Save America’s Treasures FY 2003 Guidelines and Application Instructions

Applications are invited for Federal Save America’s Treasures Grants. At the time of printing of this application, Congress had not completed the appropriations for the Department of the Interior. Grants cannot be awarded unless funds are appropriated. The grants are administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Grants are awarded through a competitive process. The full Guidelines and Application are available as Microsoft Word documents.

Grants are available for preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites. Intellectual and cultural artifacts include artifacts, collections, documents, sculpture and works of art (hereinafter collections). Historic structures and sites include historic districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects (hereinafter historic properties).

A Federal Save America’s Treasures Grant requires a dollar-for-dollar non-Federal match, which can be cash or donated services. The grant and the non-Federal match must be used during the grant period, which is generally 2 to 3 years, to execute the project. The minimum grant request for collections projects is $50,000 Federal share; the minimum grant request for historic property projects is $250,000 Federal share. The maximum grant request for all projects is $1 million Federal share. The selection panel may, at its discretion, award less than the minimum grant request. In 2002, the average Federal grant award to collections was $135,000, and the average award to historic properties was $258,000.

Applicants should review the Selection Criteria and Review Criteria very carefully and read these Guidelines and Application Instructions in detail before completing the application. Applicants should give careful consideration to whether support should be requested for a collection or for a historic property. Applications must be received by May 20, 2003.

WHO MAY APPLY

• Federal Agencies funded by the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
  Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c), U.S organizations.
• Units of state or local government.
• Federally recognized Indian Tribes.

WHAT IS FUNDED
Preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites. Intellectual and cultural artifacts include artifacts, collections, documents, sculpture and works of art (hereinafter collections). Historic structures and sites include historic districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects (hereinafter historic properties).

WHAT IS NOT FUNDED

• Acquisition (i.e., purchase in fee simple or interest) of intellectual and cultural artifacts, historic sites, buildings, structures or objects.
• Survey or inventory of historic properties or cataloging of collections.
• Long-term maintenance or curatorial work beyond the grant period.
• Interpretive or training programs.
• Reconstruction of historic properties (i.e. recreating all or a significant portion of a structure that no longer exists).
• Moving buildings or work associated with a building that has been moved.
• Construction of new buildings.
• Historic structure reports and condition assessments, unless they are one component of a larger project to implement the results of these studies by performing work recommended by the studies.
• Cash reserves, endowments or revolving funds. Funds must be expended within the grant period, which is generally 2 to 3 years, and may not be used to create an endowment or revolving fund or otherwise spent over many years.
• Costs of fund-raising campaigns.
• Historic properties and collections associated with active religious organizations (for example, restoration of historic churches that are still actively used as churches). Grants cannot be made to religious organizations or to nonprofit "friends" organizations if the grant-assisted work will be performed on a building used for religious services or functions. Historic cemeteries are not considered religious properties.
• Costs of work performed prior to announcement of award.
• For Federal agency grantees – Federal salaries, agency overhead or administrative costs.

SELECTION PROCESS
A panel of experts representing applicable preservation and conservation disciplines will rank applications and make funding recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, will select successful applicants and forward selections to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for concurrence. Awards will be announced after the Committees’ concurrence and not before August 2003.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Applicants can obtain an electronic version of the instructions and application at the following Web sites. Questions may be addressed to the agencies listed below.

Applications must be received by Thursday, March 20, 2003. This is NOT a postmark deadline.