The National Film Preservation Foundation invites applications for its Basic Preservation Grants.
Donor Name: National Film Preservation Foundation
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/20/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
These grants are awarded to nonprofit and public institutions for laboratory work to preserve culturally and historically significant film materials.
Funding Information
The cash award ranges from $1,000 to $20,000.
Grant Period
July 2026 to September 2027.
Uses of Funds
The grant must be used to pay for new laboratory work involving the creation of:
- New film preservation elements (which may include soundtracks).
- Two new public access copies, one of which must be a film print. For projects with a digital workflow, NFPF recommends a 4K scan to be output to an uncompressed file. Access files can be compressed mp4 files of a lower resolution (minimum resolution: High Definition 1080p).
- Closed captioning for sound films and/or audio description for online or television exhibition.
Eligibility Criteria
Grants are available to public and 501(c)3 nonprofit institutions in the United States that provide public access to their collections, including those that are part of federal, state or local government. The grants target orphan films (1) made in the United States or by American citizens abroad and (2) not protected by commercial interests. Materials originally created for television or video are not eligible, including works produced with funds from broadcast or cable television entities.
For more information, visit National Film Preservation Foundation.
