Provider
National Park Service
Application Deadline
July 21, 2026
Summary
The National Park Service’s (NPS) History of Equal Rights Grant Program (HER) will preserve sites related to the struggle of all Americans to achieve equal rights. HER grants are funded by the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), administered by the NPS, and will fund a broad range of preservation projects for historic sites including: architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and physical preservation to structures. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and do not require non-Federal match.
Eligible applicants are State governments, local governments, nonprofits, educational institutions, and Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiian Organizations as defined by 54 USC 300300.
Preservation projects must range from $75,000 to $750,000 in federal share, of which no more than 20% may go toward pre-preservation costs such as architectural or engineering services.
Grant applications that solely involve pre-preservation work must range from $15,000 to $75,000.
Common Eligible Projects
Grants fund physical preservation of historic sites to include historic districts, buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Projects must comply with applicable laws, such as Section 106, 110, and NEPA, and execute a preservation covenant/easement.
Eligible costs include pre-preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation.
Properties must be listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or designated a National Historic Landmark, either individually or as contributing to a district, whose significance is associated with History of Equal Rights. Projects not listed in the National Register or not listed in association with History of Equal Rights must submit a new nomination or amendment to an existing nomination as part of the grant project.
