for a variety of well-coordinated, collective booking efforts increases routing opportunities, leverages access for smaller markets, and benefits the region as a whole. To that end, ArtsCONNECT facilitates an open process of sharing touring project ideas amongst presenters and encourages active participation for presenters of all sizes.

​ArtsCONNECT projects are supported in three funding tiers: Projects with artist fees of $5,000 or below; Projects with artist fees between $5,001 and $15,000; And projects with artist fees of $15,001 or above.

For more information about how ArtsCONNECT works, please see program guidelines.

Museums/Collections Management Grants

National Endowment for the Humanities Grants - ​The National Endowment for the Humanities offers a wide variety of grant programs. If you would like some advice about which grant program would be appropriate, ​contact ​an NEH program officer. To start the process, pick the division or office that you’d think would be most appropriate for your project and make an inquiry. ​

Museums for America - Used for new and on-going museum activities and programs including planning, managing and conserving collections, improving public access, training, conducting programmatic research, school and public programming, producing exhibitions, and integrating new or upgraded technologies into your operations. Grant awards from $5,000-$250,000 and are given for a period of three years.

Preservation Assistance Grants - Used to help small and mid-sized institutions improve their ability to preserve and care for humanities collections with projects including long-range collection management and stewardship planning, storage improvement, purchase of storage or preservation supplies, and training in conservation, disaster preparedness, and other topics. Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded.

​Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives Program - This program is an initiative of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) intended to help digitize and provide access to non-digital collections of rare or unique content in cultural heritage institutions. Through this program, CLIR aims to enhance the emerging global digital research environment in ways that support new kinds of scholarship for the long term and to ensure that the full wealth of resources held by memory institutions becomes integrated with the open Web. Grants, ranging from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $250,000 in the case of a single-institution project or $500,000 for a collaborative project, will be provided to colleges and universities, research centers, museums, libraries, historical societies, cultural associations, etc. To promote broad access, careful preservation, standardization, and usability, approaches to digitization should be coordinated across institutions when feasible.  Visit the CLIR website to review the program guidelines and application process.

Regional Grant Funds

Appalachian Regional Commission Project Grants - Used for job creation and retention, special technical assistance and training, rural health programs, physical infrastructure improvement, leadership development, and civic capacity building. Additional information is available from the WV Department of Commerce.

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation - No limits given on funding amount or deadline for application. Funds projects in WV that deal with community development.

McDonough Foundation - Provides funds to cultural organizations dedicated to preservation, production, and education in arts, history, theater, and music and civic and community enterprises of municipalities and organizations whose projects enhance the economic growth and general welfare of the community.

Community Action Grant – Available for organizations in Brooke, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler and Wetzel Counties. Organizations must be working for betterment of community and funds could be used for such things as seed money for new programs, grants that will generate additional funding, and grants for capital and equipment needs.

Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation – Available for organizations in Boone, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Putnam Counties. Awards are unrestricted with field of interest grants in the program areas of arts, economic development, education, health, human services, land use and public recreation. 

National Railway Heritage Grants – Matching grants for projects which preserve, research, educate, or publish railway history. Maximum award is $5,000 per year per project. 
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​Google Ad Grants – Let Google Ads help fuel your nonprofit's mission. Google Ads search ads appear next to Google search results when people search for nonprofits like yours. And it includes powerful tools to help you create, target and optimize your campaigns. So you'll always have complete control of your campaigns. Your ads will be entirely text-based (no videos or images).They’ll appear only on Google search results pages, in positions below the ads of paying advertisers. All campaigns must be keyword-targeted. Your maximum cost-per-click (CPC) will be $2.00 USD. You’ll receive $10,000 USD (up to $40,000 USD for Grantspro participants) of in-kind Google Ads advertising each month.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Grants

Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation - Only Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. Funds for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation. Awards range from $2,500-$15,000 for projects that contribute to the preservation or recapture of an authentic sense of place. 

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors - Only Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. Funds projects to preserve, restore, and interpret historic interiors. Awards range from $2,500 - $15,000. 

Henry A. Jordan, M.D. Preservation Fund - Only Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. Provides funding to deserving organizations demonstrating commitment to the protection of natural and cultural resources in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes West Virginia. Individual awards typically range from $1,000 to $2,000, but applicants can apply for up to $5,000. The fund awards programs and activities that:

• Facilitate positive dialogues between the diverse interests of historic preservation, land conservation, business development, transportation, and government in a search for common ground in protecting the environment
• ​Stimulate the development of local and state policies that protect the cultural landscape and its resources
  
• Heighten public awareness of or increase involvement in issues relating to the livability and sustainability of communities
• Encourage innovative partnerships and approaches to open space conservation and historic preservation
  

Hart Family Fund for Small Towns - Only Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. Funds preservation at the local level by providing seed money for preservation projects in small towns with a population of less than 5,000 people. Awards generally range from $2,500 - $15,000.

Battlefield Grants

Battlefield Planning Grants  - Awarded annually to groups, institutions, organizations, or governments sponsoring preservation projects at historic battlefields. Any battlefield on American soil is eligible for this grant. ​

Battlefield Preservation Fund - Only National Trust for Historic Forum or Main Street level members of the National Trust are eligible to apply for funding. Typical uses of grants from the fund include legal and research fees to mitigate development threats, fund-raising and media plans, feasibility studies for endangered buildings and sites, archeological studies, landscape research and planning, viewshed protection, easement planning, and interpretation and heritage education activities. Grants require a 1 to 1 match.

​Civil War Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants - The Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants (BLAG) are administered by the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) and awarded through a competitive process. Each grant requires a dollar-for-dollar non-Federal match. Grants are available to purchase 1) land in fee simple or 2) permanent, protective interests in land (easements) at battlefields listed in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission's (CWSAC) 1993 Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields or the 2007 Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (Reports).

Research/Technological Development Grants

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training - Preservation Technology and Training Grants (PTT Grants) are intended to create better tools, better materials, and better approaches to conserving buildings, landscapes, sites, and collections. The PTT Grants are administered by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), the National Park Service’s innovation center for the preservation community.The competitive grants program will provide funding to federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, and non-profit organizations. PTT Grants will support the following activities:

• Innovative research that develops new technologies or adapts existing technologies to preserve cultural resources (typically $20,000)
  
• Specialized workshops or symposia that identify and address national preservation needs (typically $15,000 to $20,000)
  
• How-to videos, mobile applications, podcasts, best practices publications, or webinars that disseminate practical preservation methods or provide better tools for preservation practice (typically $5,000 to $15,000)
  

The maximum grant award is $20,000. The actual grant award amount is dependent on the scope of the proposed activity. NCPTT does not fund “bricks and mortar” grants.

Technical Assistance

CDFA Brownfields Technical Assistance - For communities that participate in the Brownfields Project Marketplace and want additional assistance for their brownfields efforts, a team comprised of CDFA staff and technical assistance partners will conduct site visits to a limited number of communities each year. During each visit, the Project Response Team will meet with stakeholders, tour the redevelopment site, and provide financing recommendations. Upon completion of the Project Response Team visit, each community receives a report summarizing actionable financing recommendations specific to the redevelopment of the project.