NFPF: Matching Grants

NFPF: Matching Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: National Film Preservation Foundation
Amount: US $20,001 - US $75,000
Last Updated: January 20, 2026

Summary

The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) offers Matching Grants to support the preservation of significant American films. Nonprofit and public institutions can apply for projects involving complex preservation efforts, with cash stipends ranging from $20,001 to $75,000. Grants require a matching contribution of one-fifth of the project costs. Since its inception, the NFPF has aided numerous organizations in preserving culturally important films, ensuring their accessibility for future generations.

Overview

NOTE: Pre-Proposal - E-mail the NFPF regarding your archive's interest in applying. Provide your name, institution, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and a brief description of your project. The NFPF will then contact you to discuss your project.Letter of Inquiry - Invite Only - If your project meets the eligibility requirements, you will be invited to submit a letter of application. The registration deadline is represented by the Letter of Inquiry.Full Proposal - Invite Only Overview The NFPF helps archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and universities preserve and make available American films that are not likely to survive without public support. Since 1998, we have provided preservation resources to 337 organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Films preserved through our programs are used in education and seen widely through screenings, exhibits, DVDs, television broadcasts, and the Internet. The grants are made possible by funds authorized through The Library of Congress Sound Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-217) and secured through the leadership of the Library of Congress, and the contributions of public-spirited donors. The NFPF offers several types of preservation grants supporting the creation of preservation and access copies of American orphan films of historic and cultural interest. Basic Preservation Grants are the best choice for most institutions. Offered annually, these grants award cash and in some cases services donated by laboratories and post-production houses. The larger Matching Grants enable experienced preservationists to undertake more extensive projects. Matching Grants require that recipients contribute or “match” one-fifth of the total costs. The Avant-Garde Masters Grants, funded through the generous support of The Film Foundation, target the preservation of motion pictures significant to the development of the avant-garde in America. We welcome applications from American public and nonprofit institutions of all sizes and generally award between 30 and 40 preservation grants each year. Matching Grants The National Film Preservation Foundation invites applications for its federally funded Matching Grants. Matching grants fund complex, large-scale preservation, reconstruction, or restoration projects involving a single film or film collection of special cultural, historic, or artistic significance. The grants may be requested by nonprofit or public institutions with film preservation experience and the current capacity to carry out large preservation efforts. Funding Applicants may request cash stipends of between $20,001 and $75,000 to fund laboratory work and must "match" the NFPF grant with outside cash support equal to one-fifth of the total project costs.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Grants are available to public and 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that have completed at least one NFPF grant and have the capacity to plan, manage, and complete a complex, large-scale film preservation effort. Large projects must involve the preservation, reconstruction, or preservation of a single film or film collection of special cultural, historic, or artistic significance that:was made in the United States or by American citizens abroad andis not protected by commercial interests.The grant funds may be used to pay for the creation of:New film preservation elements, including protection of the sound track for sound films Two new public access copies, one of which must be a film print. For silent-era films, the reconstruction or translation of English-language intertitles. Closed captioning for sound films destined for online or television exhibition.Applicants must be prepared to contribute at least one-fifth of the total out-of-pocket laboratory expenses from other sources.The funds can be applied only to work commissioned after the grant start date. Funds must be used exclusively for preservation expenses and may not be applied to staffing, operational, or shipping costs (with the special exception of nitrate materials).

Ineligibility

Applicants may not apply for a Basic Preservation Grant during the same grant cycle.Materials originally created for television or video are not eligible, including works produced with funds from broadcast or cable television entities.