FY2024 Historic Preservation Fund- African American Civil Rights- Preservation Grants | P24AS00541

Opportunity Information: Apply for P24AS00541

The FY2024 Historic Preservation Fund African American Civil Rights Preservation Grants opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P24AS00541) is a discretionary grant program run by the National Park Service (NPS) to support the preservation of historic places tied to African American civil rights history. The program is meant to help communities document, interpret, and preserve sites and stories connected to the long struggle for equal rights, covering the full historical arc from the transatlantic slave trade through later civil rights eras. In determining whether a proposed site and project are a good fit, NPS points applicants to its 2008 report, Civil Rights in America: A Framework for Identifying Significant Sites, which serves as a key reference for assessing significance and appropriateness.

This specific announcement, P24AS00541, is only for physical preservation work at historic sites. That means the funding is aimed at hands-on preservation and stabilization of historic structures and related preservation deliverables that directly support that work. The notice highlights eligible activities such as architectural and preservation professional services, preparation of historic structure reports, development of preservation plans, and actual physical preservation work on buildings or structures. The idea is to move projects from planning into real preservation outcomes that protect and extend the life of historically significant resources associated with African American civil rights history.

It is important to distinguish this opportunity from a separate, parallel announcement that covers research and documentation. If a project is primarily historical research, documentation, survey work, or preparation of nominations (rather than construction or preservation treatment of a structure), it should not be submitted under P24AS00541. Those research-oriented efforts belong under the other funding opportunity number, P24AS00540. Applicants need to match the project type to the correct announcement to avoid applying under the wrong program track.

Funding for the overall African American Civil Rights Grant Program in FY2024 is supported through Public Law 118-42, which provides a total of 24 million dollars for the program. Awards under this preservation grant announcement are competitive, meaning proposals are reviewed and selected based on merit and program priorities rather than awarded automatically. A notable feature of this program is that it does not require a non-federal match, which can make it more accessible for organizations that do not have significant fundraising capacity or cannot meet matching requirements common to other preservation programs. The listed maximum award amount (award ceiling) for a single grant under this opportunity is 750,000 dollars.

Eligible applicants include a broad range of public and nonprofit entities: state governments; local governments (including counties, cities or townships, special districts, and independent school districts); public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education). The program also references eligibility for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Alaskan Native organizations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations as defined in federal statute (54 USC 300300), reflecting an intent to include a wide set of stewards of historic places and cultural resources.

At the same time, the program has a clear restriction tied to property interests held by NPS. Grants are not available for sites or collections that are owned or leased by the National Park Service, or where NPS holds a property interest. In practical terms, applicants need to confirm that the site they want to preserve is not an NPS-owned or NPS-controlled asset and that NPS does not have an ownership stake or similar legal interest in it.

Key administrative details included in the notice are that the agency is the National Park Service, the assistance listing (CFDA) number is 15.966, the instrument type is a grant, and the original application closing date is September 5, 2024. Overall, P24AS00541 is best understood as a targeted federal preservation funding opportunity for non-NPS historic sites that can demonstrate significance to African American civil rights history and that are ready for physical preservation work supported by qualified planning, documentation, and treatment activities.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2024 Historic Preservation Fund- African American Civil Rights- Preservation Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.966.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-05. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for P24AS00541

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