Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (45.309)
Program
45.309 Museum Grants for African American History and Culture
Federal Agency
OFFICE OF MUSEUM SERVICES, INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES, NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
Authorization
Museum and Library Services Act, 20 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.
Program Number
45.309
Last Known Status
Active
Objectives
Museum Grants for African American History and Culture are intended to build professional capacity in the African American museum community. The goals of the program are to develop and/or strengthen knowledge, skills, and other expertise of current staff at African American museums; to attract and retain professionals with the skills needed to strengthen African American museums; and to attract new staff to African American museum practice and provide them with the expertise they need to sustain them in the museum field.
Types of Assistance
Project Grants.
Uses and Use Restrictions
Grant funds may be used to support a wide range of museum activities, including staff exchange, education, or training, or other strategies that increase the skills needed to improve African American museum services; attendance at museum conferences and other professional meetings; enrollment in courses or workshops on site or through distance learning; technical assistance or consultation with museum and/or business professionals from outside the institution; and organizational support for internships and fellowships (awards are not made to individuals), including support for the development and implementation of internship and fellowship programs. IMLS grant funds may be used only for costs directly related to the project, such as costs for salaries for museum personnel, project supplies and materials, membership fees, telecommunication services and equipment, and other fees or expenses associated with the project. Grant funds may not be used for construction, contributions to endowment funds, social activities, ceremonies, entertainment, collection acquisition, or pre-grant costs.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
An applicant must: be either a unit of state or local government, or a private not-for-profit organization that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code; be located in one of the fifty states of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and qualify as one of the following three types of organizations: (1) a museum whose primary purpose, as reflected in its mission, is African American life, art, history, and/or culture, encompassing the period of slavery, the era of Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, and other periods of the African American Diaspora; (2) a museum service organization or association whose primary purpose, as reflected in its mission, is to support museums identified above; or (3) historically black colleges and universities as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. Section 1061, and pursuant to Executive Order 13256, dated February 12, 2002. A museum located within a parent organization that is a state or local government or multipurpose not-for-profit entity, such as a municipality, university, historical society, foundation, or cultural center, may apply on its own behalf if the museum (1) is able to independently fulfill all the eligibility requirements listed heretofore, (2) functions as a discrete unit within the parent organization, (3) has its own fully segregated and itemized operating budget, and (4) has the authority to make the application on its own. When any of criteria 2 through 4 cannot be met, a museum may apply through its parent organization, and the parent organization may submit a single application for one or more of its museums.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Public and private nonprofit museums.
Credentials/Documentation
Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for state and local governments. OMB Circular No. A-21 for educational institutions and other nonprofit organizations also applies.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
The standard application forms as furnished by the agency and required by OMB Circular No. A-102 must be used for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure
Applications must be submitted directly to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Office of Museum Services, 1800 M Street, NW, Ninth Floor, Washington, DC 20036-5802. Applicants should use or recreate application forms provided by IMLS.
Award Procedure
Proposals are reviewed by field and/or panel reviewers, staff, and the director.
Deadlines
January 15.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Appeals
Appeals may be made in writing to the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Renewals
The Institute of Museum and Library Services may extend particular grants at the discretion of the director.
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Awards will be made up to $150,000. Grants require a 1:1 match on the total request.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Projects generally may be carried out for a period of up to 24 months.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
Grant recipients are required to submit semi-annual performance reports every six months during the grant period, and an annual financial report. Final performance and financial reports are also required at the end of the grant period.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in federal awards are exempt from federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.
Records
Grant and contract recipients are required to maintain standard financial statements.
Program Accomplishments
Not applicable; new program for 2006.
Financial Information
Account Identification
59-0300-0-1-503.
Obligations
(Grants) FY 05 not reported; FY 06 $842,000; and FY 07 est $1,500,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
$5,000 to $150,000.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp
Related Programs
45.301, Museums for America; 45.302, Museum Assessment Program; 45.303, Conservation Project Support; 45.304, Conservation Assessment Program; 45.307, 21st Century Museum Professionals; 45.312, National Leadership Grants.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Not applicable.
Headquarters Office
Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1800 M Street, NW, Ninth Floor, Washington, DC 20036-5802. Contacts: Christopher J. Reich, (202) 653-4685, creich@imls.gov; Twinet G. Kimbrough, (202) 653-4703, tkimbrough@imls.gov.
Web Site Address
Examples of Funded Projects
Not applicable; new program for 2006.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
See program guidelines.
