National Historical Publications and Records Commission: Publishing Historical Records Grant

Projects may focus on the papers of major figures from American life or cover broad historical movements in politics, military, business, reform movements, the arts, and other aspects of the national experience. The historical value of the records and their expected usefulness to broad audiences must justify the costs of the project.

Grants are awarded for collecting, describing, preserving, compiling, editing, and publishing documentary source materials. The NHPRC does not fund proposals to purchase historical records; it also does not fund proposals to publish the papers of anyone who has been deceased for fewer than ten years.

Eligible Activities Include:

-Scholarly documentary editions in printed and bound volumes.
-Scholarly documentary editions in online, compact disc, and other formats.
-Image editions in online, compact disc, microfilm, and other formats.
-Conversion of existing print and microfilm editions to electronic publications.
-Combinations of the above.
A publishing project that has received NHPRC support can apply for a grant for a new or subsequent stage of that project. These proposals must demonstrate that they have successfully completed the performance objectives associated with previous NHPRC grant awards. Proposals must be substantially updated, including a description of the new activities and a justification of the new budget. The applicant must describe the extent to which the project met its performance objectives under its most recent grant.

Applicants not previously funded may apply for a grant to begin a historical documents publishing project. These applications are considered with other proposals and will be judged by the same criteria as others in that competition. All applicants should be aware that the application process is highly competitive.

Award Information:
Applicants may apply for funding up to three years. Applicants should be aware that the Commission normally awards grants on an annual basis; subsequent funding is conditioned on previous years’ project performance/accomplishments. Award amounts ordinarily range from $20,000 to $250,000 annually. The Commission expects to make as many as 35-40 grants in this category.

In accordance with Federal regulations, the Commission reserves, for Federal Government purposes, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work and authorize others to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work that results from each grant.

The Commission requires that grant recipients acknowledge NHPRC grant assistance in all publications and other products that result from grant support.

Cost Sharing:
Cost sharing is required. Cost sharing is the financial contribution the applicant pledges to the cost of a project. Cost sharing can include both direct and indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project. The Commission ordinarily provides no more than 50 per cent of total project costs for Publishing Historical Records projects.

Before beginning the process, applicants should review full grant announcement (linked below) and the rules and regulations governing NHPRC grants under the Administering an NHPRC Grant section.