National Leadership Grants

NLG supports projects that address critical needs of the museum and library fields and that have the potential to advance practice in these professions so that museums and libraries can strengthen services for the American public. NLG-Museums has thr

National Leadership Grants support projects that address critical needs of the museum and library fields and that have the potential to advance practice in these professions so that museums and libraries can strengthen services for the American public. Projects are expected to generate results such as models, new tools, research findings, services, practices, and/or alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend and leverage the benefits of federal investment. National Leadership Grants have significant potential to generate positive impact through project activities undertaken as part of the grant-funded work, activities that may be complementary to the project, and through applied research designed specifically for this purpose. IMLS does not prescribe the type, focus, reach, or scale of impact required for each project, but the questions to be addressed in the application Narrative and the review criteria reflect the agency's commitment to both advancing knowledge and understanding and to ensuring that the federal investment made through grants generates benefits to society. Applicants should keep these two aims in mind when they conceptualize their projects, identify the target group(s) they propose to reach, prepare their work plans, and formulate their intended results.

An applicant must meet geographic and governance criteria and qualify as one of the following six types of organizations: 1. A library or a parent organization, such as a school district, a municipality, a State agency, or an academic institution, that is responsible for the administration of a library; 2. An academic or administrative unit, such as a graduate school of library and information science that is part of an institution of higher education through which it would apply; 3. A digital library or archives, if it makes materials publicly available and provides library or archival services, including selection, organization, description, reference, and preservation, under the supervision of at least one permanent professional staff librarian/archivist; 4. A library or archival agency that is an official agency of a State, tribal, or other unit of government and is charged by the law governing it with the extension and development of public library services within its jurisdiction; 5. A library or archives consortium that is a local, statewide, regional, interstate, or international cooperative association of library entities that provides for the systematic and effective coordination of the resources of eligible libraries or archives, as defined above, and information centers that work to improve the services delivered to the clientele of these libraries or archives; or 6. A library or archives association that exists on a permanent basis; serves libraries, archives, or library or archival professionals on a national, regional, State, or local level; and engages in activities designed to advance the well-being of libraries and the library profession. An applicant to NLG-Museums must meet geographic and governance criteria and qualify as one of the following four types of organizations: 1. A museum that, using a professional staff, is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes; owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; cares for these objects; and exhibits these objects to the general public on a regular basis through facilities that it owns or operates. 2. An organization or association that engages in activities designed to advance the wellbeing of museums and the museum profession; 3. An institution of higher education, including public and nonprofit universities; or 4. A public or private nonprofit agency that is responsible for the operation of a museum that meets these 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; third-party costs; publication design and printing; program evaluation; staff and volunteer training; student tuition and fees; 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), and social activities, receptions, or entertainment.

NLG-Libraries: Projects must begin on August 1, 2025. Projects may be carried out for one to two or one to three years, depending on project type. NLG-Museums: Projects must begin on September 1, 2025 and may be carried out for one to three years.

Successful proposals in National Leadership Grants are structured to result in far-reaching impact beyond the institution and influencing practice across one or more disciplines within the library/archive or museum profession; reflect a thorough understanding of current practice and knowledge about the subject matter and an awareness of current strategic initiatives and agendas in the field; employ novel approaches or techniques to strengthen library or museum services; incorporate audience, stakeholders, and/or other partners in strategic collaborations; and have the potential to generate new tools, research findings, models, services, practices, and/or alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend the benefits of Federal investment. 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 by email after 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, but will notify both successful and unsuccessful applicants of final funding 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 provides copies of reviewer comments and scores to all unsuccessful applicants and invites them to consult with specific IMLS staff when determining whether to revise the proposal and submit it again to IMLS or another funding agency.