This document provides information about the Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions program from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which is supported in part by LYRASIS Preservation Services. The program offers $6,000 grants for preservation projects to eligible non-profit organizations, governments, and tribes. It encourages first-time applicants and provides assistance in grant preparation. Successful proposals will address a preservation need, have clear goals and methodology, and demonstrate the organization's ability to complete the proposed project.
Preservation Assistance Grant informational session
1. Preservation Assistance
Grants
LYRASIS Preservation Services
LYRASIS Preservation Services is sponsored in part by a grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities, division of Preservation and Access
2. Preservation Services
• Education and training
• Information and referral
• Loan services
• Publications
• Disaster assistance
• Consulting
http://www.lyrasis.org/LYRASIS
Digital/Pages/Preservation-
Services.aspx
3. National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH)
• Bridging Cultures
• Challenge Grants
• Education Programs
• Office of Digital Humanities
• Preservation and Access
• Public Programs
• Research Programs
• Federal/State Partnership
4. NEH: Preservation Assistance
Grants for Smaller Institutions
(PAG)
• $6,000 for a period of 18 months
• Encourages first-time grant applicants
• Posted in February, May 5th deadline
• Grant preparation assistance available
through LYRASIS
http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation-
assistance-grants-smaller-institutions
5. NEH: PAG
Eligibility:
–U.S. non-profits, state and local
governmental agencies, and federally
recognized Indian tribal governments
– Custody of humanities collections
–One staff FTE, paid or unpaid
–Make collections open and available for
the purpose of education, research,
and/or public programming
6. NEH Humanities Definition
• “…the study of the following: language, both modern
and classical; linguistics; literature; history;
jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative
religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the
arts; those aspects of social sciences which have
humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and
the study and application of the humanities to the human
environment with particular attention to reflecting our
diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the
relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of
national life."
– From NEH Overview: http://www.neh.gov/about
7. NEH: PAG
Will fund:
• General preservation assessments
• Consultations to address a specific
preservation issue, need, problem
• Education and training
• Environmental monitoring equipment
• Storage furniture/ supplies
8. NEH: PAG supports
Digital Collections
Sustaining Digital Collections
• Education & training opportunities
– Best practices for sustaining digital
collections
– Standards for digital preservation
• Preservation assessments of humanities-
focused digital collections
• Consulting for stewardship of digital
collections
– Digital Preservation Readiness surveys
9. Projects linked to other
NEH Initiatives
• The Common Good: The Humanities in
the Public Square
http://www.neh.gov/commongood
• Standing Together: The Humanities and
the Experience of War
http://www.neh.gov/grants/standing-together
10. www.grants.gov
• All government grants must be
submitted electronically
• Register one month prior to deadline
– Tutorial available:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HLFo
OoVGQY&feature=youtu.be
11. www.sam.gov
System for Award Management
• Must have an Entity Record
• One-time registration
• Update information once a year
12. Elements of PAG Proposal
• Abstract
• Narrative
– Statement of problem/need
– Goals/objectives
– Methodology/plan of work
• Budget
• Appendices (supporting
documentation)
13. Narrative
• Persuade the granting agency
• Focus on the need in the community, not
just the institution
• Support claims with evidence
• Avoid library/archive/museum/records
management jargon
• Emphasize that your institution is capable
of completing the project
14. Budget
• Look at provided example
• Be clear about purpose of line
items
– Never “misc. supplies”
15. Proposal Preparation
• Be emphatic
• Maintain a confident tone
• Keep it easy to read
• Many contributors, ONE writer
• Be thorough
• Use an outside editor and budget
reviewer
16. Application Advice
• Look at list of sample projects
• Review sample narratives & budget
• Review NEH PAG FAQs
• LYRASIS will review drafts
• Allow adequate time for revisions
17. Review Process
• Reviewers
• Ranking proposals
• PAG recipients will hear from NEH
by January 2016
• Not successful? Ask why and
reapply!
According to the 1965 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, "The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life."
To use grants.gov, you must also have an Entity record from sam.gov The General Service Administration’s (GSA) Office of Government wide Policy is consolidating the government wide acquisition and award support systems into one new system—the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is streamlining processes, eliminating the need to enter the same data multiple times, and consolidating hosting to make the process of doing business with the government more efficient. Entity records must be updated at least annually. To quote the NEH web SITE “We strongly recommend that you update (or, if necessary, create) your SAM Entity record at least four weeks before the application deadline” Your institution may have already registered in sam.gov - speak with your grants officer or foundations office
In order to gear up to do your writing, I know some people like to review some of the overarching principles and steps that you may face when developing a grant proposal- so I’ll point you to a few that may be helpful….
We have a short, free, self-paced class that you can take- this class introduces you to some of the top questions to ask yourself when developing a grant proposal
This short course is available through the foundation center and has a bunch of good tips (short course is free- the others they charge for..)
As new and different grants come out we will post them here- join us!