Collections Stewardship

Collections Stewardship 2026 Funding Opportunity

Notice of Funding Opportunity
Collections Stewardship
Funding Opportunity Number: 20260511-PCS
Funding Opportunity Type: New
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.037
Application Deadlines:
May 11, 2026, and December 15, 2026
Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current.
It may take several weeks to register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov.
NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.
Division of Collections & Infrastructure
Email: collections@neh.gov
Telephone: 202-606-8570
Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1
OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date October 31, 2027

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Executive Summary
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Collections & Infrastructure is
accepting applications for Collections Stewardship, a program to advance the preservation and
availability of physical and digital collections important for research, teaching, and public
engagement in the humanities. Planning and implementation projects may include conservation
and preservation; digitization and description; enhancement of long-standing digital resources in
the humanities; and preservation services or education and training for students and
professionals in collections stewardship.
This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides application information unique to
Collections Stewardship, including program-specific requirements, allowable activities, review
criteria, and formatting instructions. Refer to NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to
Organizations for standard instructions that apply to all NEH funding programs for organizations.
Together, this NOFO and the general guidelines provide all the information you need to
complete and submit your application to NEH.
Funding Opportunity Title Collections Stewardship
Funding Opportunity Number 20260511-PCS
Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.037
Application Deadline May 11, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
December 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
Anticipated Award Announcement December 2026 and July 2027
Anticipated Funding Approximately $14,000,000
Estimated Number and Type of Awards Approximately 50 grants
Award Amounts From $50,000 to $500,000
Cost Sharing/Match Required No
Period of Performance Up to 3 years, starting between April 1, 2027, and July
1, 2027, for the May 2026 deadline; and between
November 1, 2027, and February 1, 2028, for the
December 2026 deadline.
Eligible Applicants • nonprofit organizations recognized as tax-
exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code
• accredited institutions of higher education (public
or nonprofit)
• state and local governments and their agencies
• federally recognized Native American Tribal
governments
See C. Eligibility Information for additional information.
Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/program/collections-stewardship
Published March 11, 2026
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Table of Contents
A. Program Description ................................................................................................ 1
1. Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 1
2. Funding Restrictions.......................................................................................................... 2
3. Background ....................................................................................................................... 3
B. Federal Award Information ...................................................................................... 4
1. Type of Application and Award .......................................................................................... 4
2. Summary of Funding ......................................................................................................... 4
C. Eligibility Information ............................................................................................... 5
1. Eligible Applicants ............................................................................................................. 5
2. Other Eligibility Information................................................................................................ 5
D. Application Contents ............................................................................................... 6
1. Application Component Table ........................................................................................... 6
2. Application Elements ......................................................................................................... 7
3. Budget Instructions Specific to this Program ................................................................... 12
E. Application Review Information ............................................................................ 12
1. Review Criteria ................................................................................................................ 12
2. Review Process .............................................................................................................. 12
3. Intergovernmental Review .............................................................................................. 13
F. Submission Information ......................................................................................... 13
1. Application Package ........................................................................................................ 13
2. Submission Instructions .................................................................................................. 13
G. Award Notices ........................................................................................................ 13
1. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates.................................................................. 13
2. Federal Award Documents .............................................................................................. 14
3. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Specific to this Program ..................... 14
H. Annual and Final Reporting .................................................................................. 14
I. Agency Information ................................................................................................. 14
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A. Program Description
1. Purpose
The Collections Stewardship program funds projects to preserve and make available physical
and digital collections important for research, teaching, and public engagement in the
humanities. Awards support the work of libraries, archives, and museums; colleges and
universities working on collections access; and organizations that provide preservation services
or educate and train students and professionals in collections stewardship.
Applications may be submitted for projects that address one or more of the following activities:
• conducting assessments for physical or digital preservation, and creating plans and
policies for collections stewardship
• conducting conservation assessments and implementing treatment plans
• purchasing storage and preservation supplies to rehouse collections (see funding
restriction on high density storage systems)
• managing collection storage environments and other preventive care strategies (see
funding restriction on building systems)
• arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections
• cataloging collections of rare books, maps, photographs, sound recordings and moving
images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital
objects
• digitizing or reformatting collections and making them available for public use through
websites or digital repositories
• transcribing, translating, or indexing primary source materials (see funding restriction on
preparing scholarly editions)
• enhancing long-standing digital resources that are widely used in the humanities in order
to preserve the information and improve access
• providing preservation services or educating and training undergraduate and graduate
students and professionals who preserve and provide access to humanities collections
(financial support for students and participants is allowed, including stipends and travel
costs but not tuition remission).
Funding categories
Awards are available at three funding levels:
Level 1: Planning projects from $50,000 to $100,000
Level 2: Implementation projects from $100,001 to $350,000
Level 3: Implementation projects involving more than one organization from $350,001 to
$500,000
For Level 3, one organization must serve as the applicant. The applicant can compensate
partners through subawards; however, other forms of recognition and/or payment are allowed,
such as honoraria, consultant fees, etc. Partner contact and cooperation should be in place at
the time of application; provide documentation in Attachment 6: Letters of Commitment and
Support.
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Program outputs and outcomes
The outputs of a Level 1 Planning award may include but are not limited to:
• assessments, plans, and policies that advance collections stewardship
• content or technical evaluations and strategic plans that support future digitization
projects, digital preservation, and collaboration for collections stewardship
• pilot projects in collections stewardship
The outputs of Level 2 and 3 Implementation awards may include but are not limited to:
• conserved, preserved, and rehoused humanities collections
• catalog records, finding aids, and metadata
• digital surrogates, transcriptions, translations, and indexes
• technical or other enhancements to long-standing digital resources in the humanities
• educational opportunities for students and professionals in collections stewardship, such
as curriculum and resources, internships, apprenticeships, workshops, webinars, and
preservation field services such as assessments, consultations, or on-demand
assistance
The outcomes of a successful Collections Stewardship award will be humanities collections that
are easy to find and use and that are preserved for future generations; plans and policies to
accomplish these goals; and knowledgeable and skilled cultural heritage practitioners.
Describe your outputs and how they will support the project outcomes in the application
Attachment 1: Narrative and quantify them in Attachment 2: Outputs. If you receive an award,
NEH will assess your performance by comparing the outputs proposed in the application against
those reported in your performance reports. See H. Annual and Final Reporting.
2. Funding Restrictions
You may not use funds made under this notice for the following purposes:
Restricted activities:
• promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view
• promotion of gender ideology
• promotion of discriminatory equity ideology
• support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or diversity, equity, inclusion, and
accessibility (DEIA) initiatives or activities
• environmental justice initiatives or activities
• advocacy of a particular program of social or political action
• support of specific public policies or legislation
• lobbying
Programmatic exclusions:
• acquisition or financial appraisal of collections
• preservation, organization, or description of materials that are privately held and will not
be regularly accessible for research, education, or public engagement after the period of
performance
• digitization of United States newspapers
• planning or recording oral history interviews (projects to reformat or provide access to
existing sound recordings and moving image collections are permitted)
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• recording speakers for language documentation
• editorial and research activities to prepare scholarly editions
• collections description or access projects without prior contact or involvement of the
holding repository or organization
• records management for state and local governments
• Geographic Information System (GIS) projects for civic planning or resource
management
• restoration, preservation, or stabilization of historic structures, the built environment, or
archaeological sites
• costs associated with construction, renovation, or ground disturbing activities
• capital improvements to buildings and building systems, including the purchase or
installation of permanently affixed equipment, such as air conditioning systems, lighting
systems, high-density storage systems or casework, and security and fire protection
systems
• attendance at regular meetings of library, archives, museum, preservation, or humanities
organizations, unless the purpose is to convene stakeholders for project-specific
activities or to disseminate project results
• the creation of lesson plans or resources designed primarily for K-12 classroom
instruction
• tuition remission
• projects that fall outside of the humanities
• the creation or performance of art
• creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction
• policy studies
• social science research that does not address humanistic questions and/or utilize
humanistic methods
Unallowable costs:
• costs for activities performed by federal entities or personnel
• fiscal agent and fiscal sponsor fees
• fiscal agent activities alone without substantive involvement (e.g., proposal submissions,
reporting, financial oversight, maintaining IRS status)
See 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles for other unallowable costs.
If your application includes unallowable costs or activities, NEH will deem it to be nonresponsive
and reject it.
3. Background
NEH offers this funding opportunity under the authority of 20 U.S.C. § 956. Awards are subject
to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards, and the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to
Organizations.
Under Section 3(a) of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as
amended, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following:
language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy;
archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those
aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods;
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and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular
attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the
humanities to the current conditions of national life.”
Use the Funded Projects Query Form to find examples of NEH-supported projects.
Learn more about NEH.
B. Federal Award Information
1. Type of Application and Award
NEH seeks new applications in response to this notice. NEH will provide funding in the form of
grants.
2. Summary of Funding
Award Amounts
You may request between $50,000 and $500,000, inclusive of both direct and indirect costs.
Refer to NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for information about
indirect costs.
Level 1: Planning projects from $50,000 to $100,000
Level 2: Implementation projects from $100,001 to $350,000
Level 3: Implementation projects involving more than one organization from $350,001 to
$500,000
NEH anticipates awarding approximately $14,000,000 in total funding to an estimated 50
recipients over both deadlines. NEH expects to make approximately two awards at Level 3 per
application deadline.
NEH will not determine the funding available each fiscal year until Congress enacts the
agency’s final budget. Accordingly, this notice is issued subject to the availability of appropriated
funds, and it does not obligate NEH to make any awards.
Period of Performance
The period of performance is the time during which you may incur expenses to carry out the
work under the award. It must start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the
month.
You may request a period of performance up to three years.
• If you apply for the May 11, 2026, deadline, your period of performance must start
between April 1, 2027, and July 1, 2027.
• If you apply for the December 15, 2026, deadline, your period of performance must start
between November 1, 2027, and February 1, 2028.
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Cost Sharing
NEH supports projects with outright funds, federal matching funds, or a combination of the two.
Learn about the types of funds NEH offers. Cost sharing refers to project costs that are covered
with non-NEH funds. Additional information on cost sharing is available in NEH’s General
Application Guide for Awards to Organizations.
NEH will award successful applicants outright funds, which do not require cost sharing.
You must maintain auditable records documenting the source and use of cost share, consistent
with 2 CFR § 200.306.
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its
jurisdictions as one of the following:
• a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code
• an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
• a state or local government or one of their agencies
• a federally recognized Native American Tribal government
Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.
NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or organizations.
NEH does not issue awards to other federal entities. If your project is so closely intertwined with
a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized
activities, it is ineligible.
The recipient may not function solely as a fiscal agent but should make substantive
contributions to the success of the project. Fiscal sponsors applying on behalf of an ineligible
organization are not eligible to apply.
2. Other Eligibility Information
At each deadline, you may submit multiple applications for separate and distinct projects under
this notice. An individual may not serve as project director for multiple proposed projects under
this notice.
You may revise and resubmit an application not selected for funding. Resubmissions must meet
the application requirements and review criteria of the current competition.
If NEH has previously made an award in support of your project, you may apply for a new or
subsequent stage of the project, which NEH will assess using the review criteria of the current
competition.
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If you submit multiple applications for the same project, NEH will accept only your last validated
submission prior to the deadline under the applicable Grants.gov funding opportunity.
D. Application Contents
You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You
can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20260511-PCS. There is also a
link on the program resource page.
See the Application Component Table below to learn what a complete application entails, and
the sections following it for information about the content of those components.
See NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for application component
designations, page limits, formatting requirements, and submission rules, as well as instructions
for the Grants.gov forms in your application package (SF-424 Application for Federal
Assistance, Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Programs, Project/Performance Site
Location(s) Form, Attachments form, lobbying forms, and the Research and Related Budget
form and accompanying budget justification).
NEH will not review applications missing any required documents or relevant
conditionally required documents.
If you include application elements other than those listed in the table, NEH will reject
your application.
If your application exceeds mandatory page limits or deviates from formatting
instructions, NEH will reject it.
1. Application Component Table
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Application Component File Name Designation Page Limit
Attachments
1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 15, mandatory
2. Outputs outputs.pdf Required 1, suggested
3: Work plan workplan.pdf Required
4. List of all project personnel personnel.pdf Required 1, suggested
5: Biographies of key personnel biographies.pdf Required
6. Letters of commitment and letters.pdf Conditionally
support required
7: Supporting documentation documentation.pdf Recommended 15, suggested
8: Subrecipient budget(s) subrecipient.pdf Conditionally
required
9: Federally negotiated indirect agreement.pdf Conditionally
cost rate agreement required
10: Explanation of delinquent delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally
federal debt required
Grants.gov Forms
SF-424 Application for Federal Required
Assistance - Short
Organizational
Supplementary Cover Sheet for Required
NEH Grant Programs
Project/Performance Site(s) Required
Location Form
Research and Related Budget Required
and Budget Justification
Attachments Form Required
Certification Regarding Conditionally
Lobbying required
Standard Form-LLL “Disclosure Conditionally
of Lobbying Activities” required
2. Application Elements
Attachment 1: Narrative (required)
Compose a comprehensive description of your proposed project. Your narrative should be
succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and jargon so that peer reviewers can
understand the proposed project. Per the Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH
Grant Proposals, you must acknowledge (by use of footnotes or other marginal notations) when
you have inserted AI-generated text into your proposal.
You must limit the narrative to 15 single-spaced pages. Do not include an executive
summary, cover page, or table of contents. You may include images, charts, diagrams,
footnotes, or endnotes if they fit within the page limit. Name the file narrative.pdf.
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Organize your narrative using the following headings. Each section aligns with one or more
review criteria NEH will use to evaluate your proposal.
Introduction and Significance to the Humanities (aligns with review criterion #1)
Introduce your project goals and what you are requesting NEH funds to support. If your
application requests support for a component of a larger project, describe the whole project and
clearly delineate the part intended for NEH funding through this application.
Justify the project’s significance based on its long-term benefits to research, education, or public
engagement in the humanities. Describe the nature and importance of the collections,
resources, or training that will be the focus of the project and the audiences it will serve.
Activities and Outputs (aligns with review criteria #2 and #5)
Provide an overview of the project activities and outputs, including the roles of any key
personnel, consultants, vendors, and/or advisors. Explain how the project will conform to or
adapt any relevant national standards and accepted professional practices common to the
humanities disciplines or in the library, archives, and museum fields. For Level 3 Implementation
projects, describe the distribution of responsibilities among collaborating organizations. This
section should provide context and justification for the information to follow in: Attachment 2:
Outputs, Attachment 3: Work plan, Attachment 4: List of all project personnel, and Attachment
5: Biographies of key personnel.
If you plan to describe or provide access to physical or digital collections that are not held or
managed by your organization, provide information on prior contact with or involvement of the
holding repository or organization. As relevant, provide further information in Attachment 6:
Letters of commitment and support and Attachment 7: Supporting documentation.
Consistent with NEH’s policy on providing access to NEH-funded products, you should provide
access to all outputs through the internet, on-site use, interlibrary loan, or duplication of
materials at cost, insofar as the condition of the materials, intellectual property rights, and
privacy and cultural considerations allow. Discuss any factors that might limit the availability of
the collections or other outputs and how you will address them. Provide documentation of
applicable permissions, donor agreements, licenses, or proofs of informed consent in
Attachment 7: Supporting documentation.
Provide the following information, as relevant to your project:
For planning, assessment, and/or collections management policy development projects,
discuss the knowledge and skills required and explain how you chose the project team to meet
those needs. Describe how the team will gather relevant information and describe any past
assessments or practices that will guide your project.
For projects that involve conservation assessment and treatment, describe the amount,
types, and condition of the materials you will treat and discuss how collections access will be
enhanced as a result. Justify the chosen method and identify applicable procedures. Include
treatment proposals from qualified conservators in Attachment 7: Supporting documentation.
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For rehousing or preventive care projects, provide a rationale for the specific preservation-
quality equipment and supplies requested, including cabinetry, boxes, folders, sleeves, and
environmental monitoring equipment. Include vendor specifications and quotes in Attachment 7:
Supporting documentation.
For archival processing projects, discuss the rationale for the arrangement of the collections
and the level of description proposed for the finding aids. Describe how the finding aids will be
made available to the public.
For cataloging projects, describe the type of records you will create, including the metadata
schema, controlled vocabularies, and software you will use. Describe how the metadata will be
made available to the public and any plans to support its reuse.
For digitization projects, quantify the digital objects to be made available, the formats and
quality of the sources from which they will be derived, and the handling and care of original
materials during and after reformatting. Describe the process for digital imaging or conversion
from another format, data entry, and optical character recognition, if applicable. List the
preservation and distribution formats to be produced, levels of resolution, and the accuracy of
textual conversion. Describe the software you will use for image and metadata management
and delivery to the public.
For transcription, translation, and indexing projects, describe how the work will be done and
by whom. Note any technology to be used, as well as procedures for quality control.
For projects that enhance long-standing digital resources that are widely used in the
humanities, describe the resource’s current user base; specify the data formats and metadata
schemas in use or to be implemented; the current extent of accessibility or obsolescence; and
the strategies to ensure the resource remains easy to find and use.
For projects that provide preservation services or educate and train undergraduate and
graduate students and professionals who preserve and provide access to humanities
collections, describe the activities or resources that the project will support, including their
content, structure, duration, and method of delivery. Describe and justify your intended
audience. Discuss the service or pedagogical methods you will employ and their suitability for
your audience. Explain your strategies for participant recruitment and selection, as well as for
program evaluation.
Sustainability and Outreach (aligns with review criterion #3)
For Level 1 Planning projects, discuss the “next steps” that you envision as an outgrowth of the
award. For Level 2 and 3 Implementation projects, summarize your organization’s approach to
sustaining long-term access to collections and/or digital resources (websites, metadata, or
training materials) that result from NEH funding. Describe the staff and technical systems in
place to maintain the project’s results. As relevant, provide details on your organization’s
preservation infrastructure and policies (physical and digital), such as storage requirements and
capacity, digital repository systems, format migration strategies, and collaborative or third-party
arrangements. For projects that train students and professionals, describe your plans to
evaluate the program and any follow-up work with participants.
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Describe your plans to share the project with relevant audiences. For Level 1 Planning projects,
this could include internal stakeholders, advisory boards, and partners, as well as the public if
appropriate for the project’s stage of development. For Level 2 and 3 Implementation projects,
this could include both specialized and general public audiences. Your budget may include staff
time and other eligible expenses related to disseminating the NEH-funded products; however,
for collections-based projects, your budget should focus on preservation and access activities.
For education and training projects, describe how you will share the results with interested
practitioners and future participants. When considering your outreach plans, please consult the
Funding Restrictions for unallowable activities.
Attachment 2: Outputs (required)
Include the following information, as relevant (suggested length is one page):
• the number of assessments, plans, and policies to be performed or created
• the total number of collection items to be treated and/or preserved
• the total linear feet of materials to be arranged and described, and the number of finding
aids or collection-level descriptions to be produced
• the total number and type(s) of items to be cataloged
• the total number of items to be digitized or reformatted
• the total number of pages to be transcribed, translated, or indexed
• the number of students or professionals to be trained in collections stewardship
• the number of courses, workshops, assessments, or preservation services to be
provided
• the number and type of other quantifiable products, such as reports or strategic plans,
expected as a result of the project
Name the file outputs.pdf.
Attachment 3: Work plan (required)
Your work plan should reflect the major activities you describe in your narrative, the project
dates on your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational, and your
Research and Related Budget.
Describe the activities that will take place during the period of performance. Use a timeline that
includes each activity and identifies responsible staff. For collaborative projects, discuss the
distribution of responsibilities across each organization. As appropriate, identify meaningful
support and collaboration with key stakeholders in planning, designing, and implementing
activities. Name the file workplan.pdf.
Attachment 4: List of all project personnel (required)
List all project personnel with their position title and institutional affiliation. If applicable, include
advisory board members, consultants, vendors, and authors of letters of commitment and
support. NEH will use this list to ensure that peer reviewers do not have conflicts of interest with
proposed projects. Name the file personnel.pdf.
Attachment 5: Biographies of key personnel (required)
Include short biographies for key personnel highlighting their qualifications for the project
(suggested length is one paragraph per person). Include a job description for any positions you
will hire with NEH funds. Name the file biographies.pdf.
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Attachment 6: Letters of commitment and support (conditionally
required)
Provide letters of commitment from your organization’s leadership, partners, consultants, or
others who will work closely with you on your project, receive NEH funds, or contribute funds to
the completion of project activities. Letters of commitment must be signed and dated.
Provide letters of support that address the project’s significance and the program’s review
criteria by experts in the project’s subject area and users of the collections and digital resources,
as well as past training participants if relevant. Authors of letters of support will not participate in
the NEH review process.
Elected government officials, NEH staff, and current members of the National Council on the
Humanities may not serve as letter writers. Name the file letters.pdf.
Attachment 7: Supporting documentation (recommended)
The following documentation is recommended, as relevant to the type of project (suggested
page limit is 15 pages):
• images of collection items
• excerpts of preservation assessments, collection policies, or reports
• treatment proposals and cost estimates prepared by qualified conservators
• representative samples of the anticipated outputs, including metadata schema, collection
records, and webpages
• documentation of permissions, donor agreements, licenses, or proofs of informed
consent
• vendor quotes and equipment specifications
• course syllabi or outlines
• lists of proposed participants or criteria for selecting participants
• training evaluation or assessment tools
• data management and sharing plans
Name the file documentation.pdf.
Attachment 8: Subrecipient budget(s) (conditionally required)
If your project includes subawards, you must provide a separate Research and Related Budget
form and budget justification for each subrecipient. Name the file subrecipient.pdf.
Attachment 9: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement
(conditionally required)
If your organization is claiming indirect costs and has a current federally negotiated indirect cost
rate agreement, provide a copy of the agreement. If applicable, provide the indirect cost rate
agreements for subrecipients claiming indirect costs. If you and your subrecipients are
requesting the de minimis rate of 15%, you do not need to submit this attachment. Name the
file agreement.pdf.
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Attachment 10: Explanation of delinquent federal debt (conditionally
required for recipients)
If your organization is delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt, explain why. Provide
evidence that you have entered into a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service,
if applicable, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of relevant debt include
delinquent payroll or other taxes, audit disallowances, and benefit overpayments. See OMB
Circular A-129. Name the file delinquentdebt.pdf.
3. Budget Instructions Specific to this Program
See NEH’s General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for instructions on
completing your budget and budget justification.
As a matter of programmatic policy, tuition remission is not allowed in this program.
You may not use NEH funds to attend regularly occurring professional meetings unless the
purpose of attending is to convene stakeholders for project-specific activities or to disseminate
project-related findings.
E. Application Review Information
1. Review Criteria
Peer reviewers will use the following criteria to review applications under this notice:
1. The project’s significance for supporting scholarly research, education, or public
engagement in the humanities. (aligns with narrative section “Introduction & Significance
to the Humanities”)
2. The soundness of the proposed activities and outputs, the adherence to national
standards and accepted professional practices common to the humanities disciplines or
in the library, archives, and museum fields, and the viability of the project. (aligns with
narrative section “Activities & Outputs”)
3. The quality of the project’s plans for sustaining project outputs and engaging with
relevant audiences. (aligns with narrative section "Sustainability & Outreach”)
4. The qualifications of the project’s staff and suitability of advisors, consultants, or
vendors. (aligns with Attachment 4: List of all project personnel and Attachment 5:
Biographies of key personnel)
5. The reasonableness of the budget in relation to the activities and outputs. (aligns with
the Research and Related Budget form and budget justification in relation to the
narrative section “Activities & Outputs,” Attachment 2: Outputs, and Attachment 3: Work
plan)
2. Review Process
NEH staff review all applications for eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness. The agency
then conducts a peer review process for all applications that pass this initial screening.
Peer reviewers are experts in their fields with knowledge and expertise relevant to the activities
that the program supports. NEH instructs peer reviewers to evaluate applications according to
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the review criteria in this notice. Peer reviewers must comply with federal ethics rules governing
conflicts of interest.
NEH program officers supplement the peer reviewers’ comments to address matters of fact or
significant points that the peer reviewers have overlooked. They then make funding
recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities and to the NEH Chairman. The
National Council meets at least twice each year to review applications and advise the NEH
Chairman. By law, the Chairman has the sole authority to make final funding decisions.
Following NEH’s public announcement of funded projects, you may request copies of the peer
reviewers’ evaluations of your proposal by contacting collections@neh.gov.
Learn more about the NEH review process.
Apply to be a peer reviewer for NEH.
3. Intergovernmental Review
This funding opportunity is not subject to intergovernmental review under Executive Order
12372.
F. Submission Information
1. Application Package
You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You
can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20260511-PCS. There is also a
link on the program resource page.
2. Submission Instructions
This notice covers the 2026 Collections Stewardship competitions. The deadlines are:
May 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
December 15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
When NEH receives your application from Grants.gov, the agency will assign it a tracking
number beginning with PCS-.
Under this notice NEH will consider only applications that are complete, comply with length and
formatting requirements, and have been validated by Grants.gov under the correct funding
opportunity prior to the deadline. See the late submission policy for the limited situations when
NEH might accept an application submitted after the deadline.
G. Award Notices
1. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
NEH will notify you of funding decisions by email in December 2026 and July 2027. Notification
of funding does not authorize you to begin performance or incur costs.
20260511-PCS 13

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2. Federal Award Documents
If NEH selects your application for an award, the NEH Office of Grant Management will send
award documents to the institutional grant administrator and project director through eGMS
Reach approximately 9-12 months after the application deadline.
3. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Specific
to this Program
Refer to the NEH General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations for administrative and
national policy requirements that apply to all NEH awards. These are the requirements specific
to Collections Stewardship.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) provides
protection of Native American graves and items, including human remains, funerary objects,
and sacred objects. NAGPRA applies to any organization that controls or possesses Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects and that receives federal funding,
even for a purpose unrelated to the Act. Learn more about NAGPRA.
H. Annual and Final Reporting
If you receive an award, you must complete these required reports in NEH’s online grant
management system, eGMS Reach.
1. Annual Federal Financial Report(s)
2. Annual Performance Progress Report(s)
3. Final Financial and Performance Reports
4. Tangible Personal Property Report (if you have purchased equipment)
Learn more about performance reporting requirements and financial reporting requirements.
I. Agency Information
If you have questions about the program, contact:
Division of Collections and Infrastructure
National Endowment for the Humanities
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8570
collections@neh.gov
If you have questions about administrative requirements or allowable costs, contact:
Office of Grant Management
National Endowment for the Humanities
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8494
grantmanagement@neh.gov
20260511-PCS 14

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If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can contact NEH using telecommunications relay at
7-1-1.
Related funding opportunities
You may find related funding opportunities with your state or jurisdictional humanities council.
As mandated by Congress, NEH’s program budget supports these councils, which play a critical
role in carrying out NEH’s mission and goals at a local, grassroots level. Contact information for
each council can be found here: https://www.neh.gov/about/state-humanities-councils.
If you seek support to digitize U.S. newspaper collections as part of a state-based effort,
consider the National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the NEH and the
Library of Congress.
If you seek support to prepare critical digital editions and translations of important humanities
texts, consider the Scholarly Editions and Translations program offered by the NEH Division of
Research.
20260511-PCS 15

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NEH General Application Guide for Awards to Organizations

General Application Guide
for Awards to
Organizations
Published February 27, 2026. Version 1.0

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Table of Contents
Step 1: Review the funding opportunity. .................................................................................................................................. 3
Learn about NEH programs ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) .......................................................................................................... 5
Step 2: Prepare to apply. ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Create or update your registrations.................................................................................................................................. 7
Confirm your organization’s eligibility to apply ................................................................................................................. 8
Step 3: Create your application ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Review the application requirements ............................................................................................................................. 10
Create your attachments ................................................................................................................................................ 10
Complete Grants.gov forms ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Step 4: Prepare your budget and budget justification ......................................................................................................... 16
Budget Restrictions .............................................................................................................................. 18
Subrecipients and subawards .............................................................................................................. 21
Indirect costs ........................................................................................................................................ 22
Completing the Research and Related (R&R) Budget form ........................................................................................ 24
Step 5: Review policy requirements ....................................................................................................................................... 34
Administrative and national policy requirements ........................................................................................................... 35
Policies relating to NEH proposals ....................................................................................................... 38
Step 6: Submit your application for reviewn this section: .................................................................................................. 39
Submit your application in Grants.gov ........................................................................................................................... 40
Review and selection process ....................................................................................................................................... 41
Assessment of risk and other pre-award activities ....................................................................................................... 42

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Foreword
Foreword
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent
federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of
humanities programs in the United States and makes awards to
cultural institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges,
universities, public television and radio stations, and to individual
scholars.
NEH offers several grant programs, each with its own objectives and
intended audience, explained in a Notice of Funding Opportunity
(NOFO). The general guidelines in this document provide standard
instructions that apply to all NEH funding programs for organizations.
Program-specific requirements, review criteria, page limits, and
allowable activities are set forth exclusively in the NOFO. Together,
the general guidelines and the specific NOFO for the program to
which you apply provide all the information you need to complete and
submit your application. NEH will update this guidance periodically.
In the case of a discrepancy between these guidelines and a program
NOFO, the program NOFO takes precedence.
The purpose of this document is to introduce prospective applicants to
the NEH award process. It will help you choose a grant program,
prepare to apply, and submit your application through Grants.gov.
These guidelines are for NOFOs published on or after February 27,
2026.

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Review the funding
Step 1: Review the
funding opportunity opportunity
For questions about grant In this section:
activities, contact the NEH
program division listed in
Learn about NEH programs
the NOFO.
• Consult with program staff
• Read the FAQs and review examples of successful projects
• Subscribe to receive updates from Grants.gov
For questions about
administrative
requirements or allowable
Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity
costs, contact the Office of
Grant Management at
(NOFO)
grantmanagement@
neh.gov or 202-606-8494. • What the program funds
• Funding and award duration
• Who can apply
If you are deaf or hard of • What to include in your application
hearing, contact NEH using  Application review, relevant policies, agency contacts, and other
telecommunications relay information
service at 7-1-1.
3

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Learn about NEH programs
Step 1: Review the
NEH programs are administered by divisions that work with
funding opportunity
prospective applicants from a wide range of humanities organizations.
You can view current and anticipated grant programs at
https://www.neh.gov/grants/listing. Each grant program has a
Have a project in mind?
resource page on NEH’s website.
Use our tool to match it
with an NEH grant Choosing a program that closely matches your project’s goals and
program. activities is one of the most important steps in preparing a strong
application.
Consult with program staff
There are four program
divisions at NEH: Program staff can answer questions about grant programs and help
• Collections and you determine which program is the best fit for your project. However,
division staff cannot predict funding outcomes. See Section H: Agency
Infrastructure
Information in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), or contact
• Federal/State Partnership
the division that manages the grant program.
• Lifelong Learning
• Research Read the FAQs and review examples of past
successful projects
The program resource webpage may have an FAQ document, sample
Before applying:
applications, and a link to a saved search of previously funded
1. Read the entire NOFO
projects.
2. Check your eligibility
3. Register with SAM.gov Using the Funded Projects Query form, you can search past NEH
4. Register with Grants.gov awards and filter by division, grant program, year, or other factors.
Subscribe to receive updates from Grants.gov
Most NEH programs have one deadline a year. If the deadline has
passed, you can read the previous NOFO on the NEH website, which
will also tell you the next anticipated deadline.
NEH posts NOFOs on Grants.gov. If a program is not currently
accepting applications, the award may be posted as a Forecast. You
can subscribe to receive email updates by clicking the red “Subscribe”
button on the Grants.gov page, or by following these instructions.
4

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Read the Notice of Funding
Step 1: Review the
Opportunity (NOFO)
funding opportunity
You are responsible for reviewing and following all requirements in the
Read the NOFO from start NOFO and in these guidelines. In the case of any discrepancy
to finish before drafting between the NOFO and these guidelines, the NOFO takes
your application. Pay precedence.
particular attention to
All NEH NOFOs follow a standard structure and include the sections
sections A-D, which define
described below.
what NEH will fund, the
level of funding, who may
apply, and application Executive summary
components.
The executive summary provides a concise overview of the funding
opportunity, including award amounts, application deadlines,
anticipated project start dates, and who is eligible to apply.
For NEH to consider your Program description and scope of funding
application, you must follow
Section A: Program Description describes the program’s goals,
the directions about
supported activities, and funding restrictions. This section is specific to
application components
each program.
and page limits in Section
D.1 of the NOFO.
Funding and award duration
Section B: Federal Award Information summarizes the type and
amount of funding you may request. This section also explains the
allowable period of performance, which is the time during which you
may incur expenses to carry out your project.
Who can apply
Section C: Eligibility Information explains who is eligible to apply and
receive funding (see Step 2, below), and whether the program
requires cost sharing, which is a non-federal contribution from the
applicant.
What to include in your application
Section D: Application Contents lists and describes the required parts
of an application. It includes directions for what to write in your
narrative and which materials (such as résumés and bibliographies)
you need to provide, along with precise formatting instructions. The
Application Component Table shows all required forms and
attachments of a complete application.
Application review, relevant policies, agency contacts,
and other information
Sections E-I of the NOFO explain how NEH will review your proposal
(Section E: Application Review Information, and Step 6, below) and
provide information about how to manage an award if your application
is successful (Section G: Award Notices, and Step 6, below). The
NOFO also includes contacts for the program division and the Office
of Grant Management (Section I: Agency Information) and additional
information, such as related funding opportunities.
5

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Prepare to apply
Step 2: Prepare to apply
In this section:
Consult Login.gov help Create or update your registrations
center for assistance with
Login.gov. • Create your Login.gov account
• Register or update your organization’s SAM.gov account
Contact the Federal
• Register in Grants.gov
Service Desk for questions
about registering or
Check your organization’s eligibility
renewing your registration
with SAM.gov. • Who can apply
• Resubmissions and multiple applications
Contact Grants.gov
• Applying as a consortium
Applicant Support for help
with registration or with
submitting your application.
Obtain a case number
when requesting help.
6

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Create or update your registrations
Step 2: Prepare to apply
Create your Login.gov account
Login.gov is a secure sign-in service used by participating federal
Start early: Allow several agencies. Each individual who will work in Grants.gov must have their
weeks to register with own Login.gov account. Create an account at Login.gov.
SAM.gov.
Register or update your organization’s SAM.gov
account
NEH will not grant a
deadline extension due to You must have an active SAM registration in order to apply for and
an applicant’s failure to receive federal funding.
register in time with
Entities registering in SAM.gov for the first time will submit information
SAM.gov or Grants.gov.
about their organization’s type and structure, financial information
(such as dates of the fiscal year, banking information, and executive
compensation), and points of contact. SAM.gov reviews and verifies
this information and issues a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). This
process may take several weeks.
For projects with
subawards: Subrecipients You must renew your SAM registration annually. If it is not active at
must have a UEI but do not the time of Grants.gov submission, NEH cannot accept your
need full SAM registration. application.
Register in Grants.gov
Grants.gov is a clearinghouse to post federal funding opportunities
and submit applications to NEH and other federal agencies. If you do
not already have an account, you will need to register and link your
Login.gov account to Grants.gov. Follow the Grants.gov Quick Start
Guide for Applicants to register, create a Workspace, assign roles,
find a funding opportunity, and troubleshoot issues.
Designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR)
Your institution’s Grants.gov E-Business Point of Contact must
designate an authorized organization representative (AOR). The AOR
is authorized to enter into legally binding contracts on behalf of your
institution, and is responsible for certifying and submitting your NEH
application. An AOR is typically from the Office of Sponsored
Programs, or is an organization’s executive director, financial officer,
or board chair. At larger institutions such as universities, there may be
multiple AORs, and AORs can have different levels of responsibility
within Grants.gov.
7

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Confirm your organization’s eligibility
Step 2: Prepare to apply to apply
Consult Section C: Eligibility Information in the NOFO to confirm that
Confirm your eligibility your organization meets the specific eligibility requirements for the
before preparing an program.
application. Applications
submitted by ineligible For-profit entities and foreign organizations are not eligible to
apply for NEH funding.
organizations cannot be
reviewed.
Individuals are not eligible to apply for organizational awards. NEH
offers separate grant programs specifically for individuals.
You can request evaluator Resubmissions and multiple applications
comments from previously
You may revise and resubmit an application not selected for funding.
submitted applications to
Resubmissions must meet the application requirements and review
help inform revisions.
criteria of the current competition.
Consult the NOFO to learn whether you may submit multiple
applications for separate and distinct projects, and whether the same
individual may serve as project director on more than one application.
Applying as a consortium
You may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating eligible
organizations. If NEH selects your proposal for funding, the applicant
organization will be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible
for the award.
Substantive Involvement
To be eligible as a lead The applicant organization must have substantive involvement in the
applicant, your organization programmatic activities that are necessary and integral to the project.
must be actively involved in
the project’s intellectual or Applicant institutions must not function solely as a fiscal agent
programmatic work, not (an organization that provides only administrative services such as
just its administration or proposal submission, financial management, payment requests,
fiscal oversight. reporting, or maintaining IRS status, but does not direct or carry out
project activities). Fiscal sponsors (an eligible organization that
applies on behalf of an ineligible organization) are not eligible to
apply.
8

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Create your application
Step 3: Create your
application
In this section:
You will create and submit
your application in Review the application requirements in the
Grants.gov or in a
Grants.gov system-to- NOFO
system platform.
Create your application elements
• Required content for the project narrative and other application
You will probably develop
components
your application
• Formatting and page limit requirements
components
• Conditionally required attachments (if applicable)
simultaneously. They are
interconnected and as a
Complete Grants.gov forms
whole should present your
project in a clear and
• SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational
compelling manner.
• Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Programs
• Project/Performance Site Location(s) form
• Attachments form
• Lobbying forms
In the next section:
Prepare your budget and budget justification
• Step 4 provides information about the Research and Related
(R&R) Budget form and budget justification.
9

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Review the application requirements
Step 3: Create your
Section D: Application Contents in the NOFO describes the required
application
content of your proposal, including necessary components and writing
prompts. Section D.1 is an Application Component Table listing the
specific program attachments and required Grants.gov forms.
In Grants.gov, you will
submit several application
Review the funding restrictions in section A.2 of the NOFO for
components using the
unallowable costs.
Attachments form.
Create your application elements
NEH will not review your
All applications require a project narrative and work plan, along with
application if: other components specified in the NOFO. The NOFO designates
• It exceeds mandatory each document as required, optional, recommended, or
conditionally required and provides detailed instructions for what
page limits
each one must include.
• It is missing required or
conditionally required NEH will reject your application as incomplete or nonresponsive if
documents you omit required components or include elements other than those
• You include extra listed in the NOFO.
materials
Format your application elements
The NOFO provides mandatory or suggested page limits for most
documents. NEH will reject your application if you exceed mandatory
An application may be
page limits.
found incomplete if it is
missing required elements
Your application components must conform to the following formatting
or required information. An
requirements, unless otherwise indicated:
application may be found
nonresponsive if the
• pages no larger than standard letter (8 ½" x 11”)
proposed project does not
• margins of at least one inch on all sides
align with the program’s
stated purpose or includes • single spacing
unallowable activities or  a readable font such as Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman, no
costs, as described in the smaller than 11 points
NOFO.
You may use any standard citation style. Include citations in page
counts.
Label your files clearly in
Conditionally required documents
accordance with the NOFO
instructions.
You must include application elements designated as “conditionally
required” when applicable. Below are conditionally required
documents common to all NEH programs. The program to which
you apply may have other conditionally required application
components.
10

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Indirect cost rate agreement
Step 3: Create your
If your organization is claiming indirect costs and has a current
application
federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA), provide a
copy of the current agreement. See Step 4 for more about indirect
costs.
The NICRA must be fully
executed.
Explanation of federal debt
If your organization is delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt,
you must explain why. Provide evidence that you have entered into a
repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, if
applicable, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of
relevant debt include delinquent payroll or other taxes, audit
disallowances, and benefit overpayments. See OMB Circular A-129.
Subrecipient budgets
If your proposal includes subrecipients, you must include a budget
and budget justification for each subaward. See Step 4 for information
about subawards and subrecipients.
11

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Complete Grants.gov forms
Step 3: Create your
This guide includes instructions for the Grants.gov forms that are
application
mandatory for all applications to NEH. Some NEH programs require
additional Grants.gov forms. To see all required Grants.gov forms for
a specific program, consult the Application Component Table in
You will complete these
section D.1. of the NOFO.
forms in your Grants.gov
Workspace.
In the case of a discrepancy between these guidelines and a program
NOFO, the program NOFO takes precedence.
SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance -
The project title and
Short Organizational form
description you provide in
your SF-424 will appear on
This form requests basic information about your institution, the
the cover sheet for your
proposed project, and key contacts.
application.
When you access this form in your Grants.gov Workspace, items 1, 2,
and 4 will be automatically completed. Leave item 3 blank.
Applicant Information (section 5 of the SF-424)
a-d. Provide your organization’s legal name, address, and web
address. Select the applicant type that best describes your
organization from the drop-down menu.
e-f. Provide your organization’s employer/taxpayer identification
number (EIN/TIN), and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) assigned by the
System for Award Management (SAM.gov).
g. Provide your congressional district with your two-character state
abbreviation followed by your three-character district number. For
example, if your institution is located in the 5th congressional district
of Alabama, enter “AL-005.” If your institution is in a state or U.S.
jurisdiction that does not have districts, enter “000” in place of the
district number. If your institution is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.”
Project Information (section 6 of the SF-424)
a. Provide your project’s title. It should be brief (no more than 125
characters, including spaces), descriptive of the project, and easily
understood by the general public.
b. Provide a brief description of your project (no more than 1,000
characters, including spaces). Write the description for a nonspecialist
audience, clearly stating the importance of the proposed work and its
relation to larger issues in the humanities. This description will appear
on the cover sheet of your application. If funded, this description will
also appear in NEH’s database of funded projects.
c. State the start and end dates of your project’s period of
performance. Your project must start on the first day of a month and
end on the last day of a month.
12

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Project director, grant administrator, and authorized
Step 3: Create your organization representative (Sections 7-9 of the SF-
application
424)
Provide name, title, and contact information for these three
The project director individuals:
(programmatic oversight)
and grant administrator Project Director
(fiscal and compliance
The project director is responsible for the programmatic aspects and
oversight) must be different
day-to-day management of the proposed project.
individuals to ensure
proper internal controls and
If the project director is not an employee of the recipient organization,
accountability over federal
there must be a formal written agreement that specifies an official
funds.
relationship between the parties, even if the relationship does not
involve a salary or other form of remuneration.
Primary Contact / Grant Administrator
Even though there is an
The institutional grant administrator (IGA) serves as the primary
option on the SF-424 form
contact and must have authority to act on the organization’s behalf in
to make the grant
matters related to the administration of NEH awards. The IGA is
administrator and the
responsible for compliance with federal regulations and the terms and
project director the same
conditions of the award. They can request changes in personnel and
person, NEH requires two
modifications to the period of performance, reporting deadlines,
separate individuals.
project activity, and budget.
As a matter of NEH policy, the project director and primary
contact/grant administrator must not be the same person.
Authorized Organization Representative
The authorized organization representative (AOR) is a designated role
in Grants.gov and is someone authorized to enter your institution into
a legally binding contract. The AOR will submit the grant application
through Grants.gov, even if other individuals prepared the proposal.
The AOR’s name and contact information must be manually entered
into the SF-424 form, but the signature and date auto-populate in
Grants.gov. Confirm the name you enter here is the AOR
submitting the application.
13

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Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant
Step 3: Create your
Programs
application
This form provides additional information for NEH, and some of it will
populate the cover page of your application. Complete each section.
Project director
Select the project director’s major field of study from the drop-down
menu.
Institutional information
Select your institution type from the drop-down menu.
Project funding
Most NEH programs award outright funds only and do not offer
matching funds. In this case, enter the amount you are requesting
from NEH under “Outright Funds.” Do not enter anything under
If matching or cost sharing
“Federal Match” or “Cost Sharing.”
is required, the NOFO will
provide specific details on
If your application includes matching funds:
the match ratio, sources of
funds, and period of
• Under “Outright Funds,” enter the amount of outright funds you
eligibility.
are requesting.
• Under “Federal Match,” enter the amount of federal matching
funds you are requesting.
• Under “Cost Sharing,” enter the required cost share you will
provide to release the federal matching funds. Do not include
voluntary cost share.
Application information
Indicate whether you will submit complementary proposals to other
NEH opportunities, government agencies, or private entities. If so,
specify when and to whom. NEH will not consider this information
when evaluating the merits of your proposal. Keep in mind that per 2
CFR § 200.403(f), NEH does not permit overlapping costs on two or
more federal awards or approved federal award budgets. See Step 4
for information on overlapping costs.
For type of application, check “new.”
Select the project’s primary discipline from the drop-down menu. If
applicable, select the project’s secondary and tertiary disciplines.
14

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Project/Performance Site Location(s) form
Step 3: Create your
Provide the primary location and any other locations where you will
application
conduct project activities during the period of performance.
Enter congressional districts using the two-letter state abbreviation
followed by your three-character district number. For example, if your
institution is in the 5th congressional district of Alabama, enter “AL-
005.” If your institution is in a state or U.S. jurisdiction that does not
have districts, enter “000” in place of the district number. If your
institution is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.”
Attachments form
You will upload your attachments to Grants.gov using this form.
Grants.gov may accept and
Attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). Convert all
validate your application
non-PDF files (e.g. Word, Excel, images) to PDFs. Do not attach files
even if you are missing
that have been password-protected, encrypted, or digitally signed. Do
required components or
not attach portfolios containing multiple PDFs. Grants.gov will reject
have formatted them
applications containing files not converted to PDF or PDFs with
incorrectly.
security features.
Consult the Application Component Table in section D.1 of the
NOFO to name and sequence your attachments.
You must ensure that you
have formatted, attached,
Grants.gov may reject your application if:
and submitted all required
components correctly. If
 file names exceed 50 characters
you have not, NEH may
reject your application as  multiple files have the same name
incomplete or  file names include characters other than the following: A-Z, a-z, 0-
nonresponsive. 9, underscore, hyphen, space, period, parentheses, curly braces,
square brackets, ampersand, tilde, exclamation point, comma,
semicolon, apostrophe, at sign, number sign, dollar sign, percent
sign, plus sign, and equal sign
Learn about Adobe software compatibility with Grants.gov and ensure
that you have a compatible version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Lobbying forms (for awards greater than $100,000)
If you are awarded more than $100,000 and do not submit completed
lobbying forms at time of application, you must submit them before
NEH issues your award.
Certification Regarding Lobbying
Use this form to certify that no federal funds have or will be paid to
persons to influence any federal funding decisions. Add this form to
your application package in Grants.gov and it will autofill based upon
information provided in the SF-424.
Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities”
If you have or will use non-federal funds for lobbying, you must
submit Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities” before
NEH issues your award. Add this form to your application package in
Grants.gov. See 2 CFR § 200.450
15

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Prepare your budget and
Step 4: Prepare your
budget and justification budget justification
Your budget and budget In this section:
justification should mirror
your project. They should • The Research and Related (R&R) Budget form and budget
provide a detailed picture
justification
of how you will spend grant
• Outright funds vs. matching funds
funds and a clear
• Cost sharing requirements
breakdown of costs.
• Budget restrictions
• Conferences, events, and food
• Subrecipients and subawards
• Indirect costs
• Completing the Research and Related Budget form
16

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Prepare your budget and budget
Step 4: Prepare your
justification
budget and justification
Most NEH programs require you use the Research and Related
(R&R) Budget form for your budget. You must complete a separate
budget justification to explain your budget costs. In your justification,
you must describe how each item supports your proposed objectives,
show the math for your cost calculations (e.g., $50/hour x 20 hours =
$1,000), and provide supporting documentation. You will create the
budget justification separately and attach it to the R&R Budget form
as a PDF.
If you have questions about This section provides information about budget categories, eligible
allowable costs, contact the expenditures, what to include in your budget and justification, and
Office of Grant specific directions on completing the R&R form.
Management at
grantmanagement@ All costs, whether supported by NEH funds or required cost sharing
neh.gov or 202-606-8494. contributions, must be reasonable, necessary to accomplish
project objectives, allowable in terms of 2 CFR 200 Subpart E -
Cost Principles, auditable, and incurred during the period of
performance. Costs are subject to audit, record retention, and other
requirements set forth in 2 CFR 200 Subpart F - Audit Requirements.
Outright funds vs. matching funds
NEH supports projects with outright funds, matching funds, or a
combination of the two. Learn about the types of funds NEH offers.
If you are requesting only outright funds from NEH, enter just those
funds in the R&R Budget form. This is the case for most NEH
programs.
Unless the NOFO specifically requires cost sharing, do not include
voluntary cost share in the R&R Budget form. NEH does not
expect or consider voluntary cost share when reviewing applications.
If you wish to describe cost share that is not charged to the award,
you may include a narrative in the budget justification.
If you request federal matching funds, your budget and justification
must equal the total funding requested from NEH (outright and federal
matching funds), plus any required cost share.
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Cost sharing
Step 4: Prepare your
Cost sharing refers to project costs that are covered with non-federal
budget and justification
funds. These are divided into two categories:
1. Voluntary cost share: Costs that exceed the amount awarded by
You must maintain NEH, which include:
auditable records of the
sources and use of cost • cash contributions that you or a third party make to the project
share. See 2 CFR §
• in-kind contributions (non-cash contributions, such as supplies
200.306.
or services) that you or a third party contribute to the project
• unrecovered indirect costs
Peer reviewers will not
2. Required cost share: Financial contributions to a project for the
consider voluntary cost
purpose of releasing federal matching funds. The NOFO will specify
share in their evaluation of
allowable sources of cost share and other requirements. You must
applications.
fully document these costs in your budget.
Budget Restrictions
Section A of the NOFO describes activities for which you can request
funding and lists funding restrictions - costs and activities that the
grant program cannot support. Each program has specific
unallowable costs. The following are prohibited for all NEH awards:
Restricted activities:
• promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of
view
• promotion of gender ideology
• promotion of discriminatory equity ideology
• support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives or activities
• environmental justice initiatives or activities
• advocacy of a particular program of social or political action
• support of specific public policies or legislation
• lobbying
Programmatic exclusions
• projects that fall outside of the humanities
• the creation or performance of art
• creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction
• policy studies
• social science research that does not address humanistic
questions and/or utilize humanistic methods
Unallowable costs
• costs for activities performed by federal entities or personnel
• fiscal agent and fiscal sponsor fees.
 fiscal agent activities alone without substantive involvement (e.g.,
proposal submissions, reporting, financial oversight, maintaining
IRS status)
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Conferences, events, and food
Step 4: Prepare your
2 CFR § 200.432 defines a conference as a meeting, retreat, seminar,
budget and justification
symposium, workshop, or event, the primary purpose of which is to
disseminate technical information beyond the non-federal entity, and
which is necessary and reasonable for successful performance under
the federal award.
Per 2 CFR § 200.432, allowable conference costs include speakers’
Food costs must be fees, costs of meals and refreshments, and other incidental items.
fundamental to the project You must exercise discretion and judgment to ensure that
and indispensable for expenses are appropriate, necessary, and managed in a manner
carrying out the scope of that minimize costs to the award.
the work.
See Allowability of Food Costs on NEH Awards for circumstances
when you may purchase food with NEH funds. Food costs are not
permitted in NEH awards unless authorized by the Office of
Grant Management as part of the application budget, or as a prior
approval request.
You may not use federal funds for meals or refreshments at
receptions or networking events. Beverages and refreshments such
as coffee/tea, pastries, and fruit may be provided when the event has
several hours of instruction.
A full meal may be provided if there is substantive instruction both
before and after the meal is served. You may serve a meal while a
presentation is being given. You may not begin or end an event with a
full meal.
If participants receive complimentary meals or refreshments during
meetings, conferences, training, or other events while on NEH-
supported travel, you must reduce the per diem you charge to the
award. Per 2 CFR § 200.423, you must not use federal funds for
alcohol.
Federally funded meetings and conferences must take place in
properties that comply with the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of
1990 (Pub. L. 101-391). Consult the U.S. Fire Administration’s
National Master List for fire code–compliant hotels.
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Additional cost restrictions
Step 4: Prepare your
Overlapping costs
budget and justification
Per 2 CFR § 200.403(f), NEH does not permit overlapping costs on
two or more awards for federal funding and/or approved federal award
Overlap is prohibited.
budgets.
Overlap occurs when the
same costs are paid for by
If you are submitting proposals to other NEH programs or government
two federal awards, or
agencies, specify when and to whom in the Supplementary Cover
when the scope of activities
Sheet for NEH Grant Programs. NEH may disallow overlapping
is similar between current
project costs. An individual’s level of effort cannot exceed 100%
or expired awards, or when
across multiple active federally funded awards.
an individual’s total time
commitment exceeds
Federal entities
100% across all active
awards. NEH does not issue awards to other federal entities. If your project is
so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on
characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities, it is
ineligible. Proposals to construct permanent improvements to lands or
facilities that belong to another federal agency are typically ineligible
for NEH support.
You may use funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other
federal entities in your project, but you may not use them as gifts to
release federal matching funds.
Foreign entities
NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or
organizations. If you are an eligible domestic entity, you may apply for
collaborative projects involving foreign organizations provided you do
not use NEH funds to issue subawards to any foreign organization, as
defined in 2 CFR § 200.1 and .331(a).
You may obtain the services of foreign individuals and consultants to
carry out programmatic activities on a fee-for-service basis, as
specified in 2 CFR § 200.459. You may obtain goods and services
from foreign vendors, such as in-country transportation services, in
accordance with 2 CFR § 200.331(b).
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Subrecipients and subawards
Step 4: Prepare your
See the General Guidance for Pass-through Entities on Managing
budget and justification
Subawards for definitions of subrecipients and contractors. A
subrecipient must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) but does not
need to be fully registered with SAM.gov.
Learn more about Per 2 CFR § 200.1 and .331(a), a subaward is an award you issue to
managing subawards. a subrecipient to carry out part of your federal award. Subawards do
not include payments to contractors (as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1 and
.331(b)) or payments to individuals who are beneficiaries of federal
programs.
A subaward may be issued through any form of legal agreement,
including an agreement you consider a contract and must include all
Carefully determine
requirements of the award, per 2 CFR § 200.332(b)(2). When
whether each third party is
determining if the third-party functions as subrecipient or contractor,
a subrecipient or
the substance of the relationship between a pass-through entity and a
contractor. Misclassification
third party is more important than the form of the agreement. See 2
can result in budget
CFR § 200.331.
revisions or delays
processing your award.
Substantive involvement
The applicant organization must engage in substantive
involvement in programmatic activities that are necessary and
integral to completing the project. Applicant institutions must not
function solely as a fiscal agent or a fiscal sponsor. Organizations
engaging solely in fiscal sponsorship activities may not apply as a
lead applicant. See Section C: Eligibility Information in the NOFO.
Subrecipient budgets
If your project includes Each subrecipient must provide a separate budget using the
subrecipients, you must Research and Related (R&R) Budget form. To do so, download and
provide an R&R Budget save a fillable PDF of the Research and Related Budget form.
form and budget Complete this form in Adobe Reader rather than in your web browser.
justification for each
subaward. Prepare a budget and budget justification for each subrecipient using
the same instructions that apply to the applicant’s budget. Enter the
subrecipient’s UEI, organization name, and start and end dates for the
period of performance (these fields do not prepopulate). For budget
type, check “Subaward/Consortium.”
If your subrecipient has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, the
applicant organization must honor it. If they do not have a federally
negotiated indirect cost rate, they may use the de minimis rate of 15%
or negotiate a rate with the applicant organization consistent with 2
CFR § 200.414.
Convert the budget justification into a PDF and combine it with the
R&R Budget form and the subrecipient’s NICRA (if applicable) before
uploading it to the Attachments form.
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Indirect costs
Step 4: Prepare your
Indirect costs are costs your institution incurs for common objectives
budget and justification
that you cannot readily identify with a specific project or activity.
Indirect costs include such expenses as the depreciation on buildings,
equipment, and capital improvements; operations and maintenance
Miscalculation of indirect
expenses; accounting and legal services; and salaries of executive
costs is one of the most
officers.
common reasons for award
reductions. Calculate indirect costs by multiplying your institution’s applicable
indirect cost rate by the direct costs included in the base (typically
Modified Total Direct Costs) listed in your institution’s Negotiated
Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA).
The maximum award
amount listed in the NOFO
Modified Total Direct Costs
is the sum of direct and
Per 2 CFR § 200.1, Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) are direct
indirect costs.
salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies,
services, travel, and up to the first $50,000 of each subaward
(regardless of the period of performance of the subaward). MTDC
exclude equipment, capital expenditures, rental costs, tuition
You do not have to claim
remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support
indirect costs. If your
costs, and the portion of each subaward over $50,000.
institution is waiving
indirect costs, provide a
For MTDC exclusions, you may use the $50,000 amount only if you 1)
statement with your
apply the de minimis rate or 2) if your NICRA identifies the threshold
application.
for each subaward as $50,000. NEH will apply the threshold in your
most current NICRA.
Rate type
Refer to NEH’s General
Guidance on Calculating Many institutions of higher education negotiate multiple rates, such as
Indirect Costs for more “research,” “instruction,” and “other sponsored activities.” An
information. institution’s “research” rate is not the appropriate rate for
inclusion in NEH project budgets, except in rare cases, since it is
reserved for projects involving scientific research, not scholarly inquiry
of the type most often supported by NEH.
Applicability
Except as provided in 2 CFR § 200.414(c)(1), NEH must use the
negotiated rate(s) in effect at the time it issues your award and will not
adjust the rate(s) throughout the life of your award. NEH will not
adjust your award amount due to changes to your negotiated
rates, unless a NICRA is received within 90 days of the period of
performance start date, subject to the availability of funds.
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Indirect costs (continued)
Step 4: Prepare your
If an institution does not have a negotiated rate when NEH issues an
budget and justification
award (because it is a new recipient or the parties cannot reach
agreement on a rate), but has a provisional rate, NEH must use the
provisional rate until a final rate is negotiated and approved by the
Applicants who do not have
cognizant agency, except as provided in 2 CFR § 200.414. If the
a federally negotiated
recipient fails to negotiate an indirect cost rate applicable to the period
indirect cost rate at time of
of performance within the period of performance, NEH may disallow
application can:
indirect costs.
• Charge the de minimis
indirect cost rate If your organization does not have a federally negotiated indirect
• Direct cost all cost rate, you may charge a de minimis rate of 15% applicable to
administrative expenses MTDC, or provide a signed NICRA to NEH within 90 days of your
(see Step 4: Other award’s period of performance start date.
Personnel)
• Submit a negotiated rate
within 90 days of the
period of performance
start date, pending
availability of funds and
programmatic funding
level restrictions
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Completing the Research and Related
Step 4: Prepare your
(R&R) Budget form
budget and justification
You must submit a project budget using the Research and Related
Before you complete the (R&R) Budget form included in the Grants.gov application package
budget form, complete and attach a budget justification as a PDF in the designated space on
the SF-424 Application for the form.
Federal Assistance - Short
Organizational. It will auto How to use these budget instructions
populate some information
in the R&R Budget form. The information in this section is organized using a consistent three-
part format for each cost category of the R&R Budget form:
1. Policy and guidance
If you complete the R&R
Budget form in your Explains what costs are allowable or unallowable in the budget
Grants.gov Workspace, it category and identifies applicable rules and limitations.
will auto-calculate.
2. Completing the R&R Budget form
Provides instructions for entering information into the R&R Budget
form in Grants.gov.
3. Budget justification guidance
Describes what information to include in your budget justification
to explain, itemize, and support the costs requested on the R&R
Budget form.
General budget instructions
Round all costs to the
• Complete a single detailed budget for each 12-month span of the
nearest whole dollar. If
period of performance.
cents are less than 50,
round down. If cents are 50 • The R&R Budget form will automatically generate a cumulative
and higher, round up. Do budget.
not include cents in the • Required fields appear in yellow.
R&R Budget form or your
• Round all costs to the nearest whole dollar.
budget justification.
• The inclusion of a budget category on the R&R Budget form does
not automatically indicate that a cost is allowable. Allowability is
governed by the federal regulations, NEH policy, and the NOFO.
General budget justification instructions
When preparing your budget justification, use the same R&R
Budget form section headings. For each requested cost, you must:
• Describe how each item supports your proposed objectives.
• Explain how you calculated each cost (e.g., $50/hour x 20 hours =
$1,000).
• Include supporting documentation such as price searches, vendor
quotes, or contract estimates, as applicable.
If you provide voluntary cost share, you may describe it in the budget
justification narrative. Do not include voluntary cost share on the
R&R Budget form.
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Budget justification (continued)
Step 4: Prepare your
If you request federal matching funds, identify which activities your
budget and justification
required cost share supports and the expected source(s) of funding.
Introductory Fields
In the Grants.gov Workspace, your SF-424 form should auto-populate
introductory fields. If not, indicate your organization’s Unique Entity
Identifier, name, and period of performance.
For budget type, check “project.”
The project director’s name
will auto-populate in the
A. Senior/Key Person
R&R Budget form with the
information you provide in
Policy and guidance
the SF-424. If the project
director will not receive any
Senior/key personnel are individuals employed by the applicant
funds, enter $0.
organization who serve in leadership or key roles on the project.
Requested salaries and wages must comply with 2 CFR § 200.430
and .466, and fringe benefits must comply with 2 CFR § 200.431. An
individual’s level of effort cannot exceed 100% across multiple active
federally funded awards.
Sections A and B of the
budget should include only
Per 2 CFR § 200.431, fringe benefits are allowances and services you
your own employees.
provide in addition to salaries and wages. Fringe benefits may include
Include costs for non-
the costs of leave (e.g., vacation, family-related, sick, or military),
employees under F.3
employee insurance, pensions, and unemployment benefit plans.
Consultant Services or F.5
Subawards/Consortium/
Completing the R&R Budget form
Contractual Costs, as
appropriate. In the Senior/Key Person section, list each person, enter the base
salary (annual compensation) and fringe benefits, and identify the
number of months they will devote to the project. The form will
calculate the requested salary and fringe benefits for each individual.
When completing sections
A and B of the budget, use
If you request funds for more than eight key personnel, list the
the following columns:
additional personnel in a separate document using the same format.
Save the document as a PDF named additionalpersonnel.pdf and
Cal. If your organization
attach it in the designated “Additional/Senior Key Persons” space on
does not differentiate
the R&R Budget form. Enter the total funds requested for these
between academic and
individuals in the "Total Funds requested for all Senior/Key Persons in
summer months, use only
the attached file" field.
the calendar months
column.
Budget justification requirements
Acad./Sum. If your In your budget justification, list each person and briefly describe their
organization follows an role and qualifications for the project. Show the salary and wages
academic calendar, you calculation by either percentage of time over months (time and effort)
may differentiate levels of or number of hours. Identify the fringe benefit rate and explain the
effort by using the base for each person.
academic and summer
months columns. If your organization follows an academic calendar, explain any
differences in compensation between academic and summer months.
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B. Other Personnel
Step 4: Prepare your
Policy and guidance
budget and justification
Other Personnel are individuals employed by your organization who
will play supporting roles on the project but are not considered
senior/key personnel. Requested salaries and wages must comply
with 2 CFR § 200.430 and .466, and fringe benefits must comply with
2 CFR § 200.431.
In most instances, you should include the salaries of administrative
or clerical staff as indirect costs. Per 2 CFR § 200.413(c), you may
charge salaries for administrative or clerical staff as direct costs only if
they meet the following conditions:
• The administrative or clerical services are integral to a project or
activity.
• The individuals can be specifically identified with the project or
activity.
• You explicitly include these costs in your budget or have prior
written approval from NEH.
• You do not recover the costs as indirect costs.
Costs associated with collaborators at other institutions or
consultants must not be included in Other Personnel. These costs
must be included in either F.3 Other Direct Costs: Consultant
Services, or F.5 Subawards/Consortium/Contractual Costs.
Consult A.2 Funding Restrictions in the NOFO to determine whether
costs associated with postdoctoral associates, graduate students,
and undergraduate students, including tuition remission, are
allowable. If the program you are applying to allows tuition remission,
you must report such costs in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.466(b)
and treat them as direct or indirect costs in accordance with the actual
work performed.
Completing the R&R Budget form
In the Other Personnel section of the R&R Budget form, group
personnel by project role. For each project role, identify the number of
proposed personnel, the total number of months, total salary, and total
fringe benefits requested as described in A. Senior/Key Person. The
form will calculate the requested salary and fringe benefits for each
group.
Budget justification requirements
In your budget justification, list names (if known), roles, months, and
requested salary and fringe benefits. Show salary and wages
calculation by percentage of time over months (time and effort) or
number of hours. Identify the fringe benefit rate and explain the base
for each person. If your budget includes administrative/clerical
personnel, describe how they meet the four conditions for inclusion as
a direct cost. Show your calculations.
26

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C. Equipment Description
Step 4: Prepare your
Policy and guidance
budget and justification
Equipment is nonexpendable personal property costing $10,000 or
more per item and having a service life of more than one year. See 2
CFR § 200.313 and .439.
You may purchase equipment if it is more economical and practical
than leasing. You may charge depreciation in compliance with 2 CFR
§ 200.436. If you lease equipment, include equipment rental/user fees
in F. Other Direct Costs
Completing the R&R Budget form
In the Equipment section of the R&R Budget form, list each item of
equipment you plan to purchase and its estimated cost, including
shipping and maintenance.
Budget justification requirements
In your budget justification, detail the number and unit cost for each
item and explain how you determined these figures. Provide
supporting information such as vendor quotes or price lists, if
applicable.
D. Travel
Policy and guidance
Travel costs must comply with 2 CFR § 200.475 and the General
Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations. Proposed costs
must be reasonable and consistent with the applicant organization’s
established travel policy.
NEH uses the General Services Administration’s published per diem
rates to assess if proposed travel costs are reasonable.
You must use the lowest refundable commercial fares for coach or
equivalent accommodations, except in cases provided for in 2 CFR §
200.475.
Non-refundable travel arrangements are at your own risk. Costs
associated with cancelled travel are not allowable.
Completing the R&R Budget form
On the R&R Budget form, for personnel in sections A (Senior/Key
Personnel) and B (Other Personnel), enter the total funds requested
for:
• domestic travel (local and long-distance)
• foreign travel (including travel to Canada and Mexico)
27

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D. Travel (continued)
Step 4: Prepare your
Budget justification requirements
budget and justification
In your budget justification, describe each trip separately. For each
trip, provide:
Include travel costs for
participants in E.3 and
• name of the traveler(s)
travel costs for
• purpose of the trip
consultants in F.3
• points of origin and destination
Consult section A.2 of the  Itemized costs for transportation, lodging, per diem, and any other
NOFO for program-specific associated expenses
travel restrictions.
Local trips (such as routine travel in a metropolitan area) may be
grouped together. For local travel, provide:
• names of travelers
• mileage rate
• number of miles
• purpose of travel
E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs
Policy and guidance
Per 2 CFR § 200.1, a participant is an individual participating in or
attending program activities funded under a federal award, such as
trainings or conferences, but who is not responsible for
implementation of the award. Individuals committing effort to the
development or delivery of program activities (such as consultants,
speakers, project personnel, or staff members of a recipient or
subrecipient) are not participants.
Participants are the beneficiaries, not the providers, of a service or
training opportunity (such as a workshop, conference, seminar, or
symposium) funded by a federal award.
Examples of participants are:
• community members participating in an outreach program
• members of the public whose perspectives or input are sought as
part of a program
• students
• conference or workshop attendees
Per 2 CFR § 200.1, participant support costs are direct costs that
support participants’ involvement in a federal award and may include
stipends, subsistence allowances, travel allowances, registration fees,
temporary dependent care, and per diem paid directly to or on behalf
of participants.
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E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs
Step 4: Prepare your
(continued)
budget and justification
Restrictions:
If you claim indirect costs, • NEH cannot pay tuition or health insurance for participants.
exclude participant support  Non-refundable travel arrangements for participants are made at
costs from the MTDC base.
the applicant’s own risk. Costs associated with cancelled
participant travel are not allowable.
 Food and beverage costs must comply with NEH policy. See
Allowability of Food Costs on NEH Awards for specific
circumstances under which food costs may be permitted.
Completing the R&R Budget form
Enter the total number of participants in the designated field on the
R&R Budget form. For each of the five participant support categories,
enter the total amount requested:
• Tuition/Fees/Health Insurance. Leave this field blank. NEH does
Consult section A.2 in the not permit these costs for participants.
NOFO to see unallowable • Stipends. Check the NOFO to see if it specifies a stipend amount.
costs for a particular
• Travel. Enter total participant travel costs.
program.
• Subsistence. Examples include meals and refreshments, subject
to NEH food cost policy.
• Other. Other participant support costs may include local ground
transportation or admission fees.
Enter the number of participants in the designated space on the R&R
Budget form.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, show how you calculated participant
stipends, travel, subsistence, and other costs. Itemize participant
travel costs using the instructions for D. Travel. Include supporting
information such as price quotes.
F. Other Direct Costs
Other Direct Costs are project-related expenses that are not included
under personnel, travel, participant support, equipment, or indirect
costs. All costs must be necessary, reasonable, allocable, allowable,
and compliant with 2 CFR 200 and the NOFO.
1. Materials and Supplies
Policy and guidance
Materials and supplies include tangible items that cost less than
$10,000 per unit, regardless of the useful life. Allowable costs must
comply with 2 CFR § 200.314 and .453. Personal computers and
accessories are treated as materials and supplies.
29

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Materials and Supplies (continued)
Step 4: Prepare your Completing the R&R Budget form
budget and justification In the R&R Budget form, enter the total requested funds for materials
and supplies.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, indicate general categories (e.g., personal
computers, books, or archival supplies) and provide a total for each
category. Itemize costs totaling $1,000 or more and provide vendor
quotes or price lists, if applicable. Show your calculations.
2. Publication Costs
Policy and guidance
Publication costs are allowable when permitted in the NOFO. These
costs may include documenting, preparing, publishing, or otherwise
making project findings or products available to others.
Completing the R&R Budget form
If publication costs are allowable, enter the amount requested in the
Publication Cost line of the R&R Budget form.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, describe publication activities, indicate print
runs where applicable, itemize costs, and include vendor quotes or
estimates.
3. Consultant Services
Policy and guidance
Consultant services include payments to independent contractors,
collaborators from other institutions, and members of an
external advisory committee. Consultant fees must comply with 2
CFR § 200.459.
Consultants are distinct from subrecipients. Costs associated with
subrecipients must be reported under
Subawards/Consortium/Contractual Costs.
Completing the R&R Budget form
Enter the total amount requested for consultant services in the R&R
Budget form.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, identify each consultant by name, describe
the services they will provide, estimate the amount of time devoted to
the project, itemize travel costs (if applicable), and total fees for each
consultant. Include bids or cost estimates where available.
4. Automated Data Processing (ADP)/Computer Services
Policy and guidance
ADP/computer services include computer-based data processing and
retrieval services. Personal computers and accessories must be
included under Materials and Supplies, not ADP/computer services.
30

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ADP/Computer Services (continued)
SStteepp 44:: PPrreeppaarree yyoouurr Completing the R&R Budget form
bbuuddggeett aanndd jjuussttiiffiiccaattiioonn Enter the total amount requested for ADP/computer services in the
R&R Budget form.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, itemize each service, add a description, and
include established service rates if applicable.
5. Subawards/Consortium/Contractual Costs
Policy and guidance
Subawards and contractual costs include activities performed by third
parties that carry out a portion of the project. These costs may include
both direct and indirect costs.
See NEH’s General
Guidance for Pass-through
Subrecipients must be distinguished from contractors in accordance
Entities on Managing
with 2 CFR § 200.331. (See additional guidance in Step 4:
Subawards.
Subrecipients and subawards.)
Completing the R&R Budget form
Enter the total amount requested for all subawards and contractual
costs in the R&R Budget form. For each subaward, provide a
separate R&R Budget form.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, identify each third party by name, describe
its role in the project and the activities it will carry out, and list the
associated costs. For each contractor, itemize costs using the same
categories as the R&R Budget form and include supporting
documents. Provide a separate budget justification for each
subaward.
6. Equipment or Facility Rental/User Fees
Policy and guidance
Rental and user fees must comply with 2 CFR § 200.313, 200.432,
200.436, and 200.465, as applicable.
• You may not charge both depreciation and user fees for the same
equipment or facilities. You may charge depreciation for use of
your own equipment and facilities, but not user fees for the same
items.
• You may charge user fees for equipment purchased with federal
funds under another award, consistent with 2 CFR §
200.313(c)(2).
• Facility rental for conferences is allowable, per 2 CFR § 200.432.
• Facility rentals under the “less-than-arm’s-length” qualification
must comply with 2 CFR § 200.465(c).
Completing the R&R Budget form
Enter the total amount requested for equipment or facility rental and
user fees in the R&R Budget form.
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Equipment or Facility Rental/User Fees (continued)
SSSttteeeppp 444::: PPPrrreeepppaaarrreee yyyooouuurrr Budget justification requirements
bbbuuudddgggeeettt aaannnddd jjjuuussstttiiifffiiicccaaatttiiiooonnn In the budget justification, identify and justify each rental or user fee
and include relevant supporting documentation.
7. Alterations and Renovations
Policy and guidance
Most NEH programs do not allow alterations and renovations. Per
2 CFR § 200.462, costs you incur for ordinary and normal
rearrangement and alteration of facilities are allowable as indirect
costs.
Completing the R&R Budget form
Leave this line blank unless the NOFO explicitly permits alterations
S ee NEH’s General
and renovations.
Guidance for Pass-through
E ntities on Managing
Budget justification requirements
Subawards
If alterations and renovations are permitted, the NOFO will provide
instructions for what to include in your budget justification.
8-17. Other Direct Costs
Policy and guidance
“Other” direct costs include project-specific costs not included in other
categories and not part of the indirect cost pool. Allowable costs must
be reasonable, necessary, and allocable to the project.
Examples include:
“Miscellaneous” and • Promotion and outreach
“ contingency” are not
• Usage or licensing rights
allowable budget
• Evaluation and assessment
c ategories.
 Accessibility accommodations (e.g., audio description, sign-
language interpretation, closed or open captioning, large-print
brochures/labeling)
NEH may request
Completing the R&R Budget form
additional information to
assess if proposed costs List other allowable direct costs in the appropriate “Other” lines of the
are reasonable and R&R Budget form.
allowable.
NEH may request additional information to assess if proposed costs
are reasonable and allowable. See 2 CFR 200.331 and .332.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, itemize, describe, and justify each cost and
include supporting documentation.
G. Total Direct Costs
The form will calculate total direct costs.
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H. Indirect Costs
Step 4: Prepare your
Policy and guidance
budget and justification
See Step 4: Indirect costs.
Completing the R&R Budget form
On the R&R Budget form, enter the:
Indirect Cost Type. Enter the type of indirect cost rate (e.g., “other
sponsored activities,” “all programs,” “instruction,” “15% de minimis”)
and the base (e.g., “MTDC,” “salaries,” “salaries & fringe”). The base
for the de minimis rate will always be MTDC. If you do not have a
current indirect rate agreement but intend to negotiate one, write
"None—will negotiate” and provide additional detail in your budget
justification.
Indirect Cost Rate (%). Enter the most recent indirect cost rate
established with your cognizant federal agency (or the 15% de
minimis rate) as a number without special characters (e.g., 32.5).
Indirect Cost Base ($). Enter the base (eligible direct costs) for your
indirect cost type.
Funds Requested ($). Enter the requested funds for indirect costs.
Cognizant Federal Agency. Enter the name of your cognizant
federal agency and a point of contact, if applicable.
The form will calculate total indirect costs.
Budget justification requirements
In the budget justification, identify the rate(s), explain the base(s), and
describe any exclusions. Show your calculation. Indicate if you are
negotiating a new rate.
I. Total Direct and Indirect Costs
The form will calculate direct and indirect costs. Total project costs
should not exceed the maximum award amount listed in section B.2 of
the NOFO for the program to which you are applying.
J. Fee
Leave this section blank.
K. Total Costs and Fee
The form will calculate this field, which will be the same amount as I.
Total Direct and Indirect Costs.
In order to submit the R&R
Budget form, you must L. Budget Justification
upload an attachment in
Save the budget justification document as a PDF named
the Budget Justification
justification.pdf and attach it in the designated space on the R&R
space.
Budget form.
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Review policy requirements
Step 5: Review policy
requirements
In this section:
Contact the Office of Grant
Management at Policies that apply to all NEH awards
grantmanagement@
neh.gov or 202-606-8494 • Executive orders
with questions about policy • Debarment, suspension, ineligibility, and voluntary exclusions
requirements relevant to • Accessibility
your award.
• Providing access to NEH-funded products
• Copyright information
• Protecting personal information
• Acknowledging NEH support
• Consent for survey participation
• Subrecipient monitoring requirements
• Program income
• Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse
• Termination
Additional project-specific policies
Policies relating to NEH proposals
Application completion time
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Administrative and national policy
Step 5: Review policy
requirements
requirements
All NEH awards are subject to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative
Consult the NOFO for Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal
additional policies relevant Awards, the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to
to specific programs. Organizations, and any specific terms and conditions that NEH places
on the award in the Notice of Action.
Policies applicable to all NEH awards
These requirements apply
to all project activities and
Executive Orders
events funded by NEH,
including the activities The recipient and any subrecipient(s), must comply with all applicable
conducted by Executive Orders for the duration of the period of performance of the
subrecipients. award. Executive Orders can be accessed via the Federal Register:
Executive Orders, and additional guidance is provided on NEH’s
website.
In particular, the recipient, including any subrecipient(s), must comply
with Executive Order 13899, Combating Anti-Semitism (Federal
Register: Combating Anti-Semitism), and Executive Order 14188,
Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism (Federal Register:
Additional Measures To Combat Anti-Semitism), to curb or combat
anti-Semitism, especially in schools and on university and college
campuses. Discrimination or harassment against Jews on the basis of
race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving
federal financial assistance may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.
Debarment, suspension, ineligibility, and voluntary
exclusions
By applying, you certify that neither your institution nor its principals
are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment,
declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this
transaction by any federal department or agency.
You must comply with 2 CFR 180.335 and .350 with respect to
providing information regarding all debarment, suspension, and
related offenses information, as applicable.
If you cannot attest to the statements in this certification, explain why
not in the attachment “Explanation of delinquent federal debt.”
Accessibility
You must comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any program
or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Consult Design for
Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook. Project-specific
accessibility accommodations (e.g., audio description, sign-language
interpretation, closed or open captioning, large-print brochures and
labeling) are eligible costs. Include these items in your budget under
8-17. Other Direct Costs.
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Providing access to NEH-funded products
Step 5: Review policy
NEH strives to make the products of its awards available to the
requirements broadest possible audience by providing ready and easy access to its
grant products to scholars, educators, students, and the American
public. All other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to
projects that provide free access to the public.
Projects that produce peer-reviewed journal articles must make those
products publicly accessible in accordance with NEH’s Public Access
Policy.
Copyright information
NEH retains certain rights Subject to applicable law, you may copyright work that you develop or
to ensure public access acquire under an award.
and federal use, but this
does not prevent you from In accordance with 2 CFR § 200.315(b), NEH reserves a royalty-free,
publishing or nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise
commercializing your work. use the work for federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.
This includes the right to require recipients and subrecipients to make
such works available according to the agency Public Access Policy.
Protecting personal information
Do not share PII with NEH If you collect personal identifiable information (PII) as part of your
unless requested, and only NEH-funded award, you are responsible for protecting and storing it.
through encrypted means. You must take all reasonable and appropriate actions to prevent
inadvertent disclosure, release, or loss of PII. Consult Protecting
Personal Information for more guidance. NEH is not liable if a
recipient incurs an inadvertent disclosure, release, loss, or data
If your project involves breach of PII.
surveys, interviews, or data
collection from individuals, Consent for survey participation
plan early for protecting
If your NEH-funded project includes surveys, you must obtain
data.
informed consent before enrolling participants in the study.
Acknowledging NEH support
Acknowledgments apply to
Materials publicizing or products resulting from NEH-funded activities
both digital and print
must contain an acknowledgment of NEH support. Consult
materials.
Acknowledgment and Publicity Requirements for NEH Awards and
Publicizing Your Project for guidance.
Subrecipient monitoring requirements
Per 2 CFR § 25.300, you may issue subawards with federal funds
only to organizations that have obtained and provided their UEI.
Subrecipients are not required to complete registration with SAM.gov
to obtain a UEI. See Create or update your registration.
Per 2 CFR § 200.332, you must verify that potential subrecipients are
not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from receiving
federal funds.
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Subrecipient monitoring requirements (continued)
Step 5: Review policy
You must monitor your subrecipients to ensure that they use their
requirements subawards for authorized purposes; comply with federal statutes,
legislative requirements, regulations, and the terms and conditions of
the subaward; and achieve their performance goals. You must ensure
that your subrecipients track, appropriately use, and report program
income generated by the subaward. See 2 CFR § 200.332 for
information that you must include in subaward agreements.
Learn more about managing subawards.
Program income
If your NEH-supported activities generate income during the period of
performance, you must use it for additional approved project-related
activities. See 2 CFR § 200.307 for income that you generate after the
period of performance.
Eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse
Help NEH eliminate fraud and improve management by reporting
allegations or suspicions of waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement,
research misconduct (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism), or
unnecessary government expenditures to the NEH Office of the
Inspector General.
Termination
NEH reserves the right to terminate awards consistent with 2 CFR §
200.340.
Consult the NOFO for Additional project-specific policies
program-specific policies.
For projects involving renovation and/or ground-disturbing activities:
• Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as
amended
These policies may apply if
• National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended
your project includes
• Build America, Buy America
construction, renovation, or
excavation. • Davis-Bacon Act
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990
For projects involving geographic information and related spatial data:
• See OMB Circular A-16 and Executive Order 12906
 May require coordination with Data.gov and the Federal
Geographic Data Committee
Other policies that may apply to your award:
• The Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act:
• Performance Labor Assurances
• NEH Research Misconduct Policy
• Principles of Civility for Professional Development Programs
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Policies relating to NEH proposals
Step 5: Review policy
Privacy Policy
requirements
NEH solicits the information in this Notice of Funding Opportunity
under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and
Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 951, et seq.
Disclosure of the information is voluntary. The principal purpose for
which NEH will use the information is to process the application,
which may include determining eligibility, evaluating the application,
selecting recipients, and administering the award program. Panelists
and other third parties may assist in the evaluation of applications, in
which case NEH will take appropriate security measures with respect
to the information provided to such individuals for review. NEH may
also use or disclose the information it collects as required by law and
for governmental purposes such as statistical research, analysis of
trends, Congressional oversight, and the other routine uses set forth
in the systems of records notice (“SORN”) published by NEH in the
Federal Register. NEH ordinarily will not publicly disclose the contents
of applications that NEH does not select for funding, except as set
forth in the SORN. Failure to provide the information solicited in this
Notice may result in rejection of the application.
Application completion time
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires federal
agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms
and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden. NEH estimates
that on average it takes sixty hours to complete an application. This
estimate includes time for reviewing instructions; researching,
gathering, and maintaining the information needed; and completing
and reviewing the application. Time needed may vary from program to
program.
You may send any comments regarding the estimated completion
time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for
reducing the completion time, to the PRA (Paperwork Reduction Act)
Officer at PRA@neh.gov. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of
information unless it displays a valid OMB number. The OMB Control
Number for this Notice of Funding Opportunity is 3136-0134,
expiration date October 31, 2027.
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Submit your application for
Step 6: Submit your
application for review review
Contact Grants.gov
Applicant Support for help In this section:
with registering or with
submitting your application: • Submitting your application in Grants.gov
support@grants.gov or
• Review and selection process
1-800-518-4726.
• Award announcements
They are available 24 • Assessment of risk and other pre-award activities
hours a day, seven days a
week, excluding federal
holidays.
Obtain a case number
when requesting help.
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Submit your application in Grants.gov
Step 6: Submit your
Once you have completed the Grants.gov forms and uploaded your
application for review
attachments, you are ready to submit your application by clicking
the Sign and Submit button on the Manage Workspace page, under
the Forms tab.
If the Apply button is gray
in Grants.gov, you may not
You will receive a confirmation email from Grants.gov when you have
be assigned the right role.
submitted your application. You will receive up to five more notices
Unlock the Mystery of the
confirming different stages in the acceptance process.
Gray “Apply” Button: Four
Scenarios. – Grants.gov
NEH’s online grant management system, eGMS Reach, will send you
Community Blog.
an automatically generated email upon receipt of your proposal from
Grants.gov and will assign your application a tracking number. A
tracking number does not guarantee that your application is free of
technical problems.
Grants.gov may accept and
validate your application
Applications must be complete, comply with length and formatting
even if you are missing
requirements, and be validated by Grants.gov under the correct
required components or
funding opportunity prior to the deadline to be considered for
have formatted them
funding.
incorrectly.
See the late submission policy for the limited situations when NEH
might accept an application submitted after the deadline.
NEH recommends you
It is your responsibility to:
submit your application at
least 48 hours prior to the
• confirm that Grants.gov and subsequently NEH have received
deadline so you have time
your application. Check your Grants.gov application status
to correct errors.
• ensure that you have formatted, attached, and submitted all
required components correctly
• correct errors prior to the deadline
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Review and selection process
Step 6: Submit your
NEH staff review all applications for eligibility, completeness, and
application for review
responsiveness. The agency then conducts a peer review process
for all applications that pass this initial screening.
Interested in serving as a
Peer review
peer reviewer for NEH?
Complete this form to add
Peer reviewers are experts in their fields with knowledge relevant to
your name to our database.
the activities that an NEH program supports. They read each eligible
application and evaluate it according to the review criteria in the
NOFO. Peer reviewers must comply with federal ethics rules
governing conflicts of interest.
You can request the
evaluations of your
Program review and approval
application after you have
been notified of the
NEH program officers supplement the peer reviewers’ comments to
outcome.
address matters of fact or significant points that the peer reviewers
have overlooked. They then make funding recommendations to the
National Council on the Humanities and the NEH Chairman. The
National Council meets at least twice each year to review applications
and advise the NEH Chairman. By law, the Chairman has the sole
authority to make final funding decisions.
Award announcements
NEH will notify successful and unsuccessful applicants by email
approximately 9-12 months after the application deadline. Notification
of funding does not authorize you to begin performance or incur
related costs.
If your application is successful, the NEH Office of Grant Management
will send award documents to the institutional grant administrator and
project director through eGMS Reach.
Award decisions are discretionary and are not appealable to any
federal official or board.
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Assessment of risk and other
Step 6: Submit your
pre-award activities
application for review
Following the Chairman’s initial selection of applications for support,
the NEH Office of Grant Management (OGM) conducts a risk
assessment for selected applications. OGM will consider the
applicant’s past performance, if applicable; analyze the project
budget; assess the applicant’s financial stability and management
systems; confirm the applicant’s continued eligibility; and evaluate
compliance with public policy requirements. This assessment guards
against the risk that federal financial assistance might be wasted,
used fraudulently, or abused.
NEH will consider information about your organization that is in the
Responsibility/Qualification data bank in SAM.gov. NEH will review
the Responsibility/Qualification data when assessing your
organization’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance
under federal awards, as described in 2 CFR § 200.206. You may
comment on information in the Responsibility/Qualification data bank
about your organization. Per 2 CFR § 200.213, NEH will report
determinations that your organization is not qualified for a federal
award to SAM.gov.
OGM may request that you submit additional programmatic or
administrative information (such as an updated budget or supporting
documentation) or undertake certain activities (such as negotiating an
indirect cost rate) in anticipation of an award. Such requests do not
guarantee that NEH will make an award.
After completing its risk assessment, NEH will determine whether
making an award would be consistent with the agency’s risk
management policy, whether it must impose any special terms and
conditions, and what funding level is appropriate. NEH may elect not
to issue awards to applicants with management or financial instability
that affects their ability to comply with the terms and conditions of the
award (2 CFR § 200.206).
42