The Historic New England’s Herbert and Louise Whitney Fund for Community Preservation awards Community Preservation Grants to small to mid-sized organizations across New England who save and share the diverse histories of their communities.
Donor Name: Historic New England
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/01/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Focus Areas
- Documenting stories from the past to today — Recording and preserving the voices and experiences of community members whose histories have not been fully captured, advancing understanding of the complete story of New England’s people.
- Expanding community narratives — Interpretation, programming, and projects that advance a more complete and inclusive account of New England’s people, places, and history.
- Building inclusive access — Initiatives through translation, accessibility improvements, or community centered programming that ensure historic places and stories can be shared with the full diversity of New England’s communities.
Funding Information
$1,250.
Eligible Expenses
Previously Funded Project Types Include:
- Targeted building and landscape preservation — Discrete physical interventions that save, revitalize, or maintain historic buildings, features, and landscapes, sustaining the places that anchor a community’s shared history.
- Collections stewardship and access — Projects that protect and make accessible the collections and records through which communities save and share their history. Applicants should demonstrate how their collections will be made available to the public or otherwise advance understanding of the full story of their community’s history.
- Public interpretation — Exhibitions, signage, and publications that bring the full story of a community’s people, places, and history to life for broad audiences.
- Preservation planning — Research and professional consultation through which organizations can lay the groundwork for saving significant historic resources.
Eligibility Criteria
- In 2026 six Community Preservation Grants of each will be awarded to one organization in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- They welcome applications from 501(c)3 organizations based in New England whose primary mission is historic preservation — saving buildings, landscapes, collections, and/or stories from the past to today to share with the public
- The Community Preservation Grants Program is committed to supporting small to mid-size organizations in achieving their goals of saving and sharing their communities’ history. While an annual operating budget limit is not specified, funding priority will be given to organizations for which grants of this size will have impact on project success.
For more information, visit Historic New England.
