Museums Empowered (2027)

Museums Empowered: Professional Development Opportunities for Museum Staff is a federal grant program administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is a special initiative of the Museums for America grant program and supports projects that use learning and training to generate change and growth within museums of all types and sizes. The Institute of Museum and Library Services advances, supports, and empowers museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. Museums Empowered focuses specifically on strengthening museum staff and identifies museums and museum professionals as its primary audiences. The program supports professional development in three areas: digital technology, evaluation, and organizational management. Applicants must align a proposed project with one Museums Empowered program goal and one associated objective. The Digital Technology goal supports staff skills for integrating digital technology into museum operations, including digital communication platforms, social media tools, and tools and services that enhance access to collections. The Evaluation goal strengthens the ability of staff to use evaluation to shape programs and improve outcomes, including knowledge of evaluation methods, reports, data, metrics, and approaches tailored to specific audiences or institutional needs. The Organizational Management goal supports museum staff as an essential part of resilient organizational culture through comprehensive learning opportunities addressing emerging priorities or specific learning and growth opportunities identified through staff needs assessments. The program also encompasses museum capacity to develop professional development programs using apprenticeships and alternative pathways to upskill early career professionals and provide opportunities for nontraditional applicants to enter the museum workforce. IMLS expects to award approximately 4299000 dollars through this announcement and anticipates making 20 awards. Individual federal awards are expected to range from 5000 dollars to 350000 dollars. Projects may last from one to three years and must begin September 1, 2027, with an anticipated performance period extending through August 31, 2030. Awardees must provide nonfederal funds equal to or greater than the federal award, establishing a minimum one to one cost share requirement. Generally allowable expenses include salaries, wages and fringe benefits, project travel, materials and supplies, software and equipment directly related to project activities, accessibility resources, participant support, third party costs, design and publication, program evaluation, staff and volunteer training, paid internships and fellowships, stipends or honoraria, and allowable indirect costs. Unallowable costs include general fundraising, endowment contributions, general operating support, collection acquisition, general promotional advertising, construction or renovation, social activities or entertainment, and research projects. Eligibility is limited to organizations located in the United States, District of Columbia, specified United States territories, or the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or Republic of Palau. An applicant must be a unit of a State, local, or Tribal government or a private nonprofit organization with qualifying tax exempt status, and it must be a qualifying museum or a public or private nonprofit entity responsible for operating a qualifying museum. A qualifying museum uses professional staff, is permanently organized for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes, owns or uses and cares for tangible objects or living collections, and regularly exhibits those objects to the general public through facilities it owns or operates. Museums within parent organizations and nonprofit organizations affiliated with museums may qualify subject to additional requirements described in the notice. Partnerships and collaborations are permitted, but one participating organization must satisfy all 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. Applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier, an active SAM.gov registration, and an active Grants.gov registration with an approved Authorized Organization Representative. Required application components include the SF-424S, IMLS Museum Program Information Form, Organizational Profile, Strategic Plan Summary, 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 or project, proof of nonprofit status, a final federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, and a Digital Products Plan may also be required. The Narrative is limited to seven numbered pages and must address Project Justification, Project Work Plan, and Project Results. Optional supporting documents may supplement the Narrative but should not introduce new topics or continue responses that belong in the Narrative. IMLS first assesses applications for eligibility and completeness. Applications may be rejected for applicant ineligibility, missing required or conditionally required components, late submission, requests outside the permitted funding range, or failure to follow funding restrictions and program guidance. Complete applications from eligible organizations undergo peer review by professionals with relevant knowledge and expertise. Reviewers assess Project Justification, including alignment with the selected program goal and objective, connection to the museum strategic plan, evidence of need, definition of audiences and beneficiaries, and stakeholder involvement. Project Work Plan review considers professional development or organizational practice, staff and partner qualifications, resources, project team structure, risks, digital product practices where applicable, and methods for tracking progress and results. Project Results review considers the clarity and significance of intended results, changes in knowledge or skills, organizational growth, accessibility of project products, and sustainability of benefits. The required Performance Measurement Plan must address effectiveness, efficiency, quality, and timeliness. Applications are due through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. United States Eastern Time on November 13, 2026. IMLS expects to notify successful and unsuccessful applicants by email in August 2027, subject to the availability of funds and agency discretion, and funded projects must begin September 1, 2027. The notice does not establish a preapplication letter of intent, concept paper, or other competitive gating deadline. Programmatic and administrative assistance is available through IMLS, including the museum grants email address imls-museumgrants@imls.gov and telephone number 202-653-4744. Grants.gov technical support is available at support@grants.gov and 1-800-518-4726. Awardees must comply with applicable federal and IMLS requirements, submit interim and final financial and performance reports according to their official award reporting schedules, and acknowledge IMLS support in grant products, publications, websites, and presentations.

Select one Museums Empowered program goal and associated objective and demonstrate clear alignment throughout the proposal. Connect the project to specific and measurable advancement of the museum strategic plan. Use relevant data and evidence to establish the need, problem, or challenge and appropriately involve the primary audience and stakeholders in planning. Show that project personnel and partners have the necessary experience and that time, financial, personnel, and other resources match the scope of work. Clearly state assumptions and risks and provide methods that generate reliable and measurable information for tracking progress and making adjustments. Define realistic and meaningful results, explain how activities will produce changes in staff knowledge, skills, behaviors, or attitudes and organizational growth, make project products accessible, and provide a practical sustainability plan. Follow all page limits, file naming rules, attachment requirements, funding restrictions, and cost share requirements because incomplete or noncompliant applications may be rejected.