Grants for Historical Societies 2026

If you're a board member, volunteer director, or curator at a county, town, or regional historical society, this guide lays out the grants for historical societies that match what you actually do: caring for collections, opening archives to researchers, restoring an old building, and telling local history. It covers what each program pays, its current status, and which one to try first.

4 Federal Programs That Fund Historical Societies

Federal money for local history is real but narrow. Four programs account for most of what a historical society can apply for directly or through its state:

The honest ranking for most societies: start with NEH's $10,000 grant if you have a collection, talk to your State Historic Preservation Office about building work, and treat Save America's Treasures as a long shot unless your site is nationally significant.

NEH Preservation Assistance Grants: Up to $10,000 for Collections Care

This is the federal program written for organizations like yours. According to NEH's Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions page (opens in a new tab), awards run up to $10,000, with an extra $5,000 available to applicants outside the contiguous U.S. for consultant travel and shipping. Projects can last up to 18 months.

The grant pays for the basics of looking after a collection:

• A preservation assessment by an outside consultant, the most common first project
• Preservation plans, emergency preparedness plans and collection policies
• Environmental monitoring equipment, such as data loggers
• Rehousing supplies: archival boxes, folders, shelving and storage cabinets
• Inventories, format surveys and volunteer or staff training

NEH encourages applications from small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant. 501(c)(3) nonprofits, state and local governments and tribal governments are eligible. Historical societies have long been among past recipients, which makes this the most natural first federal grant for a society with photographs, documents, textiles or objects in storage.

Timing caveat: NEH's page last listed an anticipated deadline of January 8, 2026, for projects starting September 1, 2026. As of October 29, 2026, NEH hasn't posted the next date. NEH cut staff and canceled many grants in 2025, so confirm the program is open before you build your year around it. Grantsights' NEH grants guide covers the agency's larger programs, such as Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections, for projects that cost more than $10,000.

NHPRC Archival Projects: Up to $150,000 to Open Your Records

If your society holds letters, diaries, business ledgers, church records or newspapers that researchers would use, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission is worth a serious look. According to the National Archives' Archival Projects announcement (opens in a new tab), the program funds projects that promote access to historical records, with grants of up to $150,000 for 1 to 2 years. U.S. nonprofits are eligible, and no cost share is required.

The FY 2026 round closed November 5, 2025, with an optional draft due August 15, 2025, for projects starting no earlier than July 1, 2026. If the next round follows that pattern, the draft deadline would come in late summer 2027, but NHPRC hasn't announced it.

The downside: NHPRC wants collections of real research value and a clear plan for online access. A society with 40 boxes of unprocessed family papers and no catalog usually needs an NEH assessment and some volunteer processing first. NHPRC also funds State Historical Records Advisory Boards, which in some states regrant money to local repositories, so ask your state board before writing a full application.

Save America's Treasures: $750,000 Grants for Nationally Significant Sites

Save America's Treasures (SAT) is the federal program people mean when they say there's a grant to restore a historic building. It's real, but it's narrow. Per the NPS Save America's Treasures page (opens in a new tab), preservation projects must involve a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places for national significance, or a National Historic Landmark. Collections projects are managed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and each property or collection can receive only one SAT grant. Since 1998 the program has made more than 1,300 grants totaling more than $300 million.

According to the NPS FY 2025 award announcement (opens in a new tab), SAT awarded $24.4 million for 49 projects in 31 states. Historical societies were among them: the Nebraska State Historical Society received $750,000 for the Fort Robinson Post Headquarters rehabilitation, and the Cheyenne County Historical Association received $200,000 for the Fort Sidney Post Commander's Home and Museum.

Is it worth it for you? Only if your building or collection is nationally significant on paper. A property listed for local or state significance isn't eligible for preservation funding, and the dollar-for-dollar match means a $500,000 award needs $500,000 raised from non-federal sources. The FY 2026 notice closed June 16, 2026. Most county historical societies should skip SAT and look at the state route below.

Historic Preservation Fund: The State Route Most Societies Miss

The Historic Preservation Fund sends formula grants to every State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). According to NPS, the current SHPO grant (opens in a new tab) total is $62,150,000, and each state must pass at least 10% of its annual formula grant to Certified Local Governments (CLGs) as subgrants.

Per the NPS Certified Local Government program page (opens in a new tab), CLG subgrants can fund surveys, National Register nominations, rehabilitation work, design guidelines, educational programs, training, structural assessments and feasibility studies. The CLG is your town or county, not the society, so the practical move is to partner: your society brings the building, the volunteers and the history, and the town applies or subgrants to you.

Many SHPOs also run their own state-funded preservation grant rounds, separate from the federal money. These are often the best match for a local building project, and they're easy to overlook because they live on state websites rather than federal ones. Grantsights' historic preservation grants guide covers state and tax credit routes for buildings in more depth.

Which Foundations Fund Historical Societies: What 990-PF Filings Show

Private foundations pay for most of the building, exhibit and program work that local historical societies do. Every private foundation lists the grants it paid on IRS Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab), so you can see exactly which ones give to local history.

Historical societies fall in Grantsights' community and civic cause, with civic clubs, fire companies and veterans groups. In Grantsights analysis of 990-PF records pulled October 29, 2026, counted by recipient state, historic preservation appears by name among the most common stated purposes in several states:

Those medians are small, but grants to historical societies for specific projects run much larger. Real examples from the filings, all tax year 2025:

• The Jerred D Ruble Family Charitable Foundation gave $160,000 to the Clay County Historical Society in Liberty, Missouri, and $197,026 to the Prairie City Historical Society in Iowa, both for building construction projects (filings (opens in a new tab)).
• The BA and Esther Greenheck Foundation gave the Marathon County Historical Society in Wausau, Wisconsin $100,000 for a project called "Telling Our Stories: The Next 50 Years" (filings (opens in a new tab)).
• The Ringen Fund gave the Chagrin Falls Historical Society in Ohio $60,000 for an Underground Railroad documentary (filings (opens in a new tab)).
• The Wilson-OConnor Family Foundation gave the Atkinson Historical Society in New Hampshire $50,000 for restoration of the Atkinson Center School (filings (opens in a new tab)).
• The SPIROL International Charitable Foundation gave the Aspinock Historical Society in Putnam, Connecticut $40,000 to restore the Gertrude Warner Museum (filings (opens in a new tab)).
• The Cogswell Benevolent Trust gave the New Hampshire Historical Society $25,000 for technology upgrades and climate control (filings (opens in a new tab)).

Specifically, a single local foundation paid $197,026 toward one small-town society's building, more than an NEH grant and close to the size of a state preservation award, with no federal paperwork. That's why foundation research belongs at the start of a historical society's plan, not the end.

Grantsights' community and civic funder list shows the foundations that reported grants to historical societies, civic clubs, fire companies and veterans groups on their own 990-PF filings, organized by state. Foundations whose latest filing says they accept requests come first, and each entry shows recent grants with recipients and stated purposes, so you can find the ones that already fund local history near you. The preview here is free. The full list for this cause is $29 for every state, or $99 for all cause lists for 12 months, and both carry a 30-day full refund.

What NEH Doesn't Tell You About Funding a Historical Society

The program pages describe eligibility. They leave out the things that decide whether a volunteer-run society actually gets funded:

1. Collections care is easier to fund than buildings. NEH, NHPRC and IMLS money all goes to collections and records. Building money is scarcer and almost always needs a match. If your roof and your archive both need help, the archive grant will come faster, and fixing the roof often falls to local foundations and a capital campaign.
2. A preservation assessment unlocks later grants. Larger NEH, IMLS and foundation requests go better when you can cite a professional assessment. A $10,000 assessment grant is often the step that makes a $100,000 request credible.
3. National Register status changes your options. Listing for local significance opens state grants and tax credits but not SAT preservation funding. Know your property's listing and level before you write to anyone.
4. Your nonprofit paperwork matters. Most federal programs and nearly all foundations expect 501(c)(3) status and a current IRS determination letter. Societies that let their status lapse, or never filed the annual 990-N, often find out when a funder checks. Grantsights' new nonprofits guide covers getting this in order.

Common Mistakes Historical Societies Make in Grant Applications

The FY 2026 deadlines for 2 of the 4 federal programs above passed in 2025, months before the projects could start. Long lead times trip up volunteer boards more than anything else. Other frequent errors:

• Asking for "general support" from a foundation that funds projects. Several of the grants above name a specific building, film or restoration. Give funders a named project with a budget.
• Applying to SAT with a locally significant property. It won't pass eligibility. Use the state route instead.
• No plan for public benefit. Funders want to know who will see the collection or visit the building. Hours, school visits, online access and researcher use all count.
• Writing to foundations that never fund history. Check a foundation's filings for historical societies, museums or preservation before you send a letter. A foundation that gives only to hospitals is a waste of a stamp.
• Underestimating match and cash flow. Reimbursement grants pay after you spend. A society with $8,000 in the bank can't front $50,000 of restoration work without a bridge plan.

A 12-Month Grant Plan for a Historical Society

Here's a realistic 12-month sequence for a society with a collection and an old building:

For writing the first foundation letters, see Grantsights' guide to writing a grant letter of inquiry and the community foundation grants guide, since county community foundations often fund local history. To search open federal programs, use the Grantsights grant search.

Related Guides for Local History and Culture Groups

Historical societies often run a house museum or share space with a local theater group. If you operate a museum with regular hours, see grants for museums, which covers IMLS and museum-specific programs. If your building hosts performances, grants for community theaters covers arts funding that a shared venue can draw on.

FAQ: Common Questions

What federal grants can a historical society apply for? NEH Preservation Assistance Grants (up to $10,000), NHPRC Archival Projects (up to $150,000), Save America's Treasures for nationally significant sites, and Historic Preservation Fund subgrants through your state.

Is there a grant for a small historical society with no paid staff? Yes. NEH's Preservation Assistance Grants are built for small and mid-sized organizations, and local foundations fund many all-volunteer societies.

Can a historical society get a grant to restore its building? Sometimes. SAT requires national significance and a 1:1 match; state preservation grants, CLG subgrants and local foundations fit most local buildings.

Do foundations give grants to historical societies? Yes. 990-PF filings show grants of $25,000 to nearly $200,000 to local historical societies for buildings, exhibits, restoration and climate control.

When are NEH preservation grants due? The last listed deadline was January 8, 2026. NEH hadn't posted the next date as of October 29, 2026.

Sources

• NEH: Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions (opens in a new tab)
• National Archives NHPRC: Archival Projects, FY 2026 (opens in a new tab)
• NPS: Save America's Treasures Grants (opens in a new tab)
• NPS: $24.4 million in FY 2025 Save America's Treasures grants (opens in a new tab)
• NPS: State Historic Preservation Office Grants (opens in a new tab)
• NPS: Certified Local Government Program (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)