Timed Transcript for IMLS Office of Museum Services Webinar: Choosing a Funding Opportunity
for Fiscal Year 2023
Welcome to the Institute of Museum and Library Services Office of Museum Services Informational
Webinar, Choosing a Funding Opportunity for the Fiscal Year 2023.
Our goal in this presentation is to provide basic information to help you decide which
IMLS funding program is most likely to be the best fit for your project idea and your
institution.
This is one of a series of pre-recorded webinars designed to help you find the information
you need to create a competitive application for IMLS museum funding.
Once you decide on a grant program, we encourage you to watch the specific webinar for that
program.
These webinars will be available in September and can be accessed at WWW dot IMLS dot gov
backslash webinars, and then click On-Demand Webinars.
In this presentation, we will be addressing these topics.
First, we'll consider the IMLS vision, mission, and strategic plan.
Becoming familiar with them will help you understand why our grant programs are structured
the way they are, and why we ask you as an applicant to address certain issues in your
application.
Second, we’ll address basic institutional eligibility criteria to help you make good
preliminary decisions about which program to pursue.
Next, we'll present basic information about our funding programs and opportunities.
We'll show you where to find specific information on the IMLS website.
Then, we'll talk about the two registrations you must have in place in order to apply for
a grant and will stress how important it is to get this done well in advance of the grant
deadline.
Finally, we'll share where to find our contact information and invite you to get in touch
with us with any questions you might have or simply to talk about your project ideas.
IMLS's vision and mission statements were adopted as part of the agency's current strategic
plan.
Both emphasize that IMLS is here to support museums and libraries in their work of serving
their communities.
IMLS's vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives
of individuals and communities.
Our mission is to advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related
organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.
Much like your own institution's strategic plan, IMLS identifies goals to help us achieve
our vision and accomplish our mission.
There are three programmatic goals that drive our grantmaking, and you will see these concepts
referenced in much that we will talk about today as well as in the guidance for preparing
grant applications.
Goal One makes it clear that IMLS supports engaging learning experiences in museums for
people of all ages and interests.
Goal Two specifies that IMLS helps strengthen the capacity of museums to improve the well-being
of their communities by exploring methods of and implementing new approaches to community
collaboration.
Goal Three confirms that IMLS supports the stewardship of museum collections at institutions
of all types and invests in tools, technology, and training that enable people of all backgrounds
and abilities to discover and use museum collections and resources.
The IMLS strategic plan covering the period FY 2022 through 2026 is available on our website
at IMLS dot gov backslash about us backslash strategic plan.
The Office of Museum Services offers funding through six grant programs: Museums for America,
Museums Empowered, Inspire Grants for Small Museums, National Leadership Grants for Museums,
Museum Grants for African American History and Culture, and Native American Native Hawaiian
Museum Services Program.
We will go into each program in more detail later, so just keep the different programs
in mind as we go through the basic eligibility requirements.
Let's begin with funding eligibility requirements for IMLS grants.
All IMLS applicants must be either a unit of state, local, or tribal government, or
a private non-profit organization that has tax-exempt status under the IRS.
Several of our grant programs specify "museum" as an eligible type of organization.
To answer the question, “What types of institutions are included in the term ‘museum,’”
we share this list.
However, the list is not exhaustive.
Even if your organization's name does not include the word "museum," you may still be
eligible if you meet the requirements as set out in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Please take note that museums, as defined here, may stand alone as independent organizations
or they may be administered by a governing body, such as a college, university, tribe,
or a state or local government.
To explore that point just a bit further, in addition to meeting governance and geographic
requirements, to be eligible for funding as a "museum," an organization must also use
a professional staff.
An institution uses a professional staff if it employs at least one staff member or the
full-time equivalent, paid or unpaid, primarily engaged in the acquisition, care, or exhibition
to the public of objects owned or used by the institution.
It must be organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes;
Own or use tangible objects; Either animate or inanimate; care for these
objects; exhibit these objects to the general public on a regular basis, at least 120 days
a year; And conducts these activities in facilities
that it owns or operates.
For the FY 2023 deadline, due to closures resulting from COVID-19, applicants have three
ways in which to meet the 120 days open eligibility requirement.
First, you can measure the 120 days in the time period immediately before submitting
your application.
Second, you can measure the 120 days in the previous calendar year, or third, you can
measure 120 days in a year that ends the day of your shutdown.
For more details on each of these points, please look at the Eligibility Information
in any given grant program's Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Depending on the grant program, other organizations that may be eligible for funding include colleges
and universities; organizations that serve museums; federally recognized Native American
tribes; organizations that serve Native Hawaiians.
Be sure to check the specific Notice of Funding Opportunity for details on eligibility requirements,
which vary among grant programs.
So, who is eligible to apply for an IMLS grant?
Each of our grant programs has a slightly different set of eligibility criteria.
Some of these relate to governance systems, some relate to geography, and some relate
to institutional mission.
It's crucial, therefore, that you check the Notice of Funding Opportunity for each program
in which you are interested.
To get you started, however, we are making some very broad suggestions here.
Find your institution type in the column on the left and then check out the grant programs
corresponding to the X's in the columns on the right.
When you have identified a grant program of interest, take time to explore the eligibility
criteria that are presented in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
There are some organizations that cannot apply for IMLS grants.
These include federally funded institutions, for-profit organizations, and foreign countries
or organizations.
It also includes individuals.
While these entities cannot apply for an IMLS grant, there is no rule against their participating
as partners or providing services to a grant-funded project.
Let's turn to the funding programs we offer.
The Office of Museum Services offers two assessment programs: Museum Assessment Program, or MAP,
and the Collections Assessment for Preservation, or CAP program, and six grant programs: Museums
for America; Museums Empowered; Inspire Grants for Small Museums; National Leadership Grants
for Museums; Museum Grants for African American History and Culture; and Native American Native
Hawaiian Museum Services Program.
Through cooperative agreements, IMLS supports two main assessment programs, MAP and CAP.
Assessment programs are technical assistance programs that can help museums strengthen
operations and plan for the future.
Participating in an assessment program is a great starting point for small and mid-sized
museums, and the resulting documents can be used as supporting documents in future IMLS
grant applications.
The Museum Assessment Program, or MAP, is funded by IMLS and managed by the American
Alliance of Museums in Washington, DC.
It is available to small and mid-sized museums of all types, and its purpose is to help organizations
strengthen their operations, plan for the future, and meet professional standards through
self-study and a consultative site visit from an expert peer reviewer.
MAP participants can choose from five assessment types.
This basic, strategic, and holistic Organizational Assessment helps a museum look at its operations
primarily from the perspective of how well activities, resources, and mission align with
each other, and with professional ethics, practices, and standards.
The Collections Stewardship Assessment focuses on practical, ethical, and strategic collections
issues and activities related to the care and management of a museum's collections per
professional practices and standards.
The Education and Interpretation Assessment helps the museum evaluate how well it is carrying
out its educational role and mission, meeting core standards for education and interpretation.
This assessment also looks at the museum's educational content creation and delivery
from the perspective of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
The Community and Audience Engagement Assessment focuses on the museum's awareness and understanding
of, and relationship with, its various communities and audiences, and their perception of and
experience with the museum.
The advanced Board Leadership Assessment is for private non-profit museums with policy-making
boards and paid staff which are looking for guidance on how to strengthen their institution
and ensure its long-term success through more effective leadership-oriented governance.
To learn more, please visit WWW dot AAM dash US dot org backslash MAP, or call (202) 289-9118.
Applications will be due February 1, 2023.
To be notified when the application and full program details are released, please send
your contact information to MAP at AAM dash US dot org.
Also funded by IMLS and administered by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation
in Washington, DC, the Collections Assessment for Preservation, or CAP program, provides
small and mid-sized museums with support for general conservation assessments.
Through self-study and an on-site visit by a collections conservation specialist, as
well as a building specialist, CAP can assist your institution by helping
you decide how to invest limited funding and staff time; facilitating the development of
a long-term preservation plan; and serving as a fundraising tool for conservation projects.
CAP is often the first step for small and mid-sized institutions that wish to improve
the condition of their collections.
Potential applicants should refer to the FAIC website regularly for updates.
For detailed information about the application process and what happens during and after
the CAP process, Please visit WWW dot cultural heritage dot
org backslash CAP, call (202) 452-9545, or e-mail CAP at cultural heritage dot org.
Now, we will move on to the grant programs.
Our goal today is to get you on your way in choosing the right program for your needs.
There are six IMLS museum grant programs, and we’ll touch briefly on each one.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as we go through the six grant programs.
The application due date for all grant programs is November 15, 2022.
Pre-recorded webinars for each grant program will be posted on the IMLS website in early
September.
Please visit WWW dot IMLS dot gov backslash webinars in September to view the program
you are interested in.
Once you have listened to the program webinar, should you have any additional questions,
please feel free to contact one of the Senior Program Officers assigned to the program of
interest.
Museums for America, or MFA, is our largest grant program, receiving the largest number
of applications each year, and the one through which we make the largest number of awards.
The overall goal of the program is to support activities that strengthen the abilities of
museums to serve the public.
As an applicant, you must align your project with one of the agency's goals by choosing
a project category.
Your options are Lifelong Learning, Community Engagement, and Collections Stewardship and
Access, reflecting the programmatic goals of IMLS's strategic plan.
Grant requests may range from $5,000 to $250,000 for projects scheduled to last from 1 to 3
years.
Projects must begin on September 1, 2023.
MFA requires a 1 to 1 cost share.
This means that for every dollar you request from IMLS, you must plan to provide an additional
dollar in cash from a non-federal source, staff or volunteer time, or third-party in-kind
contributions.
MFA is open to museums, non-profit organizations responsible for the operation of a museum
who is applying on behalf of the museum, and museums located within a parent organization,
such as a state, local, or tribal government, Or a non-profit entity, such as a university,
historical society or, cultural center, may apply on behalf of a museum that operates
as a discrete unit within the parent organization.
Museums Empowered is a special initiative of Museums for America.
It is designed to support projects that use the transformative power of professional development
and training to generate systemic change within a museum.
Potential projects should address 1 of 4 project categories: Digital Technology, to provide
museum staff with the skills to integrate digital technology into museum operations;
Diversity and Inclusion, to support museum staff in providing inclusive services to people
of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and to individuals with disabilities;
Evaluation, to strengthen the ability of museum staff to use evaluation as a tool to shape
museum programs and improve outcomes.
Organizational Management, to strengthen and support museum staff as the essential part
of a resilient organizational culture.
Grant requests may range from $5,000 to $250,000 for projects scheduled to last from 1 to 3
years.
All projects must begin on September 1, 2023.
Museums Empowered requires a 1 to 1 cost share.
This means that for every dollar you request from IMLS, you must plan to provide an additional
dollar in cash from a non-federal source, staff or volunteer time, or third-party in-kind
contributions.
Museums Empowered is open to museums, non-profit organizations responsible for the operation
of a museum who is applying on behalf of the museum, and museums located within a parent
organization, such as a state, local, or tribal government,
Or a non-profit entity, such as a university, historical society, or cultural center may
apply on behalf of a museum that operates as a discrete unit within the parent organization.
Inspire Grants for Small Museums, another special initiative of the Museums for America
program, is designed specifically to help small museums address the priorities identified
in their strategic plans.
As an applicant, you must align your project with 1 of 3 project categories: Lifelong Learning,
Institutional Capacity, or Collections Stewardship.
Grant requests may range from $5,000 to $50,000 for projects scheduled to last from 1 to 2
years, and no cost share is required.
Projects must begin on September 1, 2023.
Inspire is open to museums, non-profit organizations responsible for the operation of a museum
who is applying on behalf of the museum, And museums located within a parent organization,
such as state, local, or tribal government or a non-profit entity, such as a university,
historical society, or cultural center, may apply on behalf of a museum that operates
as a discrete unit within the parent organization.
National Leadership Grants for Museums support projects that address critical needs of the
museum field and have the potential to advance practice in the profession so that museums
can improve services for the American public.
We invest in leaders, institutions, and partnerships that understand the challenges and opportunities
facing the field and devised plans to move the field forward by producing and making
available new tools, resources, research, findings, and models.
You can choose 1 of 3 project types, and each has its own funding request range, cost share
requirement, and grant period duration.
All NLG projects must begin on September 1, 2023.
Each of the NLG project types has its own funding request range, cost share, requirement,
and grant period duration.
Rapid prototyping projects allow you to try an innovative solution to a field-wide challenge
that requires funding to rapidly develop, test, iterate, and retest.
Rapid prototyping grant requests may range from $5,000 to $50,000.
For projects scheduled to last one year with no cost share required.
Research projects pose questions of importance to the field and use accepted research methodologies
to collect, analyze, and share the data that answers those questions.
Research grants requests may range from $50,000 to $750,000.
For projects scheduled to last 1 to 3 years with no cost share required.
Non-research projects support larger-scale efforts that results in tools and resources
for the field.
Non-research grant requests may range from $50,000 to $750,000 for projects scheduled
to last 1 to 3 years and requires a 1 to 1 cost share.
The goal of the Museum Brands for African American History and Culture Program, or AAHC,
is to build the capacity of African American museums and to support the growth and development
of museum professionals at African American Museums and Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
There are two funding levels in AAHC and each has its own cost share requirement.
For smaller scale projects requesting $5,000 up to $100,000, no cost share is required.
For larger projects requesting $100,001 to $500,000, a 1 to 1 cost share is required.
This means that for every dollar you request from IMLS, you must plan to provide an additional
dollar in cash from a non-federal source, staff or volunteer time, or third-party in-kind
contributions.
Projects must be scheduled to last from 1 to 3 years, and projects must begin on July
1, 2023.
The Native American Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program is designed to support Indian
tribes and organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining
heritage, culture, and knowledge through exhibitions, educational services and programming, workforce
professional development, organizational capacity building, and collections stewardship.
This program has very specific eligibility criteria, so make sure to review the details
if you are interested in applying.
Grant requests may range from $5,000 to $100,000 for projects scheduled to last from 1 to 3
years, and no cost share is required.
And projects must begin July 1, 2023.
The IMLS website has relevant information and resources to help you create a competitive
proposal, including information about each grant program, project descriptions of previously
awarded grants, sample applications, and peer reviewer guidance.
To find more information relevant to creating a competitive proposal, your first stop should
be the IMLS Available Grants webpage at WWW dot IMLS dot gov.
Backslash grants backslash apply dash grant to find information on our grant programs.
Visit the IMLS Available Grants webpage to access grant program webpages, application
instructions and to learn more about the application process, sample applications, the Search Awarded
Grants page, peer reviewer guidance, and required application forms.
Once you determine a program of interest, we recommend visiting its grant program page.
On this page, you will find the current Notice of Funding Opportunity, program contact information
and links to schedule a time to speak with program staff,
This Choosing a Funding Opportunity webinar, and the IMLS Grant Program Information Session
webinar.
We now want to draw your attention to two registration requirements, SAM dot gov and
Grants dot gov.
Your registrations must be complete and up to date for you to submit an application to
IMLS or to receive an award.
If you're starting from scratch, it's important to note that you must complete these registrations
in sequence.
We strongly recommend you check these registrations immediately to ensure that they are accurate,
current, and active, as it can take a long time to update or renew them.
The first place you must register is with SAM, which stands for System for Award Management.
SAM is a federal repository that centralizes information about grant applicants and recipients
and is free to all users.
Applicants must be registered with SAM before registering with Grants dot gov.
Registering with SAM is also free.
It can be time consuming, and you must renew your registration each year to keep it active.
Because SAM dot gov registration vary in their expiration dates, check your status early
on and take action to ensure you are registered and your registration is active.
Applicants and recipients must renew their registrations in SAM at least every 12 months
and sooner if their information changes.
An expired registration will prevent an organization from submitting applications via Grants dot
gov and receiving awards or payments.
Grant payments will be made to the bank account that is associated with the organization's
SAM registration.
Begin with the website and use the FAQs to answer questions.
If you have further SAM issues, call the Federal Service Desk at (866) 606-8220 Monday through
Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time.
A quick note about the Unique Entity Identifier.
Until April 2022, all non-federal entities were required to obtain a Dun and Bradstreet
Data Universal Numbering System number in order to apply for, receive, and report on
federal awards.
The Unique Entity Identifier, or UEI, has replaced the DUNS number and will be assigned
by SAM.
Applicants with active SAM registrations can find their assigned UEI in their SAM records.
Applicants without active SAM registrations will receive a UEI when they register in SAM.
The second place you need to register is with Grants dot gov.
Once your SAM registration is active, you can log into your SAM record to locate your
Unique Entity Identifier.
You need this active UEI to register in Grants dot gov.
Grants dot gov is a website owned and operated by the Federal Government and is free to all
users.
Applicants must register with Grants dot gov before submitting an application to IMLS.
To register, you must have an active SAM dot gov status and a UEI.
Applicants should make sure that the information associated with their SAM registration is
current and active.
Allow several weeks to complete the Grants dot gov registration.
The Grants dot gov website is extensive and its help capabilities are numerous and well-staffed.
Begin with the website and its FAQs, but if you need additional help, you may call their
help line at (805) 518-4726, which is available, 24 7, except on federal holidays.
Visit their support page at the website listed here, or e-mail them at support at Grants
dot gov.
This brings us to the end of the information we set out to share with you in this webinar,
but let's take a minute to summarize what we hope you will take away.
First, IMLS's vision, mission, and strategic plan are at the core of its grantmaking.
You would be well-served to consider these in thinking about your project for which you
will be seeking IMLS support.
Funding opportunities in FY 2023 include two technical assessment programs and six grant
programs.
Each grant program has its own set of eligibility requirements, and you should consider these
early on in the process of selecting a grant program.
Each grant program supports particular types of projects, aligning with programmatic goals.
Be sure that you choose the grant program with goals that match your project's intent.
Applications to all IMLS museum grant programs are due November 15, 2022.
It must have either a start date of September 1, 2023, or July 1, 2023, depending on the
program.
Our website, WWW dot IMLS dot gov, provides a wealth of information to help you create
a competitive grant application.
Start your explorations there.
It is very important to register early with SAM dot gov and Grants dot gov.
If you are already registered, be sure you know the usernames and passwords you'll need
well in advance of the day you submit your application.
And lastly, you should listen to the recorded versions and transcripts of all of our webinars
on our website at WWW dot IMLS dot gov backslash webinars.
Thank you for your interest in IMLS funding programs and opportunities, and for checking
out this webinar.
Good luck, and we look forward to seeing your application in November.