MHS Heritage Partnership Program Grant

The MHS Heritage Partnership Program offers funding to build history-based partnerships across Minnesota. This competitive grant, supported by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, aids eligible applicants, including educational institutions and nonprofits. With grants ranging from $10,000 up to $400,000, the program encourages collaboration without a match requirement, fostering community engagement and preservation of Minnesota's rich cultural resources.

General information
This is a competitive grant program that funds capacity building and program development of history-based partnerships throughout the state. This state-funded program is made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund using sales tax revenue resulting from the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy amendment created through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008.
The goal of this grant program is to build the capacity of eligible applicants to preserve and enhance access to Minnesota’s history and cultural resources by supporting the creation and development of sustainable, history-based partnerships throughout the state. Two or more partners that are educational institutions, units of state or local government, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations and federally recognized tribes based in Minnesota are encouraged to apply.
Availability of funding:
Dependent on legislative funding, applications are accepted annually. Typically, applications are accepted in January (if funding is available).
Grant request range:
The minimum grant is $10,000. There is currently no request cap. However, there is typically between $300,000 to $400,000 available each round to be awarded.
Match requirement:
None; however, a match is encouraged. It is one indicator of local buy-in and commitment to the partnership grant. It is a criterion used for evaluating grant applications.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants: Two or more partners that are eligible applicants, such as educational institutions, units of Minnesota state or local government, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, and/or federally recognized tribes. Partners must have: An active, vested interest in the program or partnership developmentContribute in some tangible way to accomplishing the goalsHave a common mission or purposeAll will benefit from the grant-funded work.Eligible categories: The Heritage Partnership Program categories below include a suggested list of programs within each category. The list is not exhaustive and is meant only as a sample of possible programs. Some partnership programs might appear to fit under more than one category. If your planned program does not appear to fit into one of these categories, or if you are unsure which category should be applied to your program, contact the Grants Office before applying. The Heritage Partnership Program encourages applications for innovative partnership programs.Partnership development and planningThis category facilitates stronger collaborations between partners. Constructing a new partnership or enabling a significant development for an existing partnership ensures public benefit through better-preserved resources and improved access to history. Programs within this category are intended to build the networking and organizational capacity of the individual partners and the partnership as a whole.Shared workforcePartners may individually have similar needs that do not warrant hiring of full-time staff or contractors, but aggregating those functions for a temporary supplemental staff person or contractor might allow for a more intentional treatment of similar historic resources for greater public benefit. The funding for shared workforce is a one-time source of funding to enable a partnership to dramatically increase its capacity for a specified time period or to test the idea of a shared workforce among partners. The application must thoroughly demonstrate that the partnership has carefully planned how to evaluate success and sustain a shared workforce beyond the grant period.Shared servicesPartners may individually provide similar services to the public or contract with service providers to accomplish common goals. Streamlining services for greater efficiency will allow for a more comprehensive public benefit. The application must thoroughly demonstrate the partners and their customers will benefit from the shared service and that the partners can sustain the results of the shared services beyond the grant period.Shared resourcesPartners may individually manage similar resources on behalf of the public. Streamlining management of those resources for greater efficiency will allow for a more comprehensive public benefit. The application must thoroughly demonstrate the partners and their customers will benefit from the compilation and sharing of resources. The partners must be able to sustain the results of the shared resources beyond the grant period.