Groundwork Grants, developed in partnership with Myriad Consulting & Training, provides critical financial support to address community needs.
Donor Name: Groundwork Grants
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/02/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Less than 1 Year
Details:
It prioritizes institutions that document the stories of individuals, groups, and communities whose contributions to California’s history and culture have often been overlooked in mainstream memory institutions. Groundwork Grants will also ultimately produce long-term economic benefits by reducing response and recovery costs. Most importantly, this collaborative effort will help to safeguard California’s cultural heritage, in its most inclusive form, for generations to come.
Funding Priorities
Applications are encouraged especially from organizations that meet the following priority considerations:
- Highest priority will be given to organizations that represent/document historically underserved, under-represented communities, including but not limited to: African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latinx, or Native American groups; persons with disabilities; persons experiencing poverty or homelessness; veterans; farmworkers; persons identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer; senior residents; immigrants and refugees; and rural communities.
- Priority will also be given to organizations that have received recent preservation assessments, incorporating disaster readiness, through a Ready or Not preservation consultation or from other qualified preservation consultant(s).
- Special Encouragement: Fire Mitigation
- Applications are especially welcome from organizations seeking to plan for, install, or upgrade automatic fire suppression systems.
Funding Information
Maximum Award Amount: $20,000 with options for emergency preparedness support.
Grant Period
All projects must be completed by March 31st, 2026.
Eligible Activities
Support may be requested for any of the following activities and expenses, individually or combined. In general, requests should be directly related to needs and objectives identified by a Ready or Not preservation consultant or other recent preservation consultation that addresses emergency preparedness.
- Pre-Arranged Goods & Services
- Disaster recovery & spill kits
- Environmental monitoring and alert equipment
- Emergency readiness assessments often point to the importance of effective environmental monitoring in addressing disaster preparedness and other aspects of preservation management. Organizations that have received recommendations to install or upgrade monitoring systems are urged to include this in their applications. As an option, Groundwork Grants staff have arranged with a vendor to provide cost-effective solutions including equipment installation and ongoing technical and educational support
- Project mentorship (professional consultant)
- Applicants from organizations with no more than three paid staff may request the services of a consultant to confer with throughout their projects to help ensure maximum success and impact. Such individuals, provided through Myriad Consulting, may be able to advise on matters such as the care and handling of materials, procurement of appropriate supplies and equipment, preservation considerations in facility renovations or relocation, professional development for staff, digital preservation strategies, capacity building, and more. See the Resources section for further information.
- Myriad-provided staff training opportunities
- In addition to proposed trainings, Myriad consultants are offering specific workshops that deal with various aspects of disaster readiness, especially for smaller organizations
- Proposed Goods & Services
- Preservation supplies
- These may include archival quality containers, protective enclosures, folders, and other materials that may help safeguard physical collections and/or mitigate their deterioration
- Staff training opportunities
- Support may be requested for on-site staff development opportunities or attendance by staff at workshops, webinars, courses, or other offerings pertaining to emergency readiness and/or recovery, either online or in person. Applicants will be asked to provide available details on such plans or opportunities. Myriad consultants will offer additional specific workshops that deal with various aspects of disaster readiness, especially for smaller organizations
- Assistance in the development of disaster plan
- Applicants who have received recommendations to develop or update disaster preparedness plans are urged to work with the Ready or Not program, whose consultants will assist in this work free of charge. In cases where organizations would prefer working with a different consultant, Groundwork Grants funds may be used for this purpose. In such cases, applicants should explain the rationale for their choice and provide a resume for the proposed consultant
- Consultation with local facilities specialists (e.g. engineers, plumbers, electricians, security technicians, or others)
- In cases where recent assessments point to the need to address significant building maintenance concerns, further expertise from facilities specialists may be needed to establish work plans and cost estimates. Groundwork Grants may be used to support expenses for such consultations. Applicants will be asked to describe the nature of the issue(s) to be addressed and to identify the consultant(s) to be involved
- Equipment or hardware for minor, immediate building maintenance, repairs, storage, or security needs
- Disaster preparedness assessments often point to immediate, relatively small-scale repairs, adjustments, and equipment replacements or additions that do not require further enlistment of a facilities specialist (e.g. window replacement, shelving units, storage cabinets, lighting, door locks, security cameras, collection relocation, etc.). Groundwork Grants may be used to support such modifications, including contracting for labor assistance.
- Preservation supplies
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in California as one of the following:
- Nonprofit organizations classified as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
- Accredited institutions of higher education (public or nonprofit)
- Local governments in California and their agencies
- Native American Tribal governments recognized by the state of California.
For more information, visit Groundwork Grants.
