Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program

The Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services program (NANH) supports Indian Tribes and organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining heritage, culture, and knowledge. The program supports projects such as educ

The Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services program (NANH) supports Native American Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, and organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining heritage, culture, and knowledge. The program supports projects such as educational services and programs, workforce professional development, organizational capacity building, community engagement, and collections stewardship. The primary audiences for this program are Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions providing museum services, and the professionals engaged with such institutions per the eligibility restrictions below. The goal of the program is to build the capacity of Native American Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to provide museum services to their communities through the support of: -- preservation and perpetuation of languages and cultural practices; -- professional development of the museum workforce; and -- management and care of museum collections and their associated documentation. Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are: -- a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, or -- a Nonprofit Organization that Primarily Serves and Represents Native Hawaiians.

Federally Recognized Indian Tribe: To be eligible for funding as this type of entity, an organization must be an "Indian tribe," which means any Tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska native village, regional corporation, or village corporation (as defined in, or established pursuant to, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)), which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians. A list of eligible entities is available from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Nonprofit Organization that Primarily Serves and Represents Native Hawaiians: To be eligible for funding as this type of entity, an organization must be a nonprofit that primarily serves and represents Native Hawaiians, as that term is defined in 20 U.S.C. § 7517. In order for a museum to be eligible, it must demonstrate that it is established as an organization that meets this statutory eligibility criteria.

Grant funds must be used for the purposes outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, and in accordance with the Institute of Museum and Library Services General Terms and Conditions. Examples of allowable costs include personnel salaries, wages, and fringe benefits for project staff; travel expenses for key project staff and consultants; materials, supplies, software, and equipment related directly to project activities; adaptive and/or assistive technologies and other resources and services to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities; equipment to improve collections storage and exhibit environments; third-party costs; publication design and printing; program evaluation; staff and volunteer training; paid internships/fellowships; and indirect or overhead costs.

Unallowable costs include general fundraising costs, such as development office staff or other staff time devoted to general fundraising, contributions to endowments, general operating support, acquisition of collections, general advertising or public relations costs designed solely for promotional activities other than those related to the specific project, construction or renovation of facilities (generally, any activity involving the construction trades is not an allowable cost), social activities, receptions, or entertainment, and research projects.

Projects must begin on July 1, 2025, and project activities may be carried out for one to three years.

Successful applications in this grant program are structured to address an identified need or challenge facing an organization; reflect a thorough understanding of current practice and knowledge about the subject matter; define a work plan consisting of a set of logical, interrelated activities tied directly to addressing a key need or challenge; and are designed to generate measurable results that tie directly to the identified need or challenge. IMLS staff review applications for eligibility and completeness. IMLS uses a peer review process to evaluate all eligible and complete applications. Peer reviewers are experts in the field with relevant knowledge and expertise in the types of project activities identified in the applications. IMLS instructs reviewers to evaluate applications according to the review criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Peer reviewers must comply with Federal ethics and conflicts of interest requirements.

The IMLS Director takes into account the input provided by the review process and makes final funding decisions consistent with the purposes of the agency's mission and programs. Funded and non-funded applicants are notified of funding decisions when all deliberations are complete.

IMLS will not release information about the status of an application until the applications have been reviewed and all deliberations are concluded. IMLS expects to notify both successful and unsuccessful applicants of the final decisions by email by August 2026.

IMLS may extend particular grants at the discretion of the Director. Awardees may request no-cost extensions of up to a year.

IMLS will provide copies of reviewer comments and scores to all unsuccessful applicants and invite them to consult with specific IMLS staff when determining whether to revise the proposal and submit it again to IMLS or another funding agency.