Fund for Historic Schools Grant in West Virginia - fundsforNGOs

The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is currently accepting applications for the Fund for Historic Schools Grant, a subprogram of the Saving Historic Places Grant.

Donor Name: Preservation Alliance of West Virginia

State: West Virginia

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement

Deadline: 03/01/2024

Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000

Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned

Details:

The Fund for Historic Schools Grant is a competitive grant program designed to encourage economic development through the renovation and preservation of certified historic school buildings in rural West Virginia communities experiencing high levels of poverty. When a school closes and is mothballed or under-utilized, it becomes subject to blight and a magnet for illegal activities. The vacant building acts as a burden on the school district, which must still pay for maintenance, security, and insurance. Communities across West Virginia want to see these special places preserved. PAWV has witnessed communities coming together to save and repurpose their former schools. This grant program will support those efforts and open the door to other historic preservation incentives and private investment.

Program Objectives

This is a competitive grant program whereby applicants are required to complete an application and submit required materials. Applications are evaluated and scored by the PAWV Grant Review Committee and voted on by the PAWV Board of Directors. Final approval for all projects comes from the National Park Service.

Projects that address the following factors are scored higher in the review process:

Provide a direct benefit to people already living in the community,
Demonstrate strong community support,
Redevelop vacant or under-utilized certified historic schools located in impoverished, rural neighborhoods (those with a population of 50,000 or less and experiencing poverty levels higher than the state median of 17.9%),
Provide gap funding for large redevelopment projects creating one or more of the following:
- Affordable housing units,
- An educational facility,
- A medical facility,
- New, permanent jobs, or
- New, expanded, or upgraded services in a community,
Support projects informed by long-term planning (i.e., feasibility study, market analysis, and/or master, business, or strategic plan), and
Have secured 15% in non-federal cash match and/or utilize historic tax credits.

Funding Information

Grant requests can range from $50,000 – $300,000. Note that $665,000 is currently available for this application period.

Eligible Costs

Applicants may apply in part for pre-development and construction funding. Pre-development costs may not exceed 20% of the total project cost, and proposed pre-development expenses must contribute to the projected construction work. Applicants are not required to include pre-development costs if they are not needed for the project.

All physical preservation work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation, and all projects shall adhere to all applicable Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and codes such as the National Historic Preservation Act and local historic preservation ordinance, if one exists. This grant cannot be used retroactively for pre-award expenses, and no work can be started on a grant-funded portion of the project prior to the grant award and approval from the National Park Service.

This grant can fund a broad range of construction services for the purpose of stabilizing and renovating a certified historic school building. This request should be dependent on your building’s needs. Eligible costs can include, but are not limited to: