Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections | 20190131 PF

Opportunity Information: Apply for 20190131 PF

The Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (SCHC) grant opportunity, offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), supports cultural institutions that are responsible for preserving significant humanities collections and want to do that work in a practical, long-term, and environmentally responsible way. The program is designed for organizations that care for large and varied collections such as books and manuscripts, photographs, audio and moving image materials, art, and historical, archaeological, and ethnographic objects. Its central focus is helping institutions slow ongoing deterioration, extend the usable life of collections, and strengthen their ability to withstand and recover from emergencies caused by natural events or human activity.

A key idea behind SCHC is preventive conservation, meaning the day-to-day, building-and-systems approach to preservation that reduces damage before it happens rather than relying primarily on item-by-item treatment after materials have already degraded. In practice, that includes managing environmental conditions like relative humidity and temperature, controlling light exposure and pollutants, improving storage enclosures and collection housing systems, and reducing risks from theft, fire, water intrusion, floods, and other disasters. The grant emphasizes that large-scale collection care is most effective when institutions invest in these preventive measures, because they protect many materials at once and can prevent catastrophic loss.

What makes SCHC distinct is its emphasis on sustainability and resilience. Projects are expected to balance preservation effectiveness with realistic cost considerations and environmental impact. The program encourages strategies that can support an institution's financial health over time, lower reliance on fossil fuels, and align with broader energy efficiency or green initiatives, while still protecting collections and keeping them available for research, teaching, public programming, and lifelong learning. In addition, SCHC recognizes that a sustainable preservation plan should include emergency readiness and recovery capacity, helping institutions prepare for, absorb, respond to, and recover from disruptive events while minimizing damage to collections.

Applicants are generally expected to come into the program with a foundation of basic preservation planning already in place. That can include steps such as completing a general preservation plan, maintaining a collection inventory, developing an emergency plan, and conducting baseline assessments or monitoring of building and storage environments. SCHC funding is then aimed at building on those established priorities to address longer-term collection care needs in a thoughtful, strategic way. Because the right solution depends heavily on the materials being preserved, the building envelope, and local climate conditions, the program allows for multiple approaches rather than a single required model.

Another major expectation is interdisciplinary collaboration. SCHC projects typically involve teams that combine internal staff knowledge with outside expertise, bringing together people such as architects, engineers, conservators, conservation scientists, curators, archivists, and facilities managers. This team-based approach reflects the reality that sustainable preservation often depends on integrating collections knowledge with building systems and operational planning, especially when projects involve environmental controls, storage upgrades, or risk mitigation improvements.

In terms of basic opportunity details, SCHC is a discretionary grant program in the humanities (CFDA 45.149). Eligible applicants include a wide range of public and nonprofit entities, including state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled colleges and universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions). The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $350,000. The referenced funding opportunity number is 20190131 PF, with an original closing date of January 31, 2019, and a creation date of November 20, 2018.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.149.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-11-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-01-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for 20190131 PF

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