National Leadership Grants for Museums (2027)

The National Leadership Grants for Museums program is a federal grant opportunity administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, through its Office of Museum Services. IMLS advances, supports, and empowers museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. The National Leadership Grants for Museums program invests in projects that address critical needs across the museum field and have the potential to strengthen museum services for the public through model practices, tools, research findings, collaborations, and the creative and effective use of new and emerging technologies. The program focuses on advancing museum-based learning and engagement practices, improving the museum field's ability to respond to community needs, and identifying new solutions to high-priority and widespread collections care or conservation issues. Applicants must align each proposed project with one of the three National Leadership Grants for Museums program goals and one associated objective. Projects may be either Non-research or Research and may run for one to three years. Non-research projects should address critical museum-field needs, advance professional practice, and generate models, tools, services, practices, or alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated. Research projects should investigate important questions relevant to museum practice through clearly articulated research questions and appropriate theoretical or conceptual approaches, data collection, and analysis. Research findings should have the potential to advance professional practice and should be broadly shared during the grant period. Proposals focused primarily on evaluation belong under the Non-research project type rather than the Research project type. IMLS expects approximately $8,000,000 to be available under this announcement and anticipates making 17 awards. Individual federal awards are expected to range from $50,000 to $750,000. Both project types use this funding range. Non-research projects require at least a one-to-one cost share from non-federal sources, while Research projects have no required cost share. Generally allowable expenses include project personnel salaries and fringe benefits, project travel, directly related materials, supplies, software and equipment, accessibility technologies and services, third-party costs, design and publication costs, program evaluation, training, paid internships or fellowships, stipends or honoraria, and allowable indirect costs. Unallowable expenses include general fundraising, endowment contributions, general operating support, acquisition of collections, general promotional advertising, construction or renovation, and social activities, receptions, or entertainment. Eligible applicants must be units of State, local, or Tribal government or private nonprofit organizations and must be located within an eligible United States jurisdiction or specified Freely Associated State. They must also qualify as an eligible museum, an organization or association engaged in advancing museums and the museum profession, an institution of higher education, or a qualifying public or private nonprofit entity responsible for operating an eligible museum. Eligible museums must use professional staff, be permanently organized for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes, own or use and care for tangible objects including living collections, and regularly exhibit objects to the general public. Partnerships and collaborations are welcome, but one participating organization must satisfy the eligibility requirements, serve as lead applicant, administer the award, and assume programmatic, fiscal, and legal responsibility. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov Workspace. Required components include the SF-424S, IMLS Museum Program Information Form, Organizational Profile, Narrative, Schedule of Completion, IMLS Budget Form, Budget Justification, List of Key Project Staff and Consultants, resumes for key staff and consultants, and a Performance Measurement Plan. Depending on the applicant and project, additional required documents may include proof of private nonprofit status, a current Final Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, a Digital Products Plan, or a Public Access Plan for Research Projects. The Narrative is limited to 10 numbered pages and must address Project Justification, Project Work Plan, and Project Results. Research proposals must also include clearly defined research questions. Applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier, active SAM.gov registration, and active Grants.gov registration with an approved Authorized Organization Representative before applying. IMLS first checks applications for eligibility and completeness and generally rejects applications that are late, incomplete, submitted by ineligible organizations, outside the permitted funding range, or inconsistent with program funding restrictions. Eligible and complete applications proceed to peer review by professionals with relevant expertise. Reviewers assess Project Justification, Project Work Plan, and Project Results, including alignment with the selected program goal and objective, evidence supporting the identified need, audience and stakeholder involvement, potential to advance museum practice, project design, staff qualifications, resources, risk management, progress measurement, dissemination, adaptability, and sustainability. Research applications receive additional review of research questions, methods, theoretical framing, data collection and analysis, research relevance, public access practices, and applicable Institutional Review Board planning. Cost share is an eligibility requirement rather than a merit-review factor. Applications are due through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on November 13, 2026. The NOFO does not establish a separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating deadline. IMLS expects to notify successful and unsuccessful applicants by email in August 2027, subject to funding availability and agency discretion. Funded projects must begin September 1, 2027, and may continue for one to three years within the anticipated September 1, 2027 through August 31, 2030 performance period. Programmatic and administrative questions may be directed through IMLS, including the museum grants email address imls-museumgrants@imls.gov and telephone number 202-653-4744. The NOFO does not expressly state a recurring application schedule or the opening date of a subsequent cycle.

Align the proposal with one NLG-M program goal and one associated objective; use relevant data and evidence to establish a field-wide need; involve the primary audience and stakeholders in planning; show how the work differs from, complements, or builds on existing theory, scholarship, and practice; present realistic activities, risks, staffing, resources, progress tracking, dissemination, adaptability, and sustainability; for Research projects, clearly define research questions, methods, theoretical framing, data practices, and public access; stay within the funding range and include the required 1:1 cost share for Non-research projects; follow PDF page limits, file naming rules, and attachment order.