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Heritage Project Grant Program

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Applications for 2021 Heritage Project Grant Program Now Available 

The 2021 Heritage Grant Program is intended to support projects that increase public awareness and access to Tacoma’s history, as well as and support the City of Tacoma’s policy goals regarding equity and antiracism. Eligible applicants including non-profits and public and educational institutions are encouraged to apply. The matching grants, totaling $50,000, can be awarded for amounts between $1,000 and $10,000 for projects.


Funding can be used for a number of activities, including:

  • Exhibitions, workshops, events or educational activities
  • Development and production of interpretive materials
  • Professional services required to research a historical publication or register nomination 
  • Documentation of an artifact or historical site,
  • A historic site assessment, conservation materials, and, in some limited cases, capacity building for organizations with heritage as their primary mission

Funding for Heritage Projects is determined through a competitive application process, and funding from year to year is not guaranteed. Contract awards will be based on budgetary factors and the evaluation criteria detailed on the guidelines form.

 

Past Award Recipients

 

2018 Award Recipients

In 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission awarded $40,000 in Heritage Project Grant funding to the following nine organizations:

  • Downtown on the Go: $2,000 for three walking tours that focus on Tacoma’s history. 
  • Fort Nisqually Foundation: $5,000 for a special exhibit and permanent signage to highlight agricultural history related to the Fort.
  • Historic Tacoma: $3,000 for the redesign of the Historic Tacoma website. 
  • HistoryLink.org: $3,925 for the development of twelve articles that focus on the diverse and significant people in Tacoma’s history.
  • Job Carr Cabin Museum: $1,500 for the annual Pioneer Days Festival, which highlights Job Carr and Tacoma’s pioneer history.
  • Knights of Pythias: $3,000 for the acquisition of equipment to create a digitized and searchable archive of Knights of Pythias artifacts and documents. 
  • Pierce Conservation District: $7,500 for interpretive materials for three of Tacoma’s community gardens highlighting diverse agricultural history.
  • Points Northeast Historical Society: $4,500 to conduct a historic structures report to guide the restoration of the Browns Point Light Station.
  • Tacoma Historical Society: $10,000 for the development and installation of an exhibit on “1918: A Year of Destiny” and outreach inspired by the 1918 Liberty Bond drives.

2016 Award Recipients

In 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission awarded $50,000 in Heritage Project Grant funding to the following eight Tacoma organizations:

  • Fort Nisqually Foundation: Awarded $3,900 for the “Saving Fort Nisqually” exhibit that illustrates the significance of the preservation and relocation of the Fort’s historic buildings.
  • Job Carr Cabin Museum: Awarded $1,250 for the annual Pioneer Days Festival, which highlights Job Carr and Tacoma’s pioneer history.
  • Buffalo Soldiers Museum: Awarded $5,000 for the “Honoring the Past and Embracing the Future” event to increase awareness of the Buffalo Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen, as well as honor Pierce County’s military history. 
  • Urban Grace Church: Awarded $4,050 for a Historic Structures Report, by Artifacts Consulting, to guide future upgrades and maintenance decisions.
  • Tacoma Historical Society: Awarded $14,737 for the development and installation of three exhibits: “Mapping Tacoma,” “Tacoma’s Dry Goods and Wet Goods: Nineteenth Century Jewish Pioneers,” and “City of Creation”— and a companion book on Tacoma’s Jewish history.
  • Northwest Leadership Foundation: Awarded $5,176 for the development of the “Tacoma Back Stage Pass”, a bus tour of historical sites related to social justice in Tacoma. 
  • Foss Waterway Seaport: Awarded $13,887 for the development and installation of new exhibit, “First Navigators: Native Americans of the South Sound Waterfront,” focusing on the life of the Puyallup People along the waterfront.
  • Shanaman Sports Museum: Awarded $2,000 for the transferring of archival material into an online Sports Museum Flipbook.

 

Heritage Project Grant Program Details 

 

Eligibility

Applicants must generally have their offices or primary location of activities within the Tacoma city limits. The following organizations are eligible for the Heritage Grant Program:

  • Private non-profits with any 501(c) designation.
  • Organized group of community volunteers (for example, a business district or neighborhood council with an advisory body, business license, and organizational bank account.) Submissions must come from an organization.
  • Public agencies and educational institutions.

 

Eligible Projects

In general, projects must be related to the history of Tacoma or Tacoma’s cultural or historic resources, be located within Tacoma City Limits, and be accessible to all audiences.

 

Criteria

  • Historic importance or significance of the subject matter (10 pts)
  • Level of community impact (10 pts)
  • General quality of the proposal (5 pts)
  • Organizational commitment to history and heritage (5 pts)
  • Demonstrated ability to execute and complete the project (5 pts)

 

Funding Details

  • Applicants can apply for anywhere between $1,000 and $10,000 for their project. Actual amounts will be based upon the availability of funds and review of each application as measured against the evaluation criteria detailed in these guidelines. 
  • Applicants must employ a variety of revenue sources to fund their project.
  • Applicant must match Heritage Projects funding at least 1:1 with other sources of cash or in-kind support. Taxing authorities, schools, and school-based auxiliary organizations must match Heritage Projects funding at least 1:1 with other sources of cash.
  • A broad funding base indicates both community support for, and the financial stability of, the project and organization. 
  • Money will be reimbursed to the applicant following the execution of a contract for services to the City and the completion of the funded project per the contract terms. Recipients (contractors) must be prepared to cover the costs of the program until that time.

 

Information, Questions and Comments

Susan Johnson

Historic Preservation Coordinator

Email

(253) 281-7445

 

Application Form

2021 Heritage Project Grant Guidelines and Application (PDF)

2021 Heritage Project Grant Guidelines and Application (Word)