Grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Louis J. Appell, Jr., Preservation Fund for Central Pennsylvania are designed to encourage preservation at the local level by providing money for the maintenance and preservation of historic places in Central Pennsylvania (see “Eligible Applicants” for specific geographical boundaries). These grants enable local groups to respond proactively to a preservation challenge by providing funding for bricks and mortar preservation and technical assistance, while building public awareness of the value of preserving Central Pennsylvania’s unique heritage. Grant applications in the range of $5,000 - $15,000 will be accepted.

Application and Review Timeline

Application deadlines are February 1, June 1 and October 1. The application becomes available in our online grants application portal about 6-8 weeks prior to the deadline. The review process is generally completed within ten weeks of the application deadline, and applicants are notified via email once the review process is complete.

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must be either a public agency, 501(c) (3), or other nonprofit organization to be considered eligible. Applicants that have received previous National Trust financial assistance are eligible provided that all grant requirements are current.

No more than three grants will be awarded in any two-year period to a single grantee. Only one grant will be awarded per organization in any grant round. Only one grant will be awarded for a particular project phase.

Only Organizational Level Preservation Leadership Forum Members, Main Street America Community Members, and Main Street America General Members are eligible to receive funding from the National Trust Preservation Fund. Organizations do not need to have an active membership to apply for a grant, but selected grantees will be required to become members prior to the release of funds. Your membership status will be verified by our grants office once award decisions have been made. If you have questions about your membership status, please email members@savingplaces.org.

In order to apply, the property and project must be located in one of the following Pennsylvania counties:

Grant Conditions

Applicants must be capable of matching the grant amount on a one-to-one basis. Both cash and in-kind donations count toward the one-to-one required match. The required match can come from private or public sources, from income earned from registration fees or sales, or from fundraising activities. In-kind donations of labor, materials or services will also be considered eligible for meeting the matching requirement. Matching funds must be used to fund eligible expenses listed below. Other funding from the National Trust may not be used to match an NTPF grant. Other funding from the National Trust may not be used to match a Louis J. Appell, Jr., Preservation Fund for Central Pennsylvania grant.

Other conditions include:

• Grants or matching funds cannot be used directly or indirectly to influence a member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriation.
• Any documents or plans for preservation work that result from the project must conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• At least two (3) competitive bids/quotes must be obtained for any procurement of services that exceed $50,000. This provision applies only to portions of the project supported by National Trust grant funds.
• Consultants, if being used, must be approved by the National Trust before grant funds are disbursed. This approval process will happen post-notification. Board members of the applicant organization cannot serve as consultants unless appropriate conflict of interest procedures are followed and documented.
• Grant recipients are required to sign a contract agreeing to the conditions of the program.
• Grant projects must either begin within six months of award date or a formal extension must be requested by email. Failure to begin the project or request an extension in this time frame may result in the cancellation of the grant and you will need to reapply for funding.
• Grant recipients must include appropriate acknowledgement of National Trust financial support in all printed materials generated for the project.
• Within one year from the grant award date, a final report and financial accounting of the expenditure of the grant must be submitted. A final report form will be provided. If the project is not completed in accordance with the contract, the grant funds must be returned.
• Applicants must agree not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, creed, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, mental and physical disabilities, sex (including pregnancy), personal appearance, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation or veteran status.

Eligible Activities

Louis J. Appell, Jr., Preservation Fund for Central Pennsylvania grants are awarded for preservation projects in twenty-one counties of central Pennsylvania. Examples of eligible activities may include the following:

• Restoration, rehabilitation, or preservation of historic buildings, including bricks-and-mortar construction and repair, as well as costs associated with retaining the services of professionals in the areas of architecture, engineering, preservation, land-use planning, or natural resource conservation
• Activities related to the conservation of land that contribute to the historic or cultural heritage of Central Pennsylvania
• Preservation services that directly contribute to the preservation of a specific historic or cultural site including planning, development of promotional/marketing materials, and interpretive or educational programming

Ineligible Activities

• Academic research
• Book-length publications
• Historic resource surveys to create inventories or to list resources in the National Register

Eligible Expenses

• Nonprofit applicants may include staff salaries for staff members directly working on the funded project
• Fees for consultant services
• Speaker/faculty costs (honoraria, travel, and lodging), room rental for conferences
• Hard costs related to the restoration, rehabilitation or maintenance of the property
• Acquisition costs
• Mailing costs for distribution of materials
• Web site development
• Materials and services such as printing, photographs, telephone, and supplies. With the exception of publications projects, these costs may not exceed 10 percent of the project budget.

Ineligible Expenses

• Organizational overhead costs
• Catering, food and beverage, entertainment
• Expenses incurred prior to award date

Criteria

The Louis J. Appell, Jr., Preservation Fund for Central Pennsylvania selection committee will place particular importance on the likelihood that the requested assistance will make a significant contribution to the preservation, restoration, or interpretation of a specific historic property. Related factors to be considered include:

• The historic significance of the property to be assisted
• The extent to which the requested assistance will make a difference in preserving, restoring, or interpreting the historic property or site, including what other funds might be leveraged by an award
• The effort which owners and local supporters are willing to commit to the project
• The potential of the project to be a catalyst for further positive action to benefit other historic properties, the local community, or Central Pennsylvania
• The adequacy of plans for the future maintenance of the property or the continuation of the activity for which grant support is requested
• The ability and willingness of the applicant to carry out the proposed plans or activity if assistance is awarded

How to Apply

You will need the following items as part of your Preservation Funds application:

• Up to three digital images of high quality (300 dpi) with caption and credit information.
• Applicant's Internal Revenue Service determination letter of tax-exempt status. If tax-exempt status has not been fully approved by the IRS, please provide evidence of filing for certification and letter of opinion from an attorney concerning the applicant's tax status (nonprofit organizations).
• Letter of consent from property owner (if applicant does not own property).
• Completed National Trust Preservation Funds application, which includes a budget section that outlines proposed expenses and revenue for the project.

National Trust grants staff can provide helpful guidance for the application process if you have questions. If you have specific questions about your project's eligibility, please contact our grants staff.

Application Procedure

Access the application for the National Trust Preservation Funds.

You will be taken to the National Trust grants application system where you will need to create a user profile for your organization. If your organization has applied for a grant previously, you will sign into your existing organization profile. If you have questions please email us.

Please add administrator@grantinterface.com to your address book to ensure you receive email communications sent from our grants application system about your application.