STATE BOARD PROGRAMMING GRANTS | STATE 202405

Opportunity Information: Apply for STATE 202405

The State Board Programming Grants opportunity, offered by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) within the National Archives and Records Administration, funds projects run by State Historical Records Advisory Boards (SHRABs) to strengthen archives and public access to historical records at the state and local level. The overall aim is practical and public-facing: help state boards preserve important records, expand online access to primary sources, promote sound archival practices, and connect communities with the records that document their history, government, and culture. A major emphasis is civic education and public engagement, especially projects that help people understand the development of American democracy and how its founding ideals have been debated and reinterpreted over time. The program explicitly welcomes initiatives that tie into the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by using archival collections to explore the nation’s founding principles and the long arc of their interpretation. It also strongly encourages projects that elevate collections documenting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color histories and perspectives.

Funding is intended to support the kinds of statewide programming that SHRABs commonly coordinate, particularly where it helps smaller or under-resourced repositories improve stewardship and reach the public. NHPRC indicates it will fund activities such as operating state-based regrant programs (where the state board makes smaller awards to local repositories to preserve records and increase online availability), running traveling archivist programs that provide on-site technical assistance and follow-up guidance, and offering educational and outreach programming like workshops that increase student and citizen engagement with historical records. The grants can also support scholarships and training opportunities that build institutional capacity, especially for repositories in underserved communities. Collaboration is another eligible area, including joint work with other organizations to tackle shared records challenges within a state or across a multi-state consortium. State boards may also use funding to hold or participate in meetings and public forums addressing statewide or national archival issues.

NHPRC signals that the strongest applications will align with its strategic plan and will show clear intent to broaden participation and strengthen underserved institutions. More competitive proposals are expected to target institutional advancement for small and underserved archives, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, other Minority-Serving Institutions, and tribal entities. Competitive projects also tend to include outreach strategies that intentionally engage collections centered on African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American voices, and they may include professional development opportunities designed to expand pathways for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to enter and advance in the archival profession. NHPRC also values practical capacity-building: workshops that teach potential applicants how to design strong projects and navigate the NHPRC application process, and programs that increase local and statewide public participation in archives through proven approaches or thoughtful experimentation with new methods.

A key expectation is that applicants will not only deliver programming, but also evaluate it. Proposals should describe how the state board will follow up with participating institutions and individuals (such as regrant recipients, scholarship recipients, or workshop attendees) to determine how they benefited. Applications should also lay out how the board will assess overall effectiveness, use feedback and results to refine programming, and make appropriate changes over time. NHPRC also notes that applicants must pay attention to the agency’s funding limitations; projects made up entirely of ineligible activities will not be reviewed.

This opportunity offers two funding levels. Level I awards provide up to $12,000 for one year. Level II awards provide up to $40,000 for one year or up to $80,000 for two years. Applicants must choose either Level I or Level II (not both). NHPRC expects to make up to 30 awards in this category, totaling up to $800,000. Projects funded under this round may begin no earlier than January 1, 2025, and recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publicity, publications, and other products produced with grant assistance. The original closing date listed for this opportunity is May 8, 2024.

Eligibility is narrow and focused on state-level archival leadership. Only State Historical Records Advisory Boards (or the state agency responsible for the board, typically the state archives) may receive these grants. In some cases, another state agency or a nonprofit partner such as a foundation or university may apply on behalf of the designated state agency. The definition of eligible “states” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories. Applications must include at least one eligible program activity and must contain the required submission components (SF-424, narrative, NHPRC budget form, and supplemental materials); missing required elements or failing eligibility requirements will result in the application not being considered.

Cost sharing is required and structured in a way that ensures the applicant has meaningful financial participation. NHPRC will cover no more than 75 percent of total project costs, meaning the applicant must supply at least 25 percent through direct costs, allowable in-kind contributions, non-federal third-party support, and other eligible sources (including project-generated income, if applicable). Importantly, NHPRC funds cannot be used for indirect costs under this program; if indirect costs are part of the overall project budget, they must be counted as part of the applicant’s cost share rather than charged to the federal award. The opportunity provides a clear example: if an applicant requests $40,000 in NHPRC funds, the applicant must contribute at least $13,333 as cost share to meet the 75/25 requirement.

Finally, NHPRC encourages state boards and state archives to consider the separate Archival Collaboratives Planning and Implementation Grants program as a complement to this opportunity. That program can help fund the staffing, travel, consulting, and infrastructure needed to create or expand archival collaboratives that sustain progress beyond one-off regrants or workshops. The idea is to help repositories continue working together, adopt shared best practices, and build enough capacity that they can later compete for regrants or apply directly to NHPRC either individually or as part of a collaborative network.

• The National Archives and Records Administration in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "STATE BOARD PROGRAMMING GRANTS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 89.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $80,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for STATE 202405

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: