Pennsylvania Historical and 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 and Museum Commission
State: Pennsylvania
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 03/01/2022
Size of the Grant: $5,000 to $100,000
Details:
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.)
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.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission also annually uses a portion of the realty transfer tax revenue to rehabilitate and maintain Commonwealth-owned historic sites and museums.
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. The Commission may also at its discretion direct additional funding, if available, to current grantees in emergency situations, such as flooding or structural failure, without exceeding the program’s maximum level of funding.
Who May Apply
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. Please check with the grant manager to confirm organizational eligibility.
- 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.
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; and
- Must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations, as required. Information may be obtained by writing Bureau of Charitable Organizations, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of State,
The property for which funds are requested must meet the following requirements:
- Must be located in Pennsylvania;
- Must be documented as being listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as a contributing property in a National Register Historic District (Applications that do not include appropriate documentation from the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office will not be eligible for funding.);
- Must be open and accessible to the public on a regular basis, not less than 100 days per year. (If it is not currently accessible to the public, the applicant must include detailed plans to open the property to the public as a result of the grant.)
For more information, visit Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants.
