Applying for a Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative Local Heritage Grant

The grant application portal for the Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative Local Heritage Grants is now CLOSED. Please check back for news about future grant cycles.

WHO: Authorized recipients of LMDI grant funds include not-for-profit organizations that are exempt from federal income tax, such as, but not limited to:

  • Organizations with preservation, conservation, cultural, historical, or archeological missions
  • Organizations partnering with state or local public land agencies and related sites
  • Coordinating entities associated with federally-designated National Heritage Areas
  • Tribal groups, organizations, and institutions
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • Visitor bureaus and destination marketing organizations
  • State and local government entities and political subdivisions

WHAT: Projects must be located within the geographic boundaries of the Delta Region, be carried out by the recipient organization, and fit within one or more of the categories below.

  • Regional Native American culture and heritage interpretation
  • Regional African-American culture and heritage interpretation
  • Public Roads and Visitor Use Plans – including interpretive additions to public ways
  • Regional Music Heritage – with specific emphasis on Mississippi Delta Blues
  • Museums – planning, implementation, education, and collection integrity
  • HBCUs – to complete surveys (including efforts to designate historic and archeological sites for the National Register of Historic Places or as a National Historic Landmark)
  • HBCUs – to stabilize, preserve and interpret historic sites and structures
  • Non-HBCU Archeological Sites, Historic Buildings or Structures

Priority consideration may be given to projects that:

  1. Will be completed within 12-18 months of award.
  2. Are funded by 50% or more in matching support from non-federal sources.
  3. Demonstrate long-term sustainability through the involvement of multiple partners.
  4. Result in increased heritage tourism in the Delta Region.
  5. Require $25,000 or less in grant funding.
  6. Are developed in consultation with a national park system unit.

Local Heritage Grants are ideal for high-quality projects where time is of the essence and outcomes are compelling:

  • The program seeks participants who will be able to report their successes that, when shared, may act to inspire further development and support of the LMDI program.
  • Sponsoring organizations should demonstrate a strong need for funding assistance as well as the capacity to execute their project with excellence and without delay.

WHERE: Geographic and other restrictions to consider:

  • Your project must be physically located within the Delta Region.
  • Your project may not be physically located on federal property. However, it may be sited on non-federal property within a National Heritage Area.
  • Your project may not benefit a federal agency, including NPS programs or national park system units.

WHEN: We are no longer accepting applications for the 2022 grant cycle. Please check back for announcements regarding future grant cycles.

Last updated: June 3, 2022

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