U.S. Department of the InteriorDOI News Header
Office of the Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2007
Contact:
Joan Moody,
202-208-6416

Preserve America Grants Available to Communities in all 50 States;
Application Deadline Dec. 12

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The U.S. Department of the Interior is inviting applications for the first round of FY 2008 federal Preserve America grants, with a deadline of Dec. 12. The Preserve America matching-grant program provides funding to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education and historic preservation planning.

"These Preserve America grants augment the historic preservation goals of the nation by helping communities to preserve their history, culture and natural settings and to tell their stories,” Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said in announcing the most recent round of grants. “As more Americans discover and participate in heritage tourism, a community’s history can become an economic engine for its future success.”

Preserve America grants offer funding to support communities that have demonstrated a commitment to preserving local cultural resources. New in 2006, this grant program so far has awarded a total of $9.8 million to 140 projects. The funding complements a program in which a total of 549 communities-- located in all 50 states--have been designated as Preserve America communities. 

Preserve America is a White House initiative developed in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Department of the Interior, and other federal agencies.  Mrs. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States, serves as the Honorary Chair of this initiative. The Preserve America grant program is administered by the National Park Service, part of the Department of the Interior, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. 

Preserve America grants will be awarded through a competitive process and each grant will require a dollar-for-dollar, non-federal match, which can be in the form of cash or in-kind donated services for grant-assisted work. 

Eligibility and Application Procedures:

To be eligible for a Preserve America grant, communities must:

  • be designated as Preserve America communities or neighborhoods OR
  • be a state historic preservation office or a tribal historic preservation office OR
  • be a Certified Local Government applying for Preserve America Community      designation. (Certified Local Governments can apply for designation and grants before the deadline—see websites quoted at end of release.)

Eligible activities include planning, development, implementation or enhancement of innovative activities and programs in heritage tourism, including interpretation/education, planning, marketing, training and research and documentation of cultural resources.  Successful projects will involve public-private partnerships and serve as models to communities nationwide for heritage tourism, historic preservation, education and economic development.

Applicants can access grant award and deadline information, find answers to grant related questions, information on previously funded projects, and obtain electronic versions of application material from the National Park Service website (www.cr.nps.gov/hps/hpg/preserveamerica); telephone (202.354.2020, ext. 2); or email NPS_preserveamerica@nps.gov.

For information on how to be designated as a Preserve America community, contact the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at (202) 606-8503, email achp@achp.gov, or visit www.preserveamerica.gov.

 
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