NDNP_2027_NOFO.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

National Digital Newspaper Program

Funding Opportunity Number: 20270113-PJ

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.042

Application Deadline: January 13, 2027

Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current.

It may take several weeks to register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Division of Collections and Infrastructure Email: collections@neh.gov Telephone: 202-606-8570 Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1

OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date October 31, 2027 mailto:collections@neh.gov

20270113-PJ i

Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Collections and Infrastructure is accepting applications for the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). The purpose of this program is to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963, from all 56 states and U.S. jurisdictions. The Library of Congress (LOC) maintains this freely accessible, searchable online database.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides application information unique to the National Digital Newspaper Program, including program-specific requirements, allowable activities, review criteria, and formatting instructions. Refer to NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for standard instructions that apply to all NEH funding programs for organizations. Together, this NOFO and the general guidelines provide all the information you need to complete and submit your application to NEH.

Funding Opportunity Title National Digital Newspaper Program Funding Opportunity Number 20270113-PJ Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.042 Application Deadline January 13, 2027, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Award Announcement July 2027 Anticipated Funding Approximately $3,000,000 Estimated Number and Type of Awards Approximately 11 cooperative agreements Award Amounts Up to $325,000 Cost Sharing/Match Required No Period of Performance Up to two years, starting September 1, 2027 Eligible Applicants • nonprofit organizations recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

• accredited institutions of higher education (public or nonprofit)

• state and local governments and their agencies

• federally recognized Native American Tribal governments

See C. Eligibility Information for additional information.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/national-digital-newspaper-program

Published October 6, 2026 https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/national-digital-newspaper-program

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Table of Contents A. Program Description

1. Purpose

2. Funding Restrictions

3. Background

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award

2. Summary of Funding

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Other Eligibility Information

D. Application Contents

1. Application Component Table

2. Application Elements

3. Budget Instructions Specific to This Program

E. Application Review Information

1. Review Criteria

2. Review Process

3. Intergovernmental Review

F. Submission Information

1. Application Package

2. Submission Instructions

G. Award Notices

1. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

2. Federal Award Documents

3. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Specific to This Program

H. Annual and Final Reporting

I. Agency Information

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A. Program Description

1. Purpose This notice solicits applications for the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

NDNP is a partnership between NEH and the Library of Congress (LOC) to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963, from all 56 states and U.S. jurisdictions. LOC will permanently maintain this freely accessible, searchable online database (Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers). An accompanying national newspaper directory of bibliographic and holdings information directs users to newspaper titles available in all formats. LOC also will digitize newspaper pages drawn from its own collections and contribute them to Chronicling America.

If your application is successful, you will select newspapers published in states or jurisdictions between 1690 and 1963 and, over a period of two years, convert approximately 100,000 pages into digital files (preferably from microfilm), according to the technical guidelines outlined by

LOC.

NEH welcomes applications that involve collaboration between state and jurisdictional partners, which might involve arrangements to manage the creation and delivery of digital files; regular and ongoing consultation about project management; or formal training for project staff. States and jurisdictions are encouraged to digitize titles published within their current geographic boundaries, including those from Native American Tribal nations, but cases for digitization beyond such boundaries can be made. For example, a state may digitize Native American newspapers that were published in another state, or a state may partner with a jurisdiction to digitize the newspapers from there. If you propose to digitize titles published outside of what is now your state or jurisdiction, you must provide the rationale for doing so.

NDNP supports dissemination activities that engage the wider public in exploring the digitized content, within limits. Your budget may include staff time, consultation with outside experts, and other eligible expenses related to disseminating NEH-funded products, but the primary purpose of this program is to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers.

Your proposed project must include an advisory board. The advisory board could include scholars, teachers, traditional knowledge keepers, librarians, and archivists at a variety of institutions, and the board should be involved in selecting the newspapers to be digitized. The advisory board should also help disseminate information about the project’s progress and Chronicling America more generally. NEH has programmatic expectations depending on how many NDNP awards your state or jurisdiction has previously received and will consider the number of previous NDNP awards when making funding decisions.

See B. Federal Award Information for additional responsibilities required of award recipients.

Consult the list of previous NDNP award recipients to determine if an institution in your state has received an award, and which selection principles you should use when selecting titles.

First three NDNP awards During a state’s or jurisdiction’s first three awards, you will become proficient in newspaper digitization production workflows and standards. At this stage, you must ensure that you or your https://www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america/ https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/guidelines/NDNP_202729TechNotes.pdf https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/awards/

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partner institutions have access to large quantities of master negative microfilms of the state or jurisdiction’s newspapers for the period from 1690 through 1963.

If you are seeking your state’s or jurisdiction’s first, second, or third NDNP award, you should develop selection criteria with the following principles in mind:

• Titles should reflect the political, economic, and cultural history of the state or jurisdiction.

• You should give preference to titles that are recognized as “papers of record” at the state or county level and that contain published legal notices, news of state and regional governmental affairs, and announcements of community news and events.

• Selected titles should provide state, or at least multi-county, coverage of the majority of the population areas.

• You should give preference to newspapers with a broad chronological span over those with short runs or those that published sporadically.

Fourth and subsequent NDNP awards If you are seeking a fourth or subsequent NDNP award for your state or jurisdiction, you should, with the help of your advisory board, develop selection criteria that move beyond the newspapers of record. We encourage you to include the following:

• in recognition of the United States Semiquincentennial and the importance of the Early Republic period of the United States, titles from the 18th century, or from the period when a state was admitted to the Union or a jurisdiction came under U.S. control

• previously digitized newspapers with strong justification for inclusion, such as early American titles in need of technical updates or not currently available to the public

• titles with perspectives and histories not well covered in Chronicling America

• titles that have ceased publication and/or lack ownership and therefore would be less likely to be digitized by other sources

In addition to more nuanced considerations of title selection, you might also collaborate with educators, scholars, and/or technical experts to broaden the reach of Chronicling America and to find innovative uses for NDNP data and metadata.

Program outputs and outcomes The outputs of a successful National Digital Newspaper Program award may include but are not limited to:

• digitized newspapers published in U.S. states or jurisdictions for ingest into Chronicling America

• title essays to accompany digitized newspapers

• educational materials and/or other digital initiatives to increase the use of Chronicling

America

The outcome of a successful National Digital Newspaper Program award will be enhanced free, public access to historical U.S. newspapers.

You will describe your project outputs and how they would support the overall purpose of the National Digital Newspaper Program in Attachment 1: Narrative. If you receive an award, NEH will assess your performance based on the outputs you identify in the proposal against what you describe in your performance reports. See H. Annual and Final Reporting.

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2. Funding Restrictions You may not use funds made under this notice for the following purposes:

Restricted activities:

• promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view

• promotion of gender ideology

• promotion of discriminatory equity ideology

• support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives or activities

• environmental justice initiatives or activities

• advocacy of a particular program of social or political action

• support of specific public policies or legislation

• lobbying

Programmatic exclusions:

• the digitization of serials that do not fit LOC’s definition of “newspaper” (“a newspaper is a serial publication, appearing usually at least weekly, which serves as a primary source of information on current events of general interest”), or of serials that Cooperative Online Serials (CONSER) bibliographic records do not describe as newspapers

• the digitization of newspapers that fall outside the 1690–1963 chronological span

• the digitization of newspapers that are not in the public domain

• travel to attend regularly occurring professional meetings unless the purpose of attending is to disseminate project-related findings

• projects that fall outside of the humanities

• the creation or performance of art

• creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction

• policy studies

• social science research that does not address humanistic questions and/or utilize humanistic methods

Unallowable costs:

• costs for activities performed by federal entities or personnel

• fiscal agent and fiscal sponsor fees

• fiscal agent activities alone without substantive involvement (e.g. proposal submissions, reporting, financial oversight, maintaining IRS status)

See 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles for other unallowable costs.

If your application includes unallowable costs or activities, NEH may deem it to be nonresponsive and reject it.

3. Background NEH offers this funding opportunity under the authority of 20 U.S.C. § 956. Awards are subject to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations.

https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/conser/index.html https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/conser/index.html https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#subpart-E https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title20-section956 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.neh.gov/general-terms-and-conditions-grants-after-oct-2024 https://www.neh.gov/general-terms-and-conditions-grants-after-oct-2024

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Under Section 3(a) of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following:

language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy;

archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods;

and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”

Use the Funded Projects Query Form to find examples of NEH-supported projects.

Learn more about NEH.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award NEH seeks new applications in response to this notice.

NEH will provide funding in the form of cooperative agreements. A cooperative agreement is a financial assistance mechanism in which NEH anticipates having substantial programmatic involvement.

In collaboration with the recipients, and in partnership with technical advisors at LOC, NEH responsibilities will include:

• convening an initial workshop for recipients as well as subsequent program meetings or workshops

• consultation regarding the final selection of titles

• consultation regarding the production schedule for sample and final files

• consultation to ensure the required sample of digital assets complies with the LOC’s technical specifications (TIFF, OCR output, PDF, JP2, and metadata) for the program

• confirming LOC review of all updated bibliographic records of digitized titles in WorldCat to ensure CONSER authentication and conformity with current cataloging practices for US newspapers

• reviewing and editing newspaper title essays

In collaboration with NEH staff and LOC technical advisors, you will perform all tasks for the continued development of Chronicling America. If you receive an award, your responsibilities will include:

• establishing an advisory board responsible for applying selection criteria for digitization to state newspaper titles in the public domain (i.e., published from 1690 through 1963)

• compiling a list of newspapers for the project, with information about each title, its geographic and chronological coverage, its Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), identifying number, the estimated number of pages you will digitize, number of reels (LOC to supply barcode for each reel), and confirmed public domain status

• evaluating and documenting copyright status for any material not currently in the public domain (You may select only material published without copyright or with a copyright not registered or renewed before 1964 and therefore in the public domain.)

• technical analysis of available microfilm for optimal scanning of the selected titles, following LOC’s technical specifications https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1998-title20/pdf/USCODE-1998-title20-chap26-subchapI-sec952.pdf https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about https://www.worldcat.org/ https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/guidelines/NDNP_202729TechNotes.pdf

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• developing a production schedule with an agreed-upon timetable for sample and final files

• submitting an agreed-upon number of pages, established in your work plan, and following NDNP technical specifications (approximately 100,000 pages of digitized newsprint and associated files)

• researching, writing, and revising title essays (approximately 500 words each) about the scope, content, and significance of each digitized newspaper title, which you will deliver simultaneously with the associated assets

• surveying digital newspapers in the state to identify open-access (free) digital titles not included in NDNP (LOC will provide a spreadsheet to conduct this survey.)

• updating bibliographic records of digitized titles in WorldCat to ensure CONSER authentication and conformity with current cataloging practices for US newspapers

• submitting all deliverables, following LOC’s delivery instructions, to LOC for review of conformance with the program’s technical guidelines and to NEH for subsequent review

• providing indemnity for the United States (and its licensees and assignees) to the extent permitted by law for projects that involve digitizing newspapers not held in the public domain based on published date against all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of or caused by recipient’s breach of any warranty or agreement contained in this cooperative agreement

• attending an initial workshop and annual program meetings or workshops in the Washington, DC, area (or the virtual equivalent)

• providing quarterly data deliveries throughout the period of performance

2. Summary of Funding Award Amounts You may request up to $325,000, inclusive of both direct and indirect costs. Refer to NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for information about indirect costs.

NEH anticipates awarding approximately $3,000,000 in total funding to an estimated 11 recipients.

NEH will not determine the funding available each fiscal year until Congress enacts the agency’s final budget. Accordingly, NEH issues this NOFO subject to the availability of appropriated funds and it does not obligate NEH to make any awards.

Period of Performance The period of performance is the time during which you may incur expenses to carry out the work under the award. It must start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

You may request a period of performance up to two years with a start date between September 1, 2027, and September 1, 2028.

Cost Sharing NEH supports projects with outright funds, federal matching funds, or a combination of the two.

Learn about the types of funds NEH offers. Cost sharing refers to project costs that are covered https://www.worldcat.org/ https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/guidelines/NDNP_202729TechNotes.pdf https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding

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with non-NEH funds. Additional information on cost sharing is available in NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations.

NEH will award successful applicants outright funds, which do not require cost sharing.

Peer reviewers will not consider any voluntary cost share in their evaluation of applications.

You must maintain auditable records documenting the source and use of cost share, consistent with 2 CFR § 200.306.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following:

• a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

• an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)

• a state or local government or one of their agencies

• a federally recognized Native American Tribal government

Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.

NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or organizations.

NEH does not issue awards to other federal entities. If your project is so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities, it is ineligible.

The recipient may not function solely as a fiscal agent but should make substantive contributions to the success of the project. Fiscal sponsors applying on behalf of an ineligible organization are not eligible to apply.

2. Other Eligibility Information An organization may submit only one application under this notice.

If you submit multiple applications, NEH will accept only your last validated submission prior to the deadline under the applicable Grants.gov funding opportunity.

D. Application Contents You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20270113-PJ. There is also a link on the program resource page.

See the Application Component Table below to learn what a complete application entails, and the sections following it for information about the content of those components.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.306 https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/28/2022-01789/indian-entities-recognized-by-and-eligible-to-receive-services-from-the-united-states-bureau-of

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See NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for application component designations, page limits, formatting requirements, and submission rules, as well as instructions for the Grants.gov forms in your application package (SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance, Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Programs, Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form, Attachments form, lobbying forms, and the Research and Related Budget form and accompanying budget justification).

NEH will not review applications missing any required documents or relevant conditionally required documents.

If you include application elements other than those listed in the table, NEH will reject your application.

If your application exceeds mandatory page limits or deviates from formatting instructions, NEH will reject it.

1. Application Component Table

Application Component File Name Designation Page Limit Attachments 1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 15 (mandatory) 2: Work plan workplan.pdf Required 3: Résumés for key personnel resumes.pdf Required 2 pages per resume (suggested)

4: Consultants and advisory board members consultants.pdf Required

5: Letters of commitment and support letters.pdf optional

6: Additional supporting documentation documentation.pdf optional

7: Subrecipient budget(s) subrecipient.pdf Conditionally required

8: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement agreement.pdf Conditionally

9: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally

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Application Component Designation Grants.gov Forms SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational

Required

Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs

Required

Project/Performance Site(s) Location Form

Required

Research and Related Budget and Budget Justification

Required

Attachments Form Required Certification Regarding Lobbying Conditionally

Standard Form-LLL “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities”

Conditionally

2. Application Elements Attachment 1: Narrative (required) Compose a comprehensive description of your proposed project. Your narrative should be succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and jargon so that peer reviewers can understand the proposed project. Per the Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH Grant Proposals, you must acknowledge (by use of footnotes or other marginal notations) when you have inserted AI-generated text into your proposal.

You must limit the narrative to 15 single-spaced pages. Do not include an executive summary, cover page, or table of contents. You may include images, charts, diagrams, footnotes, or endnotes if they fit within the page limit. Name the file narrative.pdf.

Clearly state the project outputs in the narrative, including estimated number of pages, title essays, and accompanying educational materials or digital initiatives.

Organize your narrative using the following headings. Each section aligns with one or more review criteria NEH will use to evaluate your proposal.

History and Scope (aligns with review criterion 1) Provide a concise summary of how the newspapers selected add new perspectives or insights into local and national histories. How do the newspapers’ chronological or geographical reach, their perspectives, or their unique publishing history illuminate major historical events, or uncover lesser-known events? If you are proposing to digitize newspapers published outside of your state or jurisdiction, provide a rationale for this inclusion.

If you have previously received an NDNP award, describe the project’s work to date, including specific information about deliverables in comparison with projected goals.

https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/NEH.AI_.Policy-10.23.24.pdf https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/NEH.AI_.Policy-10.23.24.pdf

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If you are seeking your state’s or jurisdiction’s first, second, or third NDNP award, describe newspaper collections within the state or jurisdiction and the extent to which they have been cataloged and microfilmed. Discuss past or current efforts to digitize these collections.

If you are seeking your state’s or jurisdiction’s fourth or subsequent NDNP award, describe the themes guiding this round of title selection. Provide evidence of user interest in and need for this thematic direction.

You may provide additional supporting documentation regarding newspaper collections in Attachment 6: Additional supporting documentation.

Methodology and Standards (aligns with review criteria 1 and 2) Discuss how you will select newspapers published between 1690 and 1963 and ensure that they are in the public domain. Describe your selection criteria, keeping in mind the principles outlined in Section A.1 Purpose. If you are proposing to digitize newspapers published outside of your state or jurisdiction, explain how you will include representatives and stakeholders from the communities represented in the newspaper titles in the project.

Indicate whether you or your partners have access to large quantities of master negative microfilms of the state’s or jurisdiction’s newspapers for the period from 1690 through 1963, and whether the film was produced to U.S. Newspaper Program (USNP) microfilming guidelines. If you propose including microfilm that was not created to USNP standards, describe the overall quality of the microfilm and its suitability for digitization, including general information about such factors as its density, resolution, reduction ratio, focus, and physical condition.

If relevant, discuss your capacity to administer a project that involves multiple partners. Explain the role of any proposed partners and include letters from those institutions indicating their commitment to the project in Attachment 5: Letters of commitment and support.

Explain how you will evaluate and document copyright registration and/or renewal for all material not held in the public domain. The inability to locate the copyright holder for titles with registered or renewed copyrights does not mean that the titles are in the public domain. Explain how you will ensure that “orphaned works” will not be selected for digitization.

If you are seeking your state’s or jurisdiction’s first, second, or third NDNP award, describe your institution’s existing infrastructure for undertaking digital projects and/or your collaboration with other institutions to undertake such projects. Discuss your institution’s experience with or collaboration on large digital conversion projects, especially from microfilm, and with projects that involve serials or newspapers. Discuss your involvement in any initiatives and/or partnerships to advance technological capacities—such as platforms, IIIF, or OCR—for digital newspapers.

If you are seeking your state’s or jurisdiction’s fourth or subsequent NDNP award, explain what kind of information about individual titles you would make available to the advisory committee to allow them to select papers that reflect broad coverage and representation.

Consult the criteria in Section A.1 Purpose.

Dissemination (aligns with review criterion 3) Describe how you will disseminate the project’s products to relevant communities of users, such as scholars, students, educators, and the broader public. NDNP can support outreach activities

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within limits, such as development of lesson plans and social media promotion; it cannot support large-scale exhibits or conferences. Your budget may include staff time and other eligible expenses related to disseminating the NEH-funded product. If you are proposing to digitize newspapers outside of your state or jurisdiction, consider how you will engage users outside of your state.

Staff (aligns with review criterion 4) Identify the project staff, including consultants, advisory board members, and other technical and production staff. Describe their duties and qualifications. Indicate the amount of time that the principal members of the project staff will devote to the project.

If you propose digitizing titles in languages other than English, you must include staff with the relevant language expertise to review the quality of the converted content and related metadata.

Describe the advisory board of scholars (including experts on the history of print journalism, teachers, librarians, and archivists) involved in the selection process.

If you are seeking your state’s or jurisdiction’s fourth or subsequent NDNP award, describe how new or existing members of the advisory board are suited to address the proposed selection criteria.

Attachment 2: Work plan (required) Your work plan should reflect the major activities you describe in your narrative, the project dates on your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational, and your Research and Related Budget.

Describe the activities that will take place during the period of performance to achieve each of the proposed objectives. Use a timeline that includes each activity and identifies responsible staff. Explain how outcomes from one activity will carry over into the next. For collaborative projects, discuss the distribution of responsibilities across each institution. As appropriate, identify meaningful support and collaboration with key stakeholders in planning, designing, and implementing activities. Name the file workplan.pdf.

Attachment 3: Résumés for key personnel (required) Include résumés for key personnel, not to exceed two pages in length per person. Include job descriptions for any additional staff you will hire to work on the project. Name the file resumes.pdf.

Attachment 4: Consultants and advisory board members (required) List consultants for the project and members of the project’s advisory board. Include their names, institutional affiliations, and a brief statement of their project roles. Do not include resumes in this attachment. Name the file consultants.pdf

Attachment 5: Letters of commitment and support (optional) Provide any documents that describe working relationships between your organization and other individuals, entities and programs cited in the application. Letters of commitment must be signed and dated. Name the file letters.pdf.

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Elected government officials, NEH staff, and current members of the National Council on the Humanities may not serve as letter writers.

Attachment 6: Additional supporting documentation (optional) You may provide supplemental documentation such as additional information about the newspapers selected for digitization, a historical timeline for your state, a map of NDNP coverage, and screenshots of your institution’s project-related online resources. Name the file documentation.pdf

Attachment 7: Subrecipient budget(s) (conditionally required) If your project includes subawards, you must provide a separate Research and Related Budget form and budget justification for each subrecipient. Name the file subrecipient.pdf.

Attachment 8: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (conditionally required) If your organization is claiming indirect costs and has a current federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, provide a copy of the agreement. If applicable, provide the indirect cost rate agreements for subrecipients claiming indirect costs. If you and your subrecipients are requesting the de minimis rate of 15%, you do not need to submit this attachment. Name the file agreement.pdf.

Attachment 9: Explanation of delinquent federal debt (conditionally required for recipients) If your organization is delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt, explain why. Provide evidence that you have entered into a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, if applicable, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of relevant debt include delinquent payroll or other taxes, audit disallowances, and benefit overpayments. See OMB Circular A-129. Name the file delinquentdebt.pdf.

3. Budget Instructions Specific to This Program See NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for instructions on completing your budget and budget justification.

Travel Include funds for two members of the project team with major responsibility to attend two-day meetings at the Library of Congress in February 2028 and February 2029. One person should be knowledgeable about the newspaper collections; the other should have technical experience with digitization projects. Some recent meetings have been virtual. Attendance at an annual program meeting or workshop, whether in Washington, D.C., or virtual, is mandatory. If the meetings are virtual, NEH will allow you to reallocate these travel funds. See B.1 Type of Application and Award.

E. Application Review Information

1. Review Criteria Peer reviewers will use the following criteria to review applications under this notice.

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Criterion 1

• the applicant’s understanding of the state’s or jurisdiction’s newspapers, and how that understanding informs selection criteria

• the applicant’s access to master negative microfilm

• the potential for selected newspapers to add new perspectives or insights into local and national histories

Criterion 2

• the institution’s capacity for undertaking digital projects

• the viability of the work plan

• the applicant’s experience with digital conversion activities

• the likelihood of the applicant meeting the technical specifications defined by LOC for selection, conversion, metadata creation, and OCR text conversion

• the potential for initiatives and/or partnerships to advance technological capacities

Criterion 3

• the effectiveness of the plans to disseminate information about the project’s products to intended audiences

Criterion 4

• the professional training and experience of the staff and advisory board in relation to the activities for which support is requested, including language expertise, and knowledge of state and national history and culture

• the ability to ensure that the titles are in the public domain

Criterion 5

• the reasonableness of the budget, including third-party estimates for specific types of services

2. Review Process NEH staff review all applications for eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness. The agency then conducts a peer review process for all applications that pass this initial screening.

Peer reviewers are experts in their fields with knowledge and expertise relevant to the activities that the program supports. NEH instructs peer reviewers to evaluate applications according to the review criteria in this notice. Peer reviewers must comply with federal ethics rules governing conflicts of interest.

NEH program officers supplement the peer reviewers’ comments to address matters of fact or significant points that the peer reviewers have overlooked. They then make funding recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities and to the NEH Chairman. The National Council meets at least twice each year to review applications and advise the NEH Chairman. By law, the Chairman has the sole authority to make final funding decisions.

Following NEH’s public announcement of funded projects, you may request copies of the peer reviewers’ evaluations of your proposal by contacting collections@neh.gov.

Learn more about the NEH review process.

Apply to be a peer reviewer for NEH.

https://www.neh.gov/about/national-council-on-the-humanities mailto:collections@neh.gov https://www.neh.gov/grants/application-process https://securegrants.neh.gov/signup/

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3. Intergovernmental Review This funding opportunity is not subject to intergovernmental review under Executive Order 12372.

F. Submission Information

1. Application Package You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20270113-PJ. There is also a link on the program resource page.

2. Submission Instructions The deadline for applications under this notice is January 13, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

When NEH receives your application from Grants.gov, the agency will assign it a tracking number beginning with PJ-.

Under this notice NEH will consider only applications that are complete, comply with length and formatting requirements, and have been validated by Grants.gov under the correct funding opportunity prior to the deadline. See the late submission policy for the limited situations when NEH might accept an application submitted after the deadline.

G. Award Notices

1. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates NEH will notify you of funding decisions by email in July 2027. Notification of funding does not authorize you to begin performance or incur costs.

2. Federal Award Documents If NEH selects your application for an award, the NEH Office of Grant Management will send award documents to the institutional grant administrator and project director through eGMS Reach starting in July 2027.

3. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Specific to This Program Refer to the NEH General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for administrative and national policy requirements that apply to all NEH awards.

Executive Order 14332: Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking Exec. Order No. 14332 (Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking), 90 Fed. Reg. 38929 (Aug. 7, 2025), Sec. 4(b)(iii). All else being equal, NEH may give preference for discretionary awards to institutions with lower indirect cost rates.

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12372.html https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12372.html https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/national-digital-newspaper-program https://www.neh.gov/grants/policy-on-late-submissions https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2025-15344/p-34 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2025-15344/p-34

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H. Annual and Final Reporting If you receive an award, you must complete these required reports in NEH’s online grant management system, eGMS Reach.

1. Annual Federal Financial Report(s)

2. Annual Performance Progress Report(s)

3. Final Financial and Performance Reports

4. Tangible Personal Property Report (if you purchase equipment)

Learn more about performance reporting requirements and financial reporting requirements.

I. Agency Information If you have questions about the program, contact:

Division of Collections and Infrastructure National Endowment for the Humanities 400 Seventh Street, SW Washington, DC 20506 202-606-8570 collections@neh.gov

If you have questions about administrative requirements or allowable costs, contact:

Office of Grant Management National Endowment for the Humanities 400 Seventh Street, SW Washington, DC 20506 202-606-8494 grantmanagement@neh.gov

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can contact NEH using telecommunications relay at 7-1-1.

Related funding opportunities You may find related funding opportunities with your state or jurisdictional humanities council. As mandated by Congress, NEH’s program budget supports these councils, which play a critical role in carrying out NEH’s mission and goals at a local, grassroots level. Contact information for each council can be found here: https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils.

Applicants seeking to catalog or digitize collections, create archives, or enhance preservation of or access to other humanities collections should consider the Collections Stewardship program offered by the Division of Collections and Infrastructure.

Applicants interested in developing exhibitions, interpretive programs at historic places, or public discussion forums should consider Public Humanities Programs offered by the Division of Lifelong Learning.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/performance-reporting-requirements https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/financial-reporting-requirements mailto:collections@neh.gov mailto:grantmanagement@neh.gov https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils https://www.neh.gov/program/collections-stewardship https://www.neh.gov/program/collections-stewardship https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities-projects

3. Budget Instructions Specific to This Program