Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program funding comes from the Commonwealth's Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. This fund was established by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1993 using revenue from the voter-approved sale of bonds and from a portion of the state realty transfer tax. Bond funds were utilized during the first three years of the program. Currently, the program is supported annually with realty transfer tax revenue.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission also annually uses a portion of the realty transfer tax revenue to rehabilitate and maintain Commonwealth-owned historic sites and museums.
There is only one type of grant offered under this program.

Keystone Historic Preservation Grants

Keystone Historic Preservation Grants requiring a 50/50 cash match are available for the preservation, restoration and/or rehabilitation of historic resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. 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
Nonprofit organizations and public agencies that own or support a publicly accessible historic property listed, or eligible for listing, in the National Register of Historic Places, or that own or support a contributing historic property in a National Register Historic District may apply for grant assistance.

The following are examples of the types of organizations that are eligible to apply for grants. All eligible organizations must be incorporated and in existence for five years prior to submitting a grant application.

• Conservancies
• Educational institutions
• Historic preservation organizations
• Historical societies
• Local governments
• Museums
• Religious institutions*
  *Religious institutions located in southeastern Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties) must contact Partners for Sacred Places and apply for funding through Partners' Regional Fund for Sacred Places. The Regional Fund was started in 2005 with a $1 million challenge grant from the William Penn Foundation. PHMC is contributing a portion of Keystone funding to help establish the fund. As a result, all religious organizations in the region must apply to Partners for Sacred Places and participate in the New Dollars/New Partners training program. For more information about the Fund, contact Scott Doyle, PHMC Keystone grant program manager, at (717) 783-6012 or midoyle@state.pa.us; or Erin Coryell, Partners for Sacred Places Fund Coordinator, at (215) 567-3234, ext. 18 or ecoryell@sacredplaces.org. Please visit Partners for Sacred Places website for information on the Regional Fund or New Dollars/New Partners training.

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;
• Management groups at museums and historic sites owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission;
• Museums and historic sites operated by state or federal government agencies;
• Associate groups at museums and historic sites operated by state or federal government agencies;
• Commonwealth-assisted libraries (Grants are available through the Department of Education.);
• Zoos (Grants are available through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.);
• For-profit organizations or corporations;
• Nonprofit organizations and public agencies that received a construction grant in the previous year. (These organizations may not apply for funding for the same resource. They may, however, apply for funding for a different resource.);
• State government;
• Federal government; and
• Individuals .

Eligibility Requirements
The organization requesting funding must meet the following requirements:

• Must have tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or be a public agency or entity of government; and
• Must have been in existence for five (5) consecutive years prior to the date of the application.
• 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 .

The property for which funds are being requested must meet the following requirements:

• Must be located in Pennsylvania;
• Must be documented as being listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as a contributing property in a National Register Historic District (Applications that do not include appropriate documentation from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Bureau for Historic Preservation will not be eligible for funding.); and
• Must be open and accessible to the public on a regular basis, not less than 100 days per year. (If it is not currently accessible to the public, the applicant must include detailed plans to open the property to the public as a result of the grant.)

General Conditions
There are a number of general conditions for Keystone Historic Preservation Grants.

• All grants are awarded on a 50/50 matching basis; and matching funds must be all cash. Salaries or wages paid to employees of the applicant are not considered to be cash contributions and cannot be included as matching funds.
• Grant requests should be between $5,000 (for $10,000 projects) to $100,000 (for projects $200,000 and over). The Commission may, at its discretion, consider applications for grants under $5,000 and may approve partial funding for larger requests.
• All grant assisted construction work must meet the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties" .
• Preservation covenants are required on all properties receiving funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The covenant is a formal agreement between the PHMC and the grantee in which the grantee agrees to ensure the maintenance and preservation of the architectural and historical characteristics that qualified the property as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The covenant is in place for a period of fifteen years and requires the grantee to contact the PHMC for review and approval prior to the commencement of any substantial construction. Please click here for a sample covenant.
• Work cannot begin until the successful applicant has received a copy of a fully executed Grant Agreement.
• Project or design work must be initiated within forty-five days of the date that the fully executed Grant Agreement is sent to the grantee.

• Grantees may be required to abide by the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act if the estimated cost of project work exceeds $25,000 and is supported by any public funds. Grantees are advised to seek legal counsel to determine whether the Act applies. For more information on the Prevailing Wage Act, please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry website.

• To review the evaluation guidelines for the Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program, please click here to download a pdf version of the guidelines.
  
  

Ineligible Activities
Keystone Historic Preservation Grants may not be used to fund the following:

• Mitigation activities performed as a condition or precondition for obtaining a state or federal permit or license;
• New construction;
• Reconstruction such as recreating a building or landscape;
• Projects whose entire scope of work consists solely of routine or cyclical maintenance;
• Landscaping as part of nonhistoric site improvements including parking lots, sidewalks, etc.;
• Archaeological excavations (Archaeology that is undertaken as part of a rehabilitation project to mitigate ground disturbing activities such as sitework or foundation repair is eligible for reimbursement.);
• Projects which consist only of predevelopment work such as historic structure reports or construction documents; and
• Acquisition of historic properties and/or land. (The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has provided funds to Preservation Pennsylvania, Inc. to revitalize and expand its revolving fund account. This money is used to make short-term, low-interest loans to nonprofit organizations that are buying threatened properties to ensure their preservation. For more information, call at 717-234- 2310.)

Categories of Support
There are three categories of support defined in the following paragraphs. Examples of eligible projects, interior or exterior, are provided after the definitions and apply to all three categories.

Preservation. The act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity and materials of a historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction. New exterior additions are not within the scope of this treatment; however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and other code required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a preservation project.

Rehabilitation. The act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural and architectural values.

Restoration. The act or process of accurately depicting the form, features and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and other code related work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project.

Work may be interior or exterior. Specific examples of fundable project work include the following:

• Sitework - subsurface investigation, selective demolition, drainage and restoration of designed landscapes and gardens;
• Concrete - poured-in-place concrete, precast concrete, concrete restoration and cleaning;
• Masonry - brick or stone repair or replacement, repointing mortar joints and cleaning;
• Metals - structural metal framing and metal restoration or replacement;
• Wood and Plastics - rough and finish carpentry, architectural woodwork and millwork;
• Thermal and Moisture Protection - roofing, flashing, waterproofing, dampproofing and insulation;
• Doors and Windows - repair and restoration, frame repair, replacement and hardware;
• Finishes - lath and plaster repair, gypsum wallboard, ceramic tile, wood paneling, floors and painting;
• Conveying Systems - elevators;
• Mechanical - plumbing, fire protection systems, heating, cooling and air distribution;
• Electrical - service, distribution and lighting; and
• Accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.

Grant Period and Implementation Timetable
The Application Submission Deadline for FY2008-2009 is May 1, 2008. Application submission deadlines in future years may be obtained by visiting the PHMC Grants Website at http://www.artsnet.org/phmc.

The following timetable for processing grant applications and implementing projects is provided for your information and as a planning guide. Remember, grant awards are subject to the availability of funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. No commitments or announcements can be made until after July 1, 2008 or such time as the Commonwealth Budget is approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor.

Maximum Number of Awards
Eligible applicants may submit only one application for a Keystone Historic Preservation Grant.

Applicants meeting the relevant eligibility requirements may also apply for and may receive one grant under the Certified Local Government Grant Program and at least one grant under the Pennsylvania History and Museum Grant Program.

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

Applications
Applicants for Keystone Historic Preservation 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 email addresses.)

To download a PDF of the Keystone Historic Preservation Grants Application Click Here.