Save Our History Grants
Museums, historic sites, historical societies, preservation organizations, libraries, and archives are invited to partner with a local school or youth group and apply for funding to help preserve the history of their communities. Each year, The History Channel awards grants of up to $10,000 to organizations across the country that partner with schools or youth groups on community preservation projects that engage students in learning about, documenting, and preserving the history of their communities.
Organization Requirements:
Eligible applicants are required to be nonprofit 501(c)(3) history organizations such as a museum, historical society, preservation organization, historic site, library, archive, or other history organization.
Applicant organizations must be located in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.
Other eligible applicants include local government agencies such as a parks and recreation commission, historic commission, department of local history, or other local government agency that owns and/or operates a historic site or property.
Eligible applicants must partner with a local elementary, middle, or high school, or an organization that provides educational programming for children of similar ages. Applicants may partner with multiple schools or educational organizations.
Eligible applicants must submit the application on behalf of their partner school(s) or educational organization(s) as the school(s) or educational organization(s) are not eligible to be the applicant
Organizations that have received a Save Our History grant in the last three years are not eligible to apply.
Criteria:
The Save Our History Grant Review Panel will judge submitted applications based on the following three key criteria:
Proposed projects must focus on exploring and preserving a significant aspect of community history. Projects might focus on the history and/or efforts to help preserve a neighborhood, building, cemetery, historic site, historic collections, or an historic event or tradition that is important to the local community. The project could include primary research, physical preservation or clean-up efforts, historical documentation, archaeological or architectural studies, oral histories, exhibits, efforts to register or advocate for a site for national, state, or local historic landmark status, etc.
Proposed projects must raise awareness among students and community members about the significance of their local heritage and the importance of preserving it.
Proposed projects must include a tangible resource that captures students' effort to learn about and preserve their local history in a unique, creative way.
While applicants can include multiple tangible resources, one resource that creatively captures the project objective is sufficient. Resources can include an exhibit, a notebook, research documentation, a photo or video documentary, a map, pamphlet, walking/driving tour, oral history, historical marker, podcast, etc.