Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grants

Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC)
Amount: US $5,000 - US $25,000
Last Updated: November 27, 2025

Summary

The Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grants provide funding for nonprofit organizations and local governments in Pennsylvania to support projects aimed at preserving and promoting historic resources. This program focuses on planning and development for publicly accessible sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, encouraging applicants to engage in cultural resource surveys, national register nominations, and community planning. It aims to enhance public access to historic sites while revitalizing local communities.

Overview

Background As established under the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, funding under the Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grant program is available to nonprofit organizations and local governments for the planning and development for publicly accessible historic resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The purpose of the grant is to support projects that identify, preserve, promote and protect historic and archaeological resources of Pennsylvania for both the benefit of the public and the revitalization of communities. These guidelines address only historic preservation projects under the planning category. Please review the separate guidelines for the Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants for information pertaining to the bricks and mortar program. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission also annually uses a portion of the realty transfer tax revenue to rehabilitate and maintain Commonwealth-owned historic sites and museums. Categories Of Support The following categories of support are broadly defined and include examples of the kinds of projects that may be considered for funding. The examples are by no means a complete list of eligible projects. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their project and ideas with the grant manager or their regional Community Preservation Coordinator. Cultural Resource Surveys Grant assistance is available for conducting cultural resource surveys. (Grants may not be used to prepare Historic Resource Survey Forms for determinations of eligibility to the National Register.) Surveys may be organized by municipal or county limits, by drainage area or physiographic zone (for archaeological surveys), by historic theme, or by property or site types. Projects must be conducted in accordance with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office's standards, guidelines and documentation requirements. Contact the grant manager or regional Community Preservation Coordinator for advice on planning your survey. Consultants will be required to attend a special training session in Harrisburg, and this cost should be factored into the proposal. Examples of projects include: Historic sites surveysArchitectural surveysArchaeological surveysThematic surveys. National Register Nominations Grant assistance is available for preparing nominations to the National Register of Historic Places for resources already determined eligible for listing by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. (Grants may not be used to prepare Historic Resource Survey Forms to establish eligibility) Nominations must be prepared in accordance with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office's standards, guidelines and documentation requirements. Contact the grant manager for advice on planning your project. Preparers will be required to attend a special training session in Harrisburg, and this cost should be factored into the proposal. Examples of projects include: Nominations for historic districts, including rural historic districts.Multiple property nominations.Nominations for archaeological sites. Although nominations for individual properties will be accepted, evaluation for the proposal will be based on preservation goals rather than recognition that the Register may provide and will be weighted less than nominations for historic districts or multiple resources during the selection process. Competitive applicants in this category must demonstrate that listing will advance a preservation plan for the resource and is a stepping stone to a local historic district or similar goal. Planning and Project Development Assistance Grant assistance is available for predevelopment studies and planning for buildings or resources that are listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as a contributing property in a National Register Historic District. Community, municipal or regional preservation plans must be prepared in accordance with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office's Guidance for Historic Preservation Planning. Examples of projects include: Preparation of historic preservation plans for a municipality or county or region.Historic structure reports.Design guidelines.Feasibility studies.Preparation of preservation plans for the treatment of archaeological sites.Preparation of plans for adaptive use of historic properties.Preparation of plans that assist communities in the preservation and revitalization of historic resources including developing a Historic Architectural Review Board and/or a Certified Local Government. Archaeology Grant assistance is available to support activities that promote or enhance the understanding of Pennsylvania's prehistoric or historic archaeological resources. Archaeological projects can take the form of surveys, excavations, artifact analyses and various types of syntheses. Activities may not be associated with state or federal compliance projects; projects should meet the philosophy of the Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania and the other PHMC policies on archaeological investigations and resources. Examples of projects in addition to surveys, national register nominations and preservation plans include: Development of regional site sensitivity models.Preparation of regional and/or temporal syntheses.Research and artifact analysis.Problem-oriented excavation projects.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible applicants are limited to non-profit organizations and local governmentsEligible applicants may apply for and receive either one construction-related OR planning-related grant (not both)Who May ApplyThe following are the types of organizations that are eligible to apply. Please check with the grant manager to confirm organizational eligibility.

Certified Local Governments Certified Local Governments and Applicants located within a CLG receive special consideration as part of the evaluation process.Colleges and Universities
Conservancies
Historic Preservation Organizations
Historical Societies
Local Governments
Museums
Religious Institutions
Other historical organizations
Museums and historic sites that are owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission but operated by independent nonprofit organizations
Multipurpose Organizations. Individual subunits (e.g. Moravian Pottery and Tile Works) within multipurpose government (e.g. County of Bucks) or tax-exempt organizations may apply for grants if they function as a discrete unit within the parent organization. A subunit that is part of a larger organization will be deemed eligible if:The unit has administrative autonomy for its operations;
The unit has a fully segregated and itemized operating budget within that of the parent organization;
The unit is able to separately and distinctly fulfill all eligibility and application requirements as defined in these guidelines.More than one qualified subunit within a multipurpose organization may apply for funding during the same grant cycle.To apply for a Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grant, an organization must meet the following requirements:Must be located in Pennsylvania.Must have tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service or be an entity of local government.Must be incorporated and serving the public for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to the submission of the grant application.Must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State: Bureau of Charitable Organizations, as required.The property, building, or community for which funds are requested must meet the following requirements;

Must be located in Pennsylvania Must be documented as being listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places; either individually or as a contributing property in a National Register Historic District (Applications that do not include appropriate documentation from the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office will not be eligible for funding).Match RequirementFunding requests require a 50/50 CASH matchSources of the CASH match may include direct organizational funds or grant awards from private foundations, federal programs, or other state agencies.

Ineligibility

Organizations and others that are not eligible to apply include:

Museums and historic sites operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.Associate groups at museums and historic sites operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.Management groups at museums and historic sites owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.Museums and historic sites operated by state or federal government agencies.Associate groups at museums operated by state or federal government agencies.For-profit organizations or corporationsState governmentFederal governmentIndividuals.Keystone Historic Preservation Project Grants may not be used to fund the following:

Mitigation activities performed as a condition or precondition for obtaining a state or federal permit or licenseRequests for determination of eligibility for the National RegisterEndowmentsGeneral operating supportOverhead or indirect costs for operation of organizationCapital improvement projects, including "bricks and mortar" rehabilitation, restoration or preservation of historic buildings (eligible activity under the Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grant Program)Existing part-time or full-time staff positions (this includes hiring part-time staff during their nonworking hours)Projects that have been initiated prior to the date of the awardProjects that serve a religious purpose or promote religious dogmaForums, conferences, symposia, lectures, oral histories and exhibitions not available to the public or held outside of PennsylvaniaPrizes and awardsExpenses for entertainment, including food and beverageLobbying-related expensesSalaries or wages paid to employees of the applicant are not considered to be cash contributions and cannot be included as matching fundsIn-kind contributions may not be used to satisfy the matching requirement.