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Resources like ours help individuals and institutions preserve and protect their collections. Advance your skills with program materials, professional development, and funding opportunities.

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Outside Funding Sources

The following list of conservation-related grant and fellowship programs may be helpful to you. Listings include descriptions of funding opportunities for both institutional and individual applicants with links to specific information about each program. 

Students from The George Washington University Museum Studies program update these listings annually. Due to COVID-19, some of the listed deadlines may be canceled or postponed. Contact organizations directly to confirm current offerings and new deadlines. 

Information on FAIC funding for individual study or research programs in conservation is at culturalheritage.org/funding.

For Institutional Projects

  • American Alliance of Museums - Museum Assessment Program
    The Museum Assessment Program (MAP) helps small and mid-sized museums maintain and improve operations by providing guidance in meeting priorities and goals and understanding how your museum compares to standards and best practices. This program is supported through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Museums can apply for a Collections Stewardship Assessment. Deadlines are June 1, 2021, and September 1, 2021. www.aam-us.org/map
  • Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
    The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has established a clearing house of information to assist the preservation community and the general public in exploring the range of preservation funding options. The emphasis is on federal funding, with more limited discussion of state, tribal, local, and non-profit funding opportunities. Federal grants fund the preservation, interpretation, and reuse of historic properties. www.achp.gov
  • The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 
    The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation program for art museums is designed to help cultural institutions build and sustain their capacity to undertake serious scholarship on their permanent collections; to preserve these collections; and to share the results of their work in appropriate ways with scholarly and other audiences. While the foundation does not specifically cite grant opportunities, Funding opportunities are divided into four core program areas:
    • Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities
    • Arts and Cultural Heritage
    • Scholarly Communications
    • International Higher Education and Strategic Projects

      Under Arts and Cultural Heritage, the foundation funds projects in Art History, Conservation, and Museums. www.mellon.org

  • Archaeological Institute of America - Site Preservation Grant 
    This grant is intended to fund projects that uphold the AIA's mission to preserve and promote the world's archaeological heritage for future generations. The goal of the grant (which carries a maximum value of $15,000 to be awarded over the course of one to three years) is to aid in the preservation of threatened archaeological sites by implementing conservation, protection and/or monitoring. Programs that include education and public outreach components are encouraged. Applications are evaluated annually with an application deadline of November 1, 2021. www.archaeological.org
  • Bank of America Art Conservation Project

    The Bank of America Art Conservation Project provides grants to nonprofit museums throughout the world to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration - including objects that have been designated as national treasures. All nonprofit cultural institutions with artwork requiring much-needed conservation are encouraged. www.bankofamerica.com/artconservation 

  • Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN)

    The Conservation Treatment Grant Program, administered by the Greater Hudson Heritage Network (Greater Hudson), in association with the Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), provides preservation support for treatment, collection component assessments, and collections management assistance. Museums, historical organizations, or other cultural institutions registered to do business in New York State are encouraged to apply: www.greaterhudson.org

    • Conservation Treatment Grants Program provides support for treatment procedures to aid in stabilizing and preserving individual items in collections of museums, historical and cultural organizations in New York State. The application must include condition report(s) and treatment proposal(s). Applications open now and due: September 1, 2021. 
  • Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
    The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. Application forms and Notices of Funding Opportunities for the current fiscal year are made available approximately 90 days before the grant deadline, but until that time, applications and guidelines from the previous year are available for reference. www.imls.gov/grants/apply-grant/available-grants. IMLS has changed the application deadlines for five open library services grant programs but all other deadlines have remained unchanged. Any changes to deadlines will be posted in an IMLS news release and in Grants.gov.

    All grant programs identified by the IMLS’ Notices of Funding Opportunities are included here; many of them specifically target preservation and access, as well as innovation in museum and library services. Current IMLS grant opportunities include: 

  • National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT)

    The Preservation Technology and Training (PTT) Grants program provides funding for innovative research that develops new technologies or adapts existing technologies to preserve cultural resources. Grant recipients undertake innovative research and produce technical reports which respond to national needs in the field of historic preservation. The deadline for funding this year has passed; check back for 2021. See: www.ncptt.nps.gov/grants/preservation-technology-and-training-grants/

    For 2020, the PTT grants are focused on: 

    • Innovative research that develops new technologies or adapts existing technologies to preserve cultural resources (typically $20,000)
    • Specialized workshops or symposia that identify and address national preservation needs (typically $15,000 to $20,000)
    • How-to videos, mobile applications, podcasts, best practices publications, or webinars that disseminate practical preservation methods or provide better tools for preservation practice (typically $5,000 to $15,000)
  • National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
    Each state has a historic preservation officer who may be able to provide additional suggestions specific to your state or region. To find the preservation officer in your state, visit www.ncshpo.org
  • National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) - Arts Indemnity Program
    The National Endowment for the Arts offers grants to organizations, individuals, and partnership agreements. While many of these funding opportunities may not specifically apply to preservation projects, they all share in the goal of laying “..the groundwork for systemic changes that sustain the integration of arts, culture, and design into local strategies for strengthening communities.” See: https://www.arts.gov/grants/apply-grant/grants-organizations.
    • Challenge America, including Our Town and Research Awards
    • Partnership Agreements program
    • The NEA administers the U.S. Government's Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program on behalf of the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities (FCAH). The Indemnity Program was created by Congress in 1975 for the purpose of minimizing the costs of insuring international exhibitions.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) – Preservation and Access, Federal/State Partnership, Research, Challenge Programs, Digital Humanities, as part of seven Divisions and Offices. 

    Specifically, the division of Preservation and Access’ grant programs recognize that good stewardship of cultural resources requires equal attention to both preservation and access. All of the division’s programs focus on ensuring the long-term and wide availability of primary resources in the humanities. www.neh.gov

    NEH is accepting, reviewing, and processing grant applications on its normal schedule. Deadlines for current NEH grant program applications range from  April 14, 2021 to January 13, 2022 . Current Grant Program Opportunities include:

    Humanities and Collections Reference Resources

  • National Film Preservation Foundation Grants 
    The NFPF helps archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and universities preserve and increase accessibility of American films, in addition to offering grants that support the preservation and increased accessibility of American orphan films of historic and cultural interest. The NFPF offers basic preservation grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 for laboratory work, federally funded, matching grants for large-scale preservation, reconstruction, or restoration projects, and Avant-Garde grants to support the preservation of America’s Avant-Garde film heritage. The application deadline for basic preservation grants and matching grants is March 26, 2021. www.filmpreservation.org
  • National Trust Preservation Funds Grants
    The National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation offers several types of financial assistance to nonprofit organizations, public agencies, for-profit companies, and individuals involved in preservation-related projects. These grants aim to help stimulate public discussion, enable local groups to gain the technical expertise needed for particular projects, introduce the public to preservation concepts and techniques, and encourage financial participation by the private sector. Amounts awarded range from $2,500 to $5,000 and the application deadlines are February 1, June 1 and October 1. www.savingplaces.org
  • Society for Industrial Archeology
    The Society for Industrial Archeology offers Industrial Heritage Preservation Grants (IHPG) ranging from $1000 to $3000 for the study, documentation, recordation, and/or preservation of significant historic industrial sites, structures, and objects. Funds are awarded to projects that include but are not limited to: increasing public awareness of preservation efforts, photography, videography, preparing inventories and developing measured drawings of extant significant industrial sites, structures, maritime facilities and industrial artifacts. Awards are made to both nonprofit organizations and qualified individuals. The application deadline is March 1 to be considered for that year. www.sia-web.org
  • Samuel H. Kress Foundation - Conservation Grants Program
    The Kress Foundation Conservation Grants program supports the professional practice of art conservation, especially as it relates to European art of the pre-modern era. Grants are awarded to projects that create and disseminate specialized knowledge, including archival projects, development and dissemination of scholarly databases, documentation projects, exhibitions and publications focusing on art conservation, scholarly publications, and technical and scientific studies. Grants are also awarded for activities that permit conservators and conservation scientists to share their expertise with both professional colleagues and a broad audience through international exchanges, professional meetings, conferences, symposia, consultations, the presentation of research, exhibitions that include a prominent focus on materials and techniques, and other professional events. Application deadlines are March 1, September 1, and December 15. www.kressfoundation.org

    The     FAIC Kress Conservation Fellowship program provides a wide range of post-graduate fellowship opportunities for emerging conservators. FAIC administers the Kress Conservation Fellowship program on behalf of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The Kress Conservation Fellowship program provides competitive grants to museums and other conservation facilities to sponsor supervised post-graduate fellowship opportunities to help develop the skills of emerging conservators. Applications are due on January 22. www.kressfoundation.org

For Individual Study or Research

Funding for individual study or research in conservation is limited. The following sources may be of help.

  • American Academy in Rome
    For over a century, the American Academy in Rome has awarded the “Rome Prize” to support innovative and cross-disciplinary work in the arts and humanities. Each year, about thirty artists and scholars from various disciplines, including Historic Preservation and Conservation, are awarded the “Rome Prize.”  The deadline for applications is November 1 (or 15th for a fee). www.aarome.org
  • American Architectural Foundation - Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship
    Since 1990, the Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship, co-sponsored by the American Architectural Foundation and the French Heritage Society, offers mid-career American and French design professionals an intensive six-month exchange experience that showcases the latest scholarship and practice around historic preservation and architectural heritage. Applications for the 2022 American prize will open soon - sign up for an alert. architectsfoundation.org/
  • Fitch Foundation 
    The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation’s mission is to support professionals in the field of historic preservation and to provide mid-career grants to those working in preservation, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, decorative arts, architectural design and architectural history. Grants are awarded only to individuals, not organizations and the Foundation does not fund university-sponsored research projects or dissertation research. Check back for updates on 2021 deadlines. www.fitchfoundation.org
  • Fulbright Program
    The Fulbright Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide and awards approximately 8,000 competitive, merit-based grants annually in most academic disciplines and fields of study. eca.state.gov/fulbright
  • John Anson Kittredge Foundation
    The John Anson Kittredge Foundation has made small, one-time grants to conservators attending workshops and conferences. For more information, write to the John Anson Kittredge Foundation, c/o Ernest R. May, P.O. Box 2883, Cambridge, MA 02138. All materials should be received by the Fund no later than February 15 of the grant year. http://kittredgefund.org/
  • J. Paul Getty Trust and the Getty Grant Program 
    The Getty Foundation has many funding programs for scholars around the world and also administers grants for scholars who come to work at the Getty Center on behalf of the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Getty Trust. Grants specifically focused on conservation include the Getty Rothschild Fellowship, which supports innovative scholarship in the history of art, collecting, and conservation, and the Conservation Guest Scholar Program which supports new ideas and perspectives in the field of conservation (with an emphasis on the visual arts including sites, buildings, objects) and the theoretical underpinnings of the field. Deadlines for these and all other Getty Foundation fellowships have passed but check back in the Summer of 2021 for information about 2022-2023 applications. www.getty.edu/foundation/initiatives/
  • National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) Grants
    Preservation Technology and Training Grants are intended to create better tools, better materials, and better approaches to conserving buildings, landscapes, sites, and collections. The PTT Grants are administered by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), the National Park Service’s innovation center for the preservation community. Application deadlines for 2021 have closed, check back for updates on 2022 deadlines. ncptt.nps.gov
  • National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) – Preservation and Access, Federal/State Partnership, Research, Challenge Programs, Digital Humanities; seven divisions and offices. Specifically, the division of Preservation and Access’ grant programs recognize that good stewardship of cultural resources requires equal attention to both preservation and access. All of the division’s programs focus on ensuring the long-term and wide availability of primary resources in the humanities, and several grant programs are tailored to individuals. See: www.neh.gov

    NEH is accepting, reviewing, and processing grant applications on its normal schedule. Deadlines for current NEH grant program applications range from April 14, 2021, to January 13, 2022. Current Grant Program Opportunities include: 

  • National Gallery of Art - Conservation Fellowships
    Since 1983, the conservation division has offered fellowships that have enabled graduates of conservation programs to participate in the Gallery's mission to care for the collections. The program allows novice conservators to practice and refine their skills through the examination and treatment of works of art. The fellowships are supported by both The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation. Fellows serve for a three-year period in the painting, paper, object, or scientific research department. Conservation departments that are accepting fellowship applicants will be listed on the website with detailed instructions on how to apply.  www.nga.gov
  • Samuel H. Kress Foundation – Publication Fellowship

    The FAIC/Samuel H. Kress Conservation Publication Fellowships are focused on improving the quality and quantity of publications in the field of conservation by encouraging conservation professionals to prepare publishable manuscripts. The cash awards of $30,000 is payable in three installments as the manuscript is developed. The deadline for submission is November 1. This grant opportunity is funded by the Kress Foundation and administered by the FAIC; see AIC/FAIC

  • Smithsonian Postgraduate Fellowships in Conservation of Museum Collections
    This fellowships program is offered by the Smithsonian Institution to provide opportunities for recent graduates of masters programs in art and archaeological conservation or the equivalent, or conservation scientists (including those at the postdoctoral level) who wish to conduct research and gain further training in Smithsonian conservation laboratories for conservation of objects in museum collections. The amount awarded for the Postgraduate Conservation/Predoctoral Fellowship is $36,000 annually, with a research allowance up to $4,000. Application deadlines for 2020 have closed, check back for updates on 2022 deadlines. www.smithsonianofi.com
    • Smithsonian American Art Museum Fellowship Opportunities 
      The Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery invite applications for research fellowships in art and visual culture of the United States. Fellowships are residential and support full-time independent and dissertation research. Applicants should propose a SAAM primary advisor and are encouraged to share proposals with prospective advisors before applying. Check back for updates on 2022 deadlines. www.americanart.si.edu
  • University of Michigan Library Cathleen A. Baker Fellowship in Paper Conservation
    The Cathleen A. Baker Fellowship provides financial support for conservators at various levels in their careers, allowing them to spend time in the University of Michigan Library's Conservation Lab as they increase their knowledge about the conservation of paper-based collections. Projects that center on the conservation of related non-paper materials, such as papyrus or parchment/vellum, will also be considered. While most fellows will work with U-M Library conservators to increase their own knowledge and skills, a fellow may also join the lab primarily to pass on her/his expertise to the U-M conservators. Building and sharing knowledge are the primary goals of this fellowship. The application deadline for 2021 projects has passed, check back for updates on proposal deadlines for 2022. www.lib.umich.edu/preservation-and-conservation/cathleen-baker-fellowship-conservation
  • Winterthur Research Fellowship Program
    Academic, independent, and museum scholars, as well as advanced graduate students are invited to apply for short and long-term residential research fellowships. Research fellows conduct research in many areas of social and cultural history, including material culture, architecture, decorative arts, design, consumer culture, garden and landscape studies, Shaker studies, travel and tourism, the Atlantic World, and objects in literature. Check back for application deadlines. www.winterthur.org

For Formal Education Programs

  • The College Board has resources and links for various college scholarship programs. For more information, visit www.collegeboard.com.
  • In addition, if you are associated with a college or university, be sure to visit their websites. Most will have a wealth of resources and links.
--Page updated April 2021 by Mary Del Vecchio, George Washington University Museum Studies master’s program
--Page updated June 2020 by Sydney Sanderson, George Washington University Museum Studies master’s program
--Page updated May 2019 by Elana Oser, a recent graduate of the George Washington University Museum Studies master’s program. She currently is working as a Kress Collections Specialist at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
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