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    Where is Information About What A Grant Pays For?

    When funding is available, it is because Congress has acted to pass a law, or section of a law, that relates to grant funding. Congress makes funding for grants available through a process called appropriation. This means that Congress provides both guidance on what type of activities a grant can support and the actual funding for the grant. In order to apply for a grant, potential projects will need to be within the range of activities identified by Congress and be submitted by an eligible applicant organization. After Congress appropriates funding, the National Park Service advertises the availability of funding using a document called a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Note that other federal agencies may use different terms to describe this document.

    The National Park Service posts all Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grant application materials including detailed instructions, forms, and key information on the government-wide database of funding opportunities. This database is called grants.gov; you must have an account in grants.gov in order to apply for a grant, but no account is necessary to browse for information. If you or your organization is interested in applying for a grant, we strongly encourage you to start early. In addition to the time it will take to complete the application, there are other registration requirements which may need to be completed before you are able to submit an application.

    Key Information About Grant Opportunities

    There are two key sources for information about grant opportunities:

    Important Planning Information

    If your organization has never received a Federal grant before, you should allow yourself several weeks to prepare to submit an application. There are several systems with which an organization must be registered in order to apply for a grant. You should register with these systems in the order in which they are presented below.

    🛈 Registration with these systems is free.


    All applicants should review the table below prior to applying to ensure that they are registered with all of the entities.
    System Registration Typical Processing Time
    Internal Revenue Service - Employer ID Number (EIN) Apply online Up to 5 weeks
    Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) More information from NPS on UEIs. Apply online 1 to 2 business days
    System for Award Management - SAM.gov Apply online Between 2 weeks and 3 months
    Grants.gov Apply online Same day

    Understanding Applicant Eligibility

    Not all organizations can apply for every grant program. There are some opportunities that are only available to specific kinds of organizations. The chart below summarizes what types of governments, nonprofits, and other organizations can apply for which grants. Different symbols are used to show prime and sub-grant applicants. A prime applicant is an organization that can apply directly to the National Park Service for a grant; if an application from a prime applicant is funded, they may award sub-grants (if allowed by the grant program).

    In the table below, the abbreviations for each grant program run along the top a headers. The first two columns list organizations, by type, that can apply for a grant from one or more of these grant programs. The Notice of Funding Opportunity posted to grants.gov when we are accepting applications will always be the authoritative source of which organizations can or can't apply for a grant. The table is intended to be a simplified summary to help connect interested organizations with the various grant programs for which they might be able to apply.
    ◆ = Indicates who must be the prime grantee (and who must be the organization that applies to NPS for a grant)
    ◇ = eligible sub-grantee, subject to the policies, practices, and procedures of the prime grantee, 2 CFR 200, the HPF grant manual, and the prime award’s term and conditions. This data has been added only for those grant programs where subgrants are most common.
    AACR HBCU HER Bruhn SAT Semiquin-centennial THG URC Disaster SHPO THPO
    History Preservation Collections Preservation Formula Grants

    Participants in the Federal Preservation Partnership Program

    State Historic Preservation Offices

    Tribal Historic Preservation Offices

    Certified Local Governments

    ◇* mandatory 10%

    Governments

    Federal agencies except NPS

    Units of state & local government

    ◆◇

    Federally-recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Villages/Corporations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations as defined by 54 USC 300309, 54 USC 300313 and 54 USC 300314

    Nonprofits

    Nonprofit Organizations

    ◆◇

    Educational Institutions

    Public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education

    HBCU

    Independent school districts

    Individuals and Businesses

    Private individuals & businesses

    Where is the Application?

    There is no single document that is "the application." There are multiple documents that, together, will form your application. Some documents are downloaded from grants.gov, completed locally on your computer, and then uploaded into grants.gov as part of what grants.gov calls your "workspace." The workspace is a collaborative environment where you will add the documents you previously downloaded and where you will also complete other forms completely online.

    You will find all the information you need to apply for a grant on grants.gov.

    1. Search for the grant opportunity using key words or by following a link. When we are accepting applications, the section at the top of this page will have links to the application page on grants.gov.
    2. Read all of the posting on grants.gov
    3. Go to the Related Documents tab and download and read instructions in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)/Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). This document will have complete instructions on how to apply as well as a list of all the forms that need to be completed.
    4. Download any necessary forms or worksheets under the Related Documents tab. You will uses these forms and worksheets to provide us required information.
    5. When you are ready to apply, complete the files you have downloaded, click on the Apply button to begin the application process.
    6. There is no required naming convention or order for uploaded files. Titles should be clear and descriptive.
    7. Submit your application package.
    Screenshot from grants.gov showing a funding opportunity with the "Apply" button and "Related Documents" features highlighted.

    Screenshot from grants.gov funding opportunity page showing how to find key documents that are part of the application.

    Last updated: May 15, 2024