ARCHIVES COLLABORATIVES

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) is offering a grant program known as Archives Collaboratives. This is targeted at groups of three or more repositories working together to make their collections more accessible to the public. These collaboratives will be funded to share best practices, assess institutional strengths and opportunities, create sustainable digital platforms, amalgamate records from multiple repositories and promote structures for long-term growth.

The NHPRC encourages groups that are committed to enhancing institutions and repositories which are underserved and small, especially those that highlight narratives from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Collaboratives can be physical or online and need to have three or more organizations with related collections, missions, or user communities.

Applicants can apply for either a Planning Grant or an Implementation Grant. The Planning Grant is available for organizations preparing to build a collaborative of three or more partners geared towards enhancing small and diverse organizations with historical records collections. For the Planning Grant, partners could develop a mission, work plan, and timeline for a shared project or best practice to increase public access to historical records. The maximum amount for a Planning Grant is $25,000, and the NHPRC expects to make up to four grants in this category for a total of $100,000.

Implementation Grants are available for those who are ready to execute the action plans formulated during their planning process. The maximum amount for an Implementation Grant is $100,000, and the NHPRC expects to make up to four grants in this category with an overall sum of $400,000.

The application deadline for both types of grants is May 8, 2024, with the implementation set to start on January 1, 2025. All products resulting from the grant assistance must acknowledge the NHPRC's support.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, state or local government agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribes. The NHPRC requires cost sharing, with the commission providing no more than 75% of total project cost.

To apply, organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintain this registration throughout the application and award process. It could take up to one month to complete this registration, so applicants should ensure their SAM and Grants.gov registrations are up to date. NHPRC will not extend the deadline due to delayed registrations. For more information on eligibility, funding limitations, or registration, visit the NHPRC website.