Collections Stewardship

The National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Collections and Infrastructure offers the Collections Stewardship program to support the preservation and accessibility of humanities collections. This federal funding initiative is designed to strengthen the long-term care, organization, and public availability of both physical and digital materials that are significant for research, education, and public engagement. The program reflects NEH’s broader mission to sustain and enhance access to cultural heritage resources, including those held by libraries, archives, museums, and academic institutions. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to enable organizations to undertake planning and implementation projects that improve collections stewardship practices. Eligible activities include conservation treatments, digitization and description of collections, cataloging, rehousing, and the enhancement of long-standing digital resources. The program also supports education and training initiatives aimed at building professional capacity in collections preservation. These efforts are expected to result in collections that are easier to access, better preserved, and more useful to scholars and the public. Funding is offered across three tiers, ranging from smaller planning grants to larger multi-organization implementation projects. Awards range from 50000 dollars to 500000 dollars, with a total anticipated funding pool of approximately 14000000 dollars distributed across about 50 awards. The period of performance can extend up to three years, depending on the project scope. Importantly, the program does not require cost sharing, as awards are issued as outright funds. Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations with 501c3 status, accredited institutions of higher education, state and local governments and their agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Individuals, for-profit entities, and foreign organizations are not eligible. Applicants must demonstrate substantive involvement in the proposed project and cannot serve solely as fiscal agents. Projects must focus on humanities content and adhere to strict funding restrictions that prohibit activities such as political advocacy, construction, acquisition of collections, and certain types of digitization or research work. The application process requires submission through Grants.gov and includes multiple required components such as a narrative, outputs document, work plan, personnel list, biographies, and a detailed budget. Additional attachments may be required depending on project structure, including letters of commitment and subrecipient budgets. Applications are evaluated through a peer review process based on criteria including project significance, feasibility, sustainability, staff qualifications, and budget reasonableness. There are two application deadlines for this opportunity, May 11 2026 and December 15 2026, both at 1159 pm Eastern Time. Award announcements are expected in December 2026 and July 2027, depending on the submission cycle. Projects must begin within specified windows in 2027 or early 2028. Applicants are strongly advised to ensure that their SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations are current well in advance of submission, as late applications due to registration issues will not be accepted. For further information, applicants may contact the Division of Collections and Infrastructure at the National Endowment for the Humanities via email at collections at neh dot gov or by phone at 202 606 8570. Additional administrative inquiries can be directed to the Office of Grant Management. This program represents a significant federal investment in preserving the cultural and intellectual record of the humanities for future generations.

Align proposal clearly with review criteria emphasize measurable outputs and demonstrate long term sustainability of collections access