The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) provides funding for construction activities through its Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants with revenue from the Commonwealth’s Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.
Donor Name: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission
State: Pennsylvania
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $5,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
The purpose of the grant is to support projects that rehabilitate, restore, or preserve historic resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. These guidelines address only construction-related activities. Please review the separate guidelines for the Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grants for information pertaining to the preservation projects.
Funding is available to nonprofit organizations and local governments for small construction projects for publicly accessible historic resources. (Private property owners are not eligible for funding under this program and may wish to refer directly to Federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit Program for information on historic tax credits.)
Grant Categories
There are three categories of support defined in the following paragraphs. Examples of eligible projects, interior or exterior, are provided after the definitions and apply to all three categories.
- Preservation
- The act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity and materials of a historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction
- Rehabilitation
- The act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural and architectural values.
- Restoration
- The act or process of accurately depicting the form, features and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period.
Funding Information
- Requests for funding to the Historic Preservation Construction Grants may range from $5,000 (for $10,000 projects) to $100,000 (for projects of $200,000 and over) and require a 50/50 CASH match. The Commission may, at its discretion, consider applications for grants under $5,000 and may approve partial funding for larger requests.
- Projects will generally not be extended beyond the twenty-four (24) month implementation period. There are a few situations in which the grantee may petition the Commission for additional time to complete the project.
Eligibility Criteria
Nonprofit organizations and public agencies that own or support a publicly accessible historic property listed, or eligible for listing, in the National Register of Historic Places, or that own or support a contributing historic property in a National Register Historic District may apply for grant assistance.
- Certified Local Governments
- Colleges and Universities
- Conservancies
- Historic Preservation Organizations
- Historical Societies
- Local Governments
- Museums
- Religious Institutions
- Other historical organizations
- Museums and historic sites that are owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission but operated by independent nonprofit organizations.
- Multipurpose Organizations. Individual subunits (e.g. Moravian Pottery and Tile Works) within multipurpose government (e.g. County of Bucks) or tax-exempt organizations may apply for grants if they function as a discrete unit within the parent organization. A subunit that is part of a larger organization will be deemed eligible if:
- The unit has administrative autonomy for its operations.
- The unit has a fully segregated and itemized operating budget within that of the parent organization.
- The unit is able to separately and distinctly fulfill all eligibility and application requirements as defined in these guidelines.
- More than one qualified subunit within a multipurpose organization may apply for funding during the same grant cycle.
Additional Eligibility Requirements
To apply for a Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grant, an organization must meet the following requirements:
- Must be located in Pennsylvania.
- Must have tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Service or entity of local government.
- Must be incorporated and serving the public for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to the submission of the application.
- Must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations, as required.
For more information, visit PHMC.
