The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, funding under the Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grant program is available to nonprofit organizations and local governments for the planning and development for publicly accessible historic resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Donor Name: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
State: Pennsylvania
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/02/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The purpose of the grant is to support projects that identify, preserve, promote and protect historic and archaeological resources of Pennsylvania for both the benefit of the public and the revitalization of communities. These guidelines address only historic preservation projects under the planning category. Please review the separate guidelines for the Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants for information pertaining to the bricks and mortar program.
Categories of Support
The following categories of support are broadly defined and include examples of the kinds of projects that may be considered for funding. The examples are by no means a complete list of eligible projects. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their project and ideas with the grant manager or their regional Community Preservation Coordinator.
- Cultural Resource Surveys
- National Register Nominations
- Planning and Project Development Assistance
- Archaeology
Funding Information
Requests for funding to the Historic Preservation Planning Grants may range from $5,000 (for $10,000 projects) to $25,000 (for projects of $50,000 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.
Eligibility Criteria
The following are the types of organizations that are eligible to apply. 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.
For more information, visit PHMC.


