National Maritime Heritage Grants

The National Maritime Heritage Grants Program provides matching grants for education and preservation projects designed to preserve historic maritime resources and to increase public awareness and appreciation for the maritime heritage of the United

The National Maritime Heritage Grants provide 1-to-1 matching funds for a wide range of preservation and education projects in three broad categories: Historic Maritime Properties, Maritime Heritage Collections, and Traditional Maritime Skills. Grant projects are intended to help preserve our historic maritime resources and to promote and educate the public about America's extensive maritime heritage legacy.

Any State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in a state, territory, or freely associated state as well as the National Trust for Historic Preservation can apply for a National Maritime Heritage grant. Once they've received a grant they become known as the prime recipient. The prime recipient is able to use their grants to operate in-house projects and/or run competitive subgrant programs. State, tribal, or local governments or nonprofit organizations can apply for National Maritime Heritage Grant subgrants. Individuals and federal agencies are not eligible to apply for National Maritime Heritage Maritime grants or subgrants.

Any State or local government or private non-profit institution/organization will benefit directly from grant funds. It is intended that the general public will ultimately benefit from the information conveyed by the funded projects.

Funds may be used for education or preservation projects that promote the understanding of significant aspect of American maritime heritage. Projects that involve historic resources as defined in the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, must comply with treatments defined in the "Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties" (36 CFR 78), "Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects", and "Standards for Archeology and Historic Preservation" (48 FR 44716). The Grantee must grant a preservation easement or preservation agreement for each grant-assisted property. In general, the Grants Program does not fund projects which will train the individual maritime heritage professional to do his or her job better or assist in career recognition or promotion. This includes activities such as developing training or continuing education courses for the maritime heritage education or preservation professional, personal research, or research resulting in highly specialized reports or publications with narrow audience appeal and little potential for public use or applications. Grants Program funds cannot be paid for any work or activity that does not conform to the terms of the NPS Grant Agreement which incorporates all applicable grant requirements, conditions, and Federal laws and regulations.

Project funding is generally for two years. Assistance is awarded/released to applicants as subgrants issued by SHPOs, who are awarded direct grants by the NPS.

Preapplication coordination with State Historic Preservation Offices is required.

Specific evaluation criteria will be included in the funding announcements posted on www.grants.gov.

Proposals received in response to announcements on grants.gov are reviewed on the basis of a competitive, merit-based review process, and are rated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in the announcement. Awards may be made to the highest rated proposals based on the amount of funding available each year. Each application is scored individually based on standardized criteria. Awards are made as direct grants to State or tribal Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO or THPO), who issue sub-grants to applicants.

Varies depending on the type and complexity of the project. Further information will be available for each specific project at the time the funding opportunity announcement is posted on www.grants.gov and may be obtained by contacting the Program Manager listed as the point of contact.

Grants are not renewable, but the grant period may be extended upon approval of a request to the program, showing that unforeseen circumstances prevented the project from being completed on time.

None. Final award decisions are not subject to appeal; however, the National Park Service may provide applicants with information on why their proposals were not selected for award, upon request.