Across the country, descendant communities and families are engaged in exciting and groundbreaking efforts to reclaim, rescue, and share overlooked stories and places of resilience, achievement, and perseverance. The impact of these efforts deserves admiration, resources, and partnership. Grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund's Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative will empower and equip descendant-led and family-led organizations and projects to preserve, activate, and manage historic places. This initiative is a testament to our belief in the capacity of descendant communities and families to be full partners and leaders in the physical preservation, interpretative programming, management, and governance of historic places.

The Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative is not just another grant funding opportunity. It's a unique, multi-year partnership and investment opportunity with one grant funding category – Stewardship Project. Powered by the Mellon Foundation's Humanities in Place, the Action Fund will award five grants and invest $200,000 per grantee, providing specialized consultation and best practices support for a period of two years.

Descendant and Family Stewardship Grants support project management, capacity-building, grantmaking, and convenings for place-based organizations. In collaboration and consultation with the Action Fund, the selected grantees will engage in the following activities during the two-year grant period as we work together to preserve American history and model new approaches in historic preservation:

• Completing a Stewardship Project needs assessment to inform the scope of work, the use of the grant funds, and define project milestones and deliverables.
• Receiving $200,000 in grant funds to develop a Stewardship Plan and launch the implementation of its recommendations.
• Promoting the partnership, process, and lessons learned for other stewarding organizations to replicate.
• Participating in convenings with initiative stakeholders to share best practices, build community, and advance the field.

The Stewardship Project's scope of work, for example, can include architectural and design services, strategic and fundraising planning, interpretation and program development, community engagement and audience development, staff support, limited capital and restoration, and other priorities established through the assessment process.

The Action Fund provides consultation to meet our grantees’ organizational needs and priorities. Our role as the grantor is to work hand in hand with our grantee partners through a collaborative process focused on asset management of heritage resources and holistic stewardship visioning and planning. Project partners will work as a team to achieve the grantee's short-term and long-term stewardship goals.

Help Define Descendant in Historic Preservation

Today, the preservation field has varying views on defining "descendant," though it is often used in connection to heritage sites associated with slavery, such as a plantation, burial ground, or jail. The Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative is a collaborative effort that values the input of all stakeholders. Our work with grantees includes strategic collaboration across the historic preservation field to define “descendant” and establish more broadly-adopted language. For example, descendant communities can include a direct blood lineage or historical affiliation to a site of enslavement, like Virginia's Sharswood Plantation, or social movements in education and civil rights, such as Washington-Rosenwald Schools, Birmingham Foot Soldiers, and the Tulsa Race Massacre.

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is committed to understanding the different perspectives of descendant-led organizations and projects and seeks your help. Therefore, applicants for this grant can define “descendant” for themselves and make the case that their organization and project are descendant-led and family-led on the Letter of Intent (LOI) form. We deeply respect and value the unique perspectives and experiences that each organization brings to the table.

In addition to descendant-led, family-led describes organizations where family members with direct ties to a historic place help steward the site, such as a granddaughter advocating for Virginia's Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum, siblings volunteering at Philadelphia's John Coltrane Home, or a family saving a legacy farm. It may also include property owners of a historic residence or venue associated with Black history, actively supporting its preservation, public access, and interpretation.

Application Process

There is a two-step process to apply to receive a grant from the Descendent and Family Stewardship Initiative

1. Letter of Intent (LOI)
   Deadline: Monday, February 24, 2025, at 11:59pm PST
   The Letter of Intent (LOI) is an online application for applicants to demonstrate eligibility and show a preliminary indication of interest and capacity. All Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted through the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s online grant application system by the deadline. Supporting materials submitted (letters, budget, documents) after the deadline are ineligible. The Letter of Intent review period will take approximately four weeks. At the end of this initial review period in late March, all applicants will be notified of their current standing in the application process, whether it's acceptance, rejection, or a request for further information. A link to the application system is available at the bottom of this page.
2. Full Proposal Application
   Deadline: Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 11:59pm PST
   If the applicant’s Letter of Intent is successful and advances to the next phase, a complete application will be requested. Action Fund staff will send instructions for completing the full proposal application. Once the selected applicants receive notice to proceed, they will have approximately six weeks to complete and submit the full application. Action Fund staff members will actively engage with the applicants throughout the entire application stage, offering their assigned applicants technical support and advice to ensure they develop and submit competitive grant proposals -- potentially involving multiple in-person, virtual, or phone meetings in addition to email communication. This collaborative engagement will inform our selection process and grantmaking.

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants include:

• 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply, including statewide and local preservation organizations, churches, accredited private colleges or universities, historic sites, museums, historical societies, and genealogical associations. Organizations without 501(c)(3) status can apply in partnership with an eligible fiscal sponsor.
• Public agencies: State or local agencies, including boards, commissions, departments, accredited public colleges or universities, offices, agencies, public bodies, or political subdivisions of the state or a county or municipality. Examples include state historic preservation offices, city and county preservation offices and planning departments, state and local commissions focused on different aspects of heritage, and publicly owned historic sites and museums.

Applicants who have previously received National Trust for Historic Preservation and African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund financial assistance are eligible to apply, provided all grant requirements are current.

Grant Conditions

After submitting a Letter of Intent, invited applicants will prepare a Stewardship Project budget. Matching funds are not required for Descendent and Family Stewardship Initiative Grants, however, projects that leverage additional investments are strongly preferred. The following grant conditions apply, and it's important for potential applicants to be aware of these conditions before applying:

• The grant recipient must either own the property or have a written agreement with the property owner stating that the grantee has permission to undertake the grant-funded project.
• Grants or matching funds cannot support direct or indirect lobbying and/or influencing a member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriation.
• Any documents or plans for preservation work and construction projects must conform to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• For any procurement of services exceeding $50,000, the grant must submit three (3) competitive bids/quotes. This provision applies only to portions of the project supported by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund grant funds.
• Grant recipients must include appropriate acknowledgment of the grantor and its philanthropic partners' financial support in all printed materials generated for the project. Philanthropic partners may require additional grant conditions, which will be outlined in the grant contract.
• The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund must approve consultants before disbursing grant funds. Board members of the applicant organization cannot serve as consultants unless appropriate conflict-of-interest procedures are followed and documented.
• Eligible grantees can direct up to 10% of awarded funds to indirect operating support and project management costs.
• Grant recipients must sign a contract agreeing to the Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative’s grant conditions.
• Upon the project's completion, the grantee must submit a final narrative report and financial accounting of the grants' expenditures. If the project is not completed in accordance with the executed grant agreement, the funds must be returned.
• As part of our commitment to inclusivity and respect, all applicants must agree not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or sexual orientation. This obligation also extends to disabled veterans, Vietnam-era veterans, and disabled persons.

Ineligible Activities and Expenses

• Costs associated with planning for or constructing new buildings or structures, including the creation of monuments and statues
• Catering, entertainment, food and beverage costs
• Expenses incurred before the grant award date
• Sound and AV equipment
• Acquisition of property or limited property rights
• Active capital projects starting before the grant period
• Mortgages or debt repayment

Criteria

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and external reviewers will select Letters of Intent and full application proposals by considering, among other points, the following criteria:

• The property's historical significance must be associated with African American cultural heritage.
• The applicant and its partners can make a case for readiness to collaborate and effectively steward the grant funds over two years.
• The applicant can make a compelling case for support and provide language from mission statements, strategic plans, or other resources to describe why they envisioned and prioritized descendant communities or families in the stewardship of the organization or project.
• The applicant can articulate their perspective and definition of "descendant in historic preservation” or confirm a familial connection through documentation.
• An important consideration is the grant's potential to significantly contribute to the historic property's preservation, restoration, interpretation, or management.
• The applicant can demonstrate local-level support and the potential to be a catalyst for further positive action, benefiting historic properties and entire neighborhoods and communities.
• The applicant can define the challenges and opportunities advancing descendant-led and family-led efforts and explain why new resources can advance the organization's mission and serve as a replicable model for the field.

Application

Letters of Intent and full proposal applications must be submitted through the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s online grants portal where applicants may select the Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative from the menu. All applicants will be notified of their status via email by July 2025.

• Application Portal Opens: Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 11:59pm PST
• Letter of Intent (LOI) Deadline: Monday, February 24, 2025, at 11:59pm PST
• Full Proposal Application Deadline: Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 11:59pm PST

Applicants will need to create a user profile in the applicant portal for their organization. If an organization has applied for a grant from the National Trust previously, they will sign into their existing organization profile.

Please direct questions to actionfundgrants@savingplaces.org.

Add administrator@grantinterface.com and actionfundgrants@savingplaces.org to your address book to ensure you receive email communications sent from our grants application system about your application.