General Operating Support Grants for Official County Historical Societies are restricted to historical organizations that are certified by their county governments as the official county historical societies for their respective counties. No more than one organization in each county may be so certified. The society must receive funds from the county government to assist in paying the operating expenses of the organization. The grant is noncompetitive and requires a 50/50 cash match.

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
Only those historical organizations that function as the official county historical societies for their respective counties may apply.

Eligibility Requirements
To receive a General Operating Support Grant, an organization must be the officially certified county historical society receiving cash support from county government. In addition to this general standard, an organization must meet the following criteria:

• Must be located in Pennsylvania;
• Must have a current letter of certification from the chair of the county commissioners designating the organization as the official historical society for the county and containing the amount of and the time period of support;
• Must have been incorporated and operating for a minimum of two years as a membership group with at least 100 paid members prior to filing the grant application;
• Must hold at least one public meeting per year;
• Must have a properly adopted constitution and bylaws and have elected officers to conduct the business of the society;
• Must have tax-exempt status (501(c)(3)) with the Internal Revenue Service;
• Must have a permanent physical facility wherein books, documents, papers and other objects of historical interest are deposited and available to the public at least 100 days per year;
• Must have at least one full-time paid or unpaid staff member or the equivalent who is responsible for the operations and programs of the society; and
• Must sponsor programs relevant to county history including educational and public programs and have an active research and publications program.

General Conditions
There are two general condition for General Operating Support Grants for Official County Historical Societies.

• Grants will not exceed the amount of money provided by the local county government in support of general operations; the maximum award will not exceed $10,000.
• Operating support activities cannot begin until the successful applicant has received a fully executed Grant Agreement.

Eligible Activities

General Operating Support Grants can help underwrite an eligible historical societie's general operating expenses. Applicants should select from the list of allowable expenses and indicate the amount of funding that will be applied to each category. The following expenses are eligible:

• Salary, wages, and benefit expenses
• Contracted services
• Printing, publicity and marketing
• Postage and telephone
• Website maintenance
• Staff training
• Mortgage interest
• Equipment purchase under $5,000, installation and lease (e.g. computers, office furnishings, files)
• Operating costs for utilities and HVAC
• Building and grounds maintenance
• Travel and transportation
• Insurance
• Licensing and registration
• Audits
• General office supplies

Applicants must choose from the above list of eligible activities and enter the figures under the appropriate heading on the Grant Budget page of the eGrant application form. Other activities need to be pre-approved by the GOS Grant Manager.

Ineligible Activities
Funds awarded through this grant initiative may not be used to support the following activities:

• Endowments;
• Acquisition of objects for the collections;
• Capital improvement projects;
• Projects that serve a religious purpose or promote religious dogma;
• Exhibitions, forums, conferences, symposia, lectures and oral histories not available to the public or taking place outside Pennsylvania;
• Prizes and awards;
• Expenses for entertainment; and
• Lobbying-related expenses.

Grant Period and Implementation Timetable
The Application Submission Deadline for FY2008-2009 is April 1, 2008. 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 General Operating Support Grant for Official County Historical Societies, one type of Project Support Grant and a Technical Assistance Grant. The applicant may also serve as the lead partner in a collaborative project 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 General Operating Support Grants for Official County Historical Societies 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 email 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 General Operating Support Grants for Official County Historical Societies Application Click Here.