PKG00292108.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Collections Stewardship

Funding Opportunity Number: 20260511-PCS

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.037

Application Deadlines:

May 11, 2026, and December 15, 2026

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 & 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

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Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Collections & Infrastructure is accepting applications for Collections Stewardship, a program to advance the preservation and availability of physical and digital collections important for research, teaching, and public engagement in the humanities. Planning and implementation projects may include conservation and preservation; digitization and description; enhancement of long-standing digital resources in the humanities; and preservation services or education and training for students and professionals in collections stewardship.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides application information unique to Collections Stewardship, 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 Collections Stewardship Funding Opportunity Number 20260511-PCS Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.037 Application Deadline May 11, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

December 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Award Announcement December 2026 and July 2027 Anticipated Funding Approximately $14,000,000 Estimated Number and Type of Awards Approximately 50 grants Award Amounts From $50,000 to $500,000 Cost Sharing/Match Required No Period of Performance Up to 3 years, starting between April 1, 2027, and July

1, 2027, for the May 2026 deadline; and between November 1, 2027, and February 1, 2028, for the December 2026 deadline.

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/program/collections-stewardship Published March 11, 2026 https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.neh.gov/program/collections-stewardship

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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 The Collections Stewardship program funds projects to preserve and make available physical and digital collections important for research, teaching, and public engagement in the humanities. Awards support the work of libraries, archives, and museums; colleges and universities working on collections access; and organizations that provide preservation services or educate and train students and professionals in collections stewardship.

Applications may be submitted for projects that address one or more of the following activities:

• conducting assessments for physical or digital preservation, and creating plans and policies for collections stewardship

• conducting conservation assessments and implementing treatment plans

• purchasing storage and preservation supplies to rehouse collections (see funding restriction on high density storage systems)

• managing collection storage environments and other preventive care strategies (see funding restriction on building systems)

• arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections

• cataloging collections of rare books, maps, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital objects

• digitizing or reformatting collections and making them available for public use through websites or digital repositories

• transcribing, translating, or indexing primary source materials (see funding restriction on preparing scholarly editions)

• enhancing long-standing digital resources that are widely used in the humanities in order to preserve the information and improve access

• providing preservation services or educating and training undergraduate and graduate students and professionals who preserve and provide access to humanities collections (financial support for students and participants is allowed, including stipends and travel costs but not tuition remission).

Funding categories Awards are available at three funding levels:

Level 1: Planning projects from $50,000 to $100,000 Level 2: Implementation projects from $100,001 to $350,000 Level 3: Implementation projects involving more than one organization from $350,001 to $500,000

For Level 3, one organization must serve as the applicant. The applicant can compensate partners through subawards; however, other forms of recognition and/or payment are allowed, such as honoraria, consultant fees, etc. Partner contact and cooperation should be in place at the time of application; provide documentation in Attachment 6: Letters of Commitment and Support.

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Program outputs and outcomes The outputs of a Level 1 Planning award may include but are not limited to:

• assessments, plans, and policies that advance collections stewardship

• content or technical evaluations and strategic plans that support future digitization projects, digital preservation, and collaboration for collections stewardship

• pilot projects in collections stewardship

The outputs of Level 2 and 3 Implementation awards may include but are not limited to:

• conserved, preserved, and rehoused humanities collections

• catalog records, finding aids, and metadata

• digital surrogates, transcriptions, translations, and indexes

• technical or other enhancements to long-standing digital resources in the humanities

• educational opportunities for students and professionals in collections stewardship, such as curriculum and resources, internships, apprenticeships, workshops, webinars, and preservation field services such as assessments, consultations, or on-demand assistance

The outcomes of a successful Collections Stewardship award will be humanities collections that are easy to find and use and that are preserved for future generations; plans and policies to accomplish these goals; and knowledgeable and skilled cultural heritage practitioners.

Describe your outputs and how they will support the project outcomes in the application Attachment 1: Narrative and quantify them in Attachment 2: Outputs. If you receive an award, NEH will assess your performance by comparing the outputs proposed in the application against those reported in your performance reports. See H. Annual and Final Reporting.

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:

• acquisition or financial appraisal of collections

• preservation, organization, or description of materials that are privately held and will not be regularly accessible for research, education, or public engagement after the period of performance

• digitization of United States newspapers

• planning or recording oral history interviews (projects to reformat or provide access to existing sound recordings and moving image collections are permitted)

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• recording speakers for language documentation

• editorial and research activities to prepare scholarly editions

• collections description or access projects without prior contact or involvement of the holding repository or organization

• records management for state and local governments

• Geographic Information System (GIS) projects for civic planning or resource management

• restoration, preservation, or stabilization of historic structures, the built environment, or archaeological sites

• costs associated with construction, renovation, or ground disturbing activities

• capital improvements to buildings and building systems, including the purchase or installation of permanently affixed equipment, such as air conditioning systems, lighting systems, high-density storage systems or casework, and security and fire protection systems

• attendance at regular meetings of library, archives, museum, preservation, or humanities organizations, unless the purpose is to convene stakeholders for project-specific activities or to disseminate project results

• the creation of lesson plans or resources designed primarily for K-12 classroom instruction

• tuition remission

• 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 will 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.

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;

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 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1998-title20/pdf/USCODE-1998-title20-chap26-subchapI-sec952.pdf

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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 grants.

2. Summary of Funding Award Amounts You may request between $50,000 and $500,000, inclusive of both direct and indirect costs.

Refer to NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for information about indirect costs.

Level 1: Planning projects from $50,000 to $100,000 Level 2: Implementation projects from $100,001 to $350,000 Level 3: Implementation projects involving more than one organization from $350,001 to $500,000

NEH anticipates awarding approximately $14,000,000 in total funding to an estimated 50 recipients over both deadlines. NEH expects to make approximately two awards at Level 3 per application deadline.

NEH will not determine the funding available each fiscal year until Congress enacts the agency’s final budget. Accordingly, this notice is issued 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 three years.

• If you apply for the May 11, 2026, deadline, your period of performance must start between April 1, 2027, and July 1, 2027.

• If you apply for the December 15, 2026, deadline, your period of performance must start between November 1, 2027, and February 1, 2028.

https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about

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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 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.

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 At each deadline, you may submit multiple applications for separate and distinct projects under this notice. An individual may not serve as project director for multiple proposed projects under this notice.

You may revise and resubmit an application not selected for funding. Resubmissions must meet the application requirements and review criteria of the current competition.

If NEH has previously made an award in support of your project, you may apply for a new or subsequent stage of the project, which NEH will assess using the review criteria of the current competition.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf 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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If you submit multiple applications for the same project, 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 20260511-PCS. 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.

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

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Application Component File Name Designation Page Limit Attachments 1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 15, mandatory

2. Outputs outputs.pdf Required 1, suggested 3: Work plan workplan.pdf Required

4. List of all project personnel personnel.pdf Required 1, suggested 5: Biographies of key personnel biographies.pdf Required

6. Letters of commitment and support letters.pdf Conditionally required

7: Supporting documentation documentation.pdf Recommended 15, suggested 8: Subrecipient budget(s) subrecipient.pdf Conditionally

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

10: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally

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.

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

Introduction and Significance to the Humanities (aligns with review criterion #1) Introduce your project goals and what you are requesting NEH funds to support. If your application requests support for a component of a larger project, describe the whole project and clearly delineate the part intended for NEH funding through this application.

Justify the project’s significance based on its long-term benefits to research, education, or public engagement in the humanities. Describe the nature and importance of the collections, resources, or training that will be the focus of the project and the audiences it will serve.

Activities and Outputs (aligns with review criteria #2 and #5) Provide an overview of the project activities and outputs, including the roles of any key personnel, consultants, vendors, and/or advisors. Explain how the project will conform to or adapt any relevant national standards and accepted professional practices common to the humanities disciplines or in the library, archives, and museum fields. For Level 3 Implementation projects, describe the distribution of responsibilities among collaborating organizations. This section should provide context and justification for the information to follow in: Attachment 2:

Outputs, Attachment 3: Work plan, Attachment 4: List of all project personnel, and Attachment 5: Biographies of key personnel.

If you plan to describe or provide access to physical or digital collections that are not held or managed by your organization, provide information on prior contact with or involvement of the holding repository or organization. As relevant, provide further information in Attachment 6:

Letters of commitment and support and Attachment 7: Supporting documentation.

Consistent with NEH’s policy on providing access to NEH-funded products, you should provide access to all outputs through the internet, on-site use, interlibrary loan, or duplication of materials at cost, insofar as the condition of the materials, intellectual property rights, and privacy and cultural considerations allow. Discuss any factors that might limit the availability of the collections or other outputs and how you will address them. Provide documentation of applicable permissions, donor agreements, licenses, or proofs of informed consent in Attachment 7: Supporting documentation.

Provide the following information, as relevant to your project:

For planning, assessment, and/or collections management policy development projects, discuss the knowledge and skills required and explain how you chose the project team to meet those needs. Describe how the team will gather relevant information and describe any past assessments or practices that will guide your project.

For projects that involve conservation assessment and treatment, describe the amount, types, and condition of the materials you will treat and discuss how collections access will be enhanced as a result. Justify the chosen method and identify applicable procedures. Include treatment proposals from qualified conservators in Attachment 7: Supporting documentation.

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For rehousing or preventive care projects, provide a rationale for the specific preservation-quality equipment and supplies requested, including cabinetry, boxes, folders, sleeves, and environmental monitoring equipment. Include vendor specifications and quotes in Attachment 7:

Supporting documentation.

For archival processing projects, discuss the rationale for the arrangement of the collections and the level of description proposed for the finding aids. Describe how the finding aids will be made available to the public.

For cataloging projects, describe the type of records you will create, including the metadata schema, controlled vocabularies, and software you will use. Describe how the metadata will be made available to the public and any plans to support its reuse.

For digitization projects, quantify the digital objects to be made available, the formats and quality of the sources from which they will be derived, and the handling and care of original materials during and after reformatting. Describe the process for digital imaging or conversion from another format, data entry, and optical character recognition, if applicable. List the preservation and distribution formats to be produced, levels of resolution, and the accuracy of textual conversion. Describe the software you will use for image and metadata management and delivery to the public.

For transcription, translation, and indexing projects, describe how the work will be done and by whom. Note any technology to be used, as well as procedures for quality control.

For projects that enhance long-standing digital resources that are widely used in the humanities, describe the resource’s current user base; specify the data formats and metadata schemas in use or to be implemented; the current extent of accessibility or obsolescence; and the strategies to ensure the resource remains easy to find and use.

For projects that provide preservation services or educate and train undergraduate and graduate students and professionals who preserve and provide access to humanities collections, describe the activities or resources that the project will support, including their content, structure, duration, and method of delivery. Describe and justify your intended audience. Discuss the service or pedagogical methods you will employ and their suitability for your audience. Explain your strategies for participant recruitment and selection, as well as for program evaluation.

Sustainability and Outreach (aligns with review criterion #3) For Level 1 Planning projects, discuss the “next steps” that you envision as an outgrowth of the award. For Level 2 and 3 Implementation projects, summarize your organization’s approach to sustaining long-term access to collections and/or digital resources (websites, metadata, or training materials) that result from NEH funding. Describe the staff and technical systems in place to maintain the project’s results. As relevant, provide details on your organization’s preservation infrastructure and policies (physical and digital), such as storage requirements and capacity, digital repository systems, format migration strategies, and collaborative or third-party arrangements. For projects that train students and professionals, describe your plans to evaluate the program and any follow-up work with participants.

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Describe your plans to share the project with relevant audiences. For Level 1 Planning projects, this could include internal stakeholders, advisory boards, and partners, as well as the public if appropriate for the project’s stage of development. For Level 2 and 3 Implementation projects, this could include both specialized and general public audiences. Your budget may include staff time and other eligible expenses related to disseminating the NEH-funded products; however, for collections-based projects, your budget should focus on preservation and access activities.

For education and training projects, describe how you will share the results with interested practitioners and future participants. When considering your outreach plans, please consult the Funding Restrictions for unallowable activities.

Attachment 2: Outputs (required) Include the following information, as relevant (suggested length is one page):

• the number of assessments, plans, and policies to be performed or created

• the total number of collection items to be treated and/or preserved

• the total linear feet of materials to be arranged and described, and the number of finding aids or collection-level descriptions to be produced

• the total number and type(s) of items to be cataloged

• the total number of items to be digitized or reformatted

• the total number of pages to be transcribed, translated, or indexed

• the number of students or professionals to be trained in collections stewardship

• the number of courses, workshops, assessments, or preservation services to be provided

• the number and type of other quantifiable products, such as reports or strategic plans, expected as a result of the project

Name the file outputs.pdf.

Attachment 3: 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. Use a timeline that includes each activity and identifies responsible staff. For collaborative projects, discuss the distribution of responsibilities across each organization. As appropriate, identify meaningful support and collaboration with key stakeholders in planning, designing, and implementing activities. Name the file workplan.pdf.

Attachment 4: List of all project personnel (required) List all project personnel with their position title and institutional affiliation. If applicable, include advisory board members, consultants, vendors, and authors of letters of commitment and support. NEH will use this list to ensure that peer reviewers do not have conflicts of interest with proposed projects. Name the file personnel.pdf.

Attachment 5: Biographies of key personnel (required) Include short biographies for key personnel highlighting their qualifications for the project (suggested length is one paragraph per person). Include a job description for any positions you will hire with NEH funds. Name the file biographies.pdf.

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Attachment 6: Letters of commitment and support (conditionally required) Provide letters of commitment from your organization’s leadership, partners, consultants, or others who will work closely with you on your project, receive NEH funds, or contribute funds to the completion of project activities. Letters of commitment must be signed and dated.

Provide letters of support that address the project’s significance and the program’s review criteria by experts in the project’s subject area and users of the collections and digital resources, as well as past training participants if relevant. Authors of letters of support will not participate in the NEH review process.

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

Attachment 7: Supporting documentation (recommended) The following documentation is recommended, as relevant to the type of project (suggested page limit is 15 pages):

• images of collection items

• excerpts of preservation assessments, collection policies, or reports

• treatment proposals and cost estimates prepared by qualified conservators

• representative samples of the anticipated outputs, including metadata schema, collection records, and webpages

• documentation of permissions, donor agreements, licenses, or proofs of informed consent

• vendor quotes and equipment specifications

• course syllabi or outlines

• lists of proposed participants or criteria for selecting participants

• training evaluation or assessment tools

• data management and sharing plans

Name the file documentation.pdf.

Attachment 8: 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 9: 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.

https://www.neh.gov/about/national-council-on-the-humanities https://www.neh.gov/about/national-council-on-the-humanities

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Attachment 10: 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.

As a matter of programmatic policy, tuition remission is not allowed in this program.

You may not use NEH funds to attend regularly occurring professional meetings unless the purpose of attending is to convene stakeholders for project-specific activities or to disseminate project-related findings.

E. Application Review Information

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

1. The project’s significance for supporting scholarly research, education, or public engagement in the humanities. (aligns with narrative section “Introduction & Significance to the Humanities”)

2. The soundness of the proposed activities and outputs, the adherence to national standards and accepted professional practices common to the humanities disciplines or in the library, archives, and museum fields, and the viability of the project. (aligns with narrative section “Activities & Outputs”)

3. The quality of the project’s plans for sustaining project outputs and engaging with relevant audiences. (aligns with narrative section "Sustainability & Outreach”)

4. The qualifications of the project’s staff and suitability of advisors, consultants, or vendors. (aligns with Attachment 4: List of all project personnel and Attachment 5:

Biographies of key personnel)

5. The reasonableness of the budget in relation to the activities and outputs. (aligns with the Research and Related Budget form and budget justification in relation to the narrative section “Activities & Outputs,” Attachment 2: Outputs, and Attachment 3: Work plan)

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 https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/circulars/A129/a-129.pdf https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/circulars/A129/a-129.pdf

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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.

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 20260511-PCS. There is also a link on the program resource page.

2. Submission Instructions This notice covers the 2026 Collections Stewardship competitions. The deadlines are:

May 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time December 15, 2026, 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 PCS-.

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 December 2026 and July 2027. Notification of funding does not authorize you to begin performance or incur costs.

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/ 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/policy-on-late-submissions

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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 approximately 9-12 months after the application deadline.

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. These are the requirements specific to Collections Stewardship.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) provides protection of Native American graves and items, including human remains, funerary objects, and sacred objects. NAGPRA applies to any organization that controls or possesses Native American human remains and associated funerary objects and that receives federal funding, even for a purpose unrelated to the Act. Learn more about NAGPRA.

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 have purchased 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 https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/NEH%20General%20Application%20Guide%2002-24-2026.pdf https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm 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

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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.

If you seek support to digitize U.S. newspaper collections as part of a state-based effort, consider the National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the NEH and the Library of Congress.

If you seek support to prepare critical digital editions and translations of important humanities texts, consider the Scholarly Editions and Translations program offered by the NEH Division of Research.

https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/national-digital-newspaper-program https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/scholarly-editions-and-translations-grants

3. Background

3. Budget Instructions Specific to this Program