Archives and Records Management Grants are designed to enhance the preservation and improve the accessibility of historically valuable records. The grants are available to support projects in the categories of Documentary Heritage Projects and Local Government Records Projects. The grants are administered on a competitive basis, and the awards are made annually based on a peer review process.

Availability of Funds
Grant awards are subject to the annual availability of funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Funding is based on the state fiscal year, July through June.

Who May Apply
The following are the types of organizations that are eligible to apply for grants in the various categories.

Documentary Heritage Projects

• Colleges and universities
• Historical societies
• Libraries (public and private)
• Museums
• Historical records repositories whose primary mission is the acquisition and preservation of historical records to make them available to the public
• Museums and historic sites that are owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by independent nonprofit organizations
• Other historical organizations
  

Local Government Records Projects

• County governments
• Municipalities
• School Districts

Individual subunits (e.g. Recorder of Deeds Office or Temple Urban Archives) within multipurpose government (County of Dauphin) or tax-exempt organizations (e.g. Temple University) may apply for grants if they function as a discrete unit within the parent organization. A subunit that is part of a larger organization will be deemed eligible if:

• The unit has administrative autonomy for its operations;
• The unit has a fully segregated and itemized operating budget within that of the parent organization; and
• The unit is able to separately and distinctly fulfill all eligibility and application requirements as defined in these guidelines.
  

Who May Not Apply
Organizations and others that are not eligible to apply include:

• Museums and historic sites operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission;
• Associate groups at museums and historic sites operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission except as a partner of a collaborative grant with a nonaffiliated organization;
• Museums and historic sites operated by state or federal government agencies except through an associate or management group;
• State government;
• Federal government; and
• Individuals
  

Eligibility Requirements
To apply for an Archives and Records Management Grant, an organization must meet the following requirements:

• Must be located in Pennsylvania;
• Must have tax-exempt status (501(c)(3)) with the Internal Revenue Service or be an entity of local government;
• Must be incorporated and in existence for two years prior to the submission of a grant application; and
• Must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations, as required. Information may be obtained by writing Bureau of Charitable Organizations, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of State, P.O. Box 8723, Harrisburg, PA 17105 or by calling 1-800-732-0999 or see: Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations .
  

Level of Funding

There are two levels of funding for Archives and Records Management Grants.

• Grants in amounts up to and including $5,000 require no matching funds.
• Grants in amounts of $5,001 and up to and including $15,000 require 50/50 matching funds.

All eligible organizations have the option to apply for one or the other level of funding. The $5,000 grant (with no matching requirement) was especially designed to provide competitive funding opportunities for smaller organizations whose operating budgets generally do not exceed $100,000.

Eligible organizations (or subunits) may apply for only one Archives and Records Management Grant in any given grant cycle year. More than one qualified subunit within a multipurpose organization, however, may apply for funding during the same grant cycle.

General Conditions
There are a number of general conditions for Archives and Records Management Grants.

• Grant awards shall not exceed $15,000 in either the Documentary Heritage Projects or the Local Government Records Projects category. For all awards, a 50/50 match is required. In-kind contributions may be used to satisfy the 50/50 matching requirement; however, cash matches of new dollars are strongly encouraged and will be considered in the evaluation process. The only exceptions are for county governments and cities of the First Class, which must match on a 50/50 hard cash-matching basis.
• An organization must have as one of its primary purposes the acquisition and preservation of historical records in order to make them available to the public.
• All projects must relate directly to some aspect of Pennsylvania history
• Work cannot begin until the successful applicant has received a fully executed Grant Agreement.
• Digitization and Microfilm projects have specific guidelines and requirements. Please refer to the additional requirements towards the bottom of the page.
  

Categories of Support
The following categories of support are broadly defined and include examples of projects that may be considered for funding. The examples do not represent a complete list of eligible projects. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their project and ideas with the Grant Manager. Please refer to the section on "PHMC Grants Staff"

Documentary Heritage Projects

Funding may be requested for surveying, inventorying, preserving, arranging, describing and making available historical records relevant to Pennsylvania. Funding may also be requested for microfilming, reformatting, or the purchase of supplies and equipment. Examples of projects include:

• Projects to ensure the preservation and use of valuable archival/historical manuscripts including cartographic, pictorial, audio-visual and machine-readable records
• Purchase of preservation supplies such as acid-free cartons, folders and microfilm boxes
• Microfilming or reformatting of deteriorating historical records, including newspapers
• Inventory and survey projects
  Arrangement and description of archival records or historical manuscripts
• Preparation of guides to the holdings of a historical repository or to the content of a particularly significant collection
• Programs for the education and training of archivists, record managers and manuscript curators, and for promoting the use of documentary resources
• Historical Records Preservation Assessments that may address storage and exhibition of materials, environmental control, building security, collections conditions and conservation treatment reports
• Institutional Needs Assessments that focus on professional standards and requirements relating to the administration of historical records with specific recommendations to correct program deficiencies
  

Local Government Records Projects

Funding may be requested for surveying, inventorying, preserving, arranging, describing and making available historical local government records. Funding may also be requested for microfilming, reformatting, or the purchase of supplies and equipment. Examples of projects include:

• Projects to ensure the preservation and use of historically valuable local government records including cartographic, pictorial, audio-visual and machine-readable records
• Inventory and survey projects designed to provide planning reports in support of the establishment of local government archives, records programs and facilities
• Arrangement and description of historically valuable local government records
• Preparation of guides to the holdings of a local government archives
• Programs for the education and training of local government archivists and records managers, and for promoting the use of documentary resources
• Microfilming or reformatting of deteriorating local government records
• Purchase of archives and records center supplies such as acid-free cartons and folders, or boxes needed for microfilm security copies of permanent records
• Equipment necessary for operating a local government archives/records center, such as microfilm reader-printers or cameras, computer hardware or software, scanners, and industry-standard shelving
• Historical Records Preservation Assessments that may address storage and exhibition of materials, environmental control, building security, collections conditions and conservation treatment reports
• Institutional Needs Assessments that focus on professional standards and requirements relating to the administration of historical records with specific recommendations to correct program deficiencies

Ineligible Activities
Archives and Records Management Grants may not be used to fund the following:

• Endowments, prizes, or awards;
• General operating support;
• Overhead or indirect costs for operation of organization;
• Capital improvement projects;
• Lobbying-related expenses or expenses for entertainment;
• Existing part-time or full-time staff positions (this includes hiring part-time staff during their nonworking hours);
• Projects that have been initiated prior to the date of the award;
• Projects that serve a religious purpose or promote religious dogma;
• Forums, conferences, symposia, lectures, oral histories and exhibitions not available to the public or held outside of Pennsylvania;
• Projects involving records that will be closed to researchers for more than five years, not be accessible to all users on equal terms, or that will be held by organizations not open to the public on a regular basis with a publicly announced and adhered to schedule of at least 100 days per year. Accessibility of records entails the public having full access to the original record, or a reasonable facsimile (microfilm, digital image, contact print), not solely access to the informational content.
• Projects involving library books, including rare books; and
• Records or office management projects that do not relate to normal archival functions or goals, such as projects for the creation of a new filing, storage, or retrieval system for active office files.
  

Additional Requirements

For digitization projects only, applicants must demonstrate within their project descriptions that they have or will meet certain criteria before receiving consideration for funding. For more information on these criteria and for a copy of the state's "Optical Imaging Policy and Guidelines", applicants must contact the Grant Manager.

For microfilm projects only, the grantee must submit with the final report two copies of each microfilm roll produced for the project. One copy will be a diazo copy for use within the State Archives Search Room, and the other copy will be a silver halide roll to serve as an archival security copy. Local governments participating in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Security Microfilm Storage Program should submit one diazo copy only. Microfilm projects must conform to appropriate state government standards and must also include the creation and submission of quality control production logs. Submission of these items is mandatory; noncompliance may affect eligibility for future grant awards.

For all grant projects, the applicant must plan for members of the PHMC staff to perform site visits throughout the grant period to monitor progress. For projects that support the establishment or continuation of a local government archival/records management program, the PHMC must also be able to conduct a site visit during the initial stages of project implementation. PHMC staff reserves the right to suspend these visitation requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Grant Period and Implementation Timetable

The Application Submission Deadline for FY 2008-2009 is December 1, 2007. Application submission deadlines in future years may be obtained by visiting the PHMC Grants Website at http://www.artsnet.org/phmc.

Maximum Number of Awards

Eligible applicants may apply for and may receive under the Pennsylvania History and Museum Grant Program one Archives and Records Management Grant, one type of General Operating Support Grant and a Technical Assistance Grant. The applicant may also serve as the lead partner of a collaborative grant.

Applicants meeting the relevant eligibility requirements may apply for and may receive one grant under the Certified Local Government Grant Program and one grant under the Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program.

Please take the time to read the material provided on this website to determine if you are eligible to receive other grants from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Applications

Applicants for Archives and Records Management Grants are required to use the web-based electronic grant application process. Exceptions are generally only made for those applicants who do not have access to the necessary equipment. Exceptions must be discussed in advance with the appropriate grants manager. (See the section entitled " PHMC Grants Staff " for names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.)

The electronic grant application process has been in use for several years now and provides a mechanism for you to complete your grant application on-line. It is a relatively simple process that allows you to submit your application as late as midnight of the appointed deadline date. Commission staff can also review your application while in progress and are available to assist you and answer questions.

To download a PDF of the Archives and Records Management Grants Application Click Here.