Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (2025)

Background
The Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC) program, administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), aims to build the capacity of African American museums and support the growth and development of museum professionals within these institutions.

The program is designed to nurture museum professionals, enhance institutional capacity, and increase access to museum and archival collections at African American museums and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Grant Details
The AAHC program supports projects that may include:
- Increasing the number of museum professionals to enhance programming;
- Fostering collaborations with schools and cultural organizations;
- Enhancing leadership skills and organizational operations;
- Improving care and access to collections;
- Creating sustainability through emergency planning;
- Hosting paid internships for fair compensation;
- Developing mentorship opportunities for emerging staff;
- Reinvesting in current staff for skill enhancement.

Projects should align with one of the two main goals: 1) Build the capacity of African American museums, or 2) Support the growth of museum professionals.

Eligibility Requirements
Eligible applicants include units of State, local, or Tribal government; private nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt status; museums focused on African American life, art, history, or culture; public or private nonprofit agencies responsible for operating such museums; museum service organizations supporting these institutions; or historically black colleges/universities.

Organizations must be located in one of the 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau.

Period of Performance
The anticipated period of performance for funded projects is from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028. Projects may last from one to three years.

Grant Value
The total funding available through this announcement is $6 million. Individual awards are expected to range from $5,000 to $500,000 depending on project size. The average funding amount per award in previous years was approximately $171,429.

Place of Performance
The grant activities are expected to be performed at African American museums and HBCUs across the United States.