Documentary Heritage Program Grants

Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) grants-in-aid are designed to encourage more inclusive documentation of New York State’s history and culture by supporting projects that identify, survey, collect, and make available important records relating to traditionally under-represented groups and topics. It is a statewide program established by law to provide financial and technical support to nonprofit organizations, including, but not limited to archives, libraries, historical societies and museums and other organizations, that hold, collect and make available historical records. The New York State Archives, a unit of the State Education Department, administers the program.

Timetable for Grant Projects: Grants in this cycle are for up to 12-month projects, from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013. Applications must be postmarked by Thursday, March 1, 2012. 

Eligibility: Applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements in order to apply. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit community organizations, archives, libraries, historical societies, and similar institutions within New York State and consortia or partnerships of such agencies. Also eligible are service providers such as historical service agencies, colleges and universities, professional associations, or other not-for-profit institutions or systems that provide services to historical records programs.

Range of funds available: A total of $92,000 is expected to be available for grant projects; grants will be available in amounts up to $25,000.

Funding Priorities: Several topical areas are available for projects. Such projects are supported to provide a more even historical record in New York State.

• First level priority topics are Population Groups in the 20th and 21st Centuries; Economic Change in the 20th and 21st Century; World Trade Center Disaster, September 11, 2001; Education Policy.
• Second level topics priorities are Environmental Affairs and Mental Health
• Third level topics priorities are falling outside Priority Level One and Two but address New York State topics that are under-documented.

Project Categories: Four types of projects are eligible for consideration:

1. Documentation projects to identify, survey, and plan for the collection of records
2. Arrangement and description of historical records.

Ineligible Projects: The following types of projects are not eligible for funding:

• Projects that do not have primary focus on New York State
• Digitization (projects to create digital records)
• Newspapers. Newspapers are not considered historical records within the meaning of the DHP law.
• Preservation. The DHP law does not fund preservation, meaning physical work to conserve, restore, or repair records, or microfilming or other reproduction primarily for preservation purposes.
• Oral history and videotaping.
• Item-level description and indexing.

Application: Grant application forms may be obtained by emailing the State Archives or by visiting the State Archives Web site www.archives.nysed.gov and clicking on Grants and Awards.

For further information, please contact:
Pamela Cooley/Documentary Heritage Program

New York State Archives

Room 9C71 Cultural

Education Center Albany, NY 12230

518-474-6276

email: dhs@mail.nysed.gov