Grant Opportunities

The New Jersey Historical Commission is a state agency within the Department of State dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history. All of its grant funding is provided by legislative appropriation.

The New Jersey Historical Commission offers General Operating Support Grants, Project grants and Minigrants to support a variety of programs and activities related to New Jersey history. It also offers prizes and free archival evaluation services through the Caucus Archival Projects Evaluation Service or CAPES. Guidelines for the grants and prizes program (along with reporting requirements for grant recipients) are available below: 

• General Operating Support
• Project Grants and Minigrants
• Prizes- Richard J. Hughes Award, Alfred E. Driscoll Prize, Richard P. McCormick Prize,
              Mildred Barry Garvin Prize
• Caucus Archival Projects Evaluation Service (CAPES)

Grant Application Process

The Historical Commission now requires that applicants submit a Declaration of Intent online prior to submitting an application.

Applications and Declarations of Intent will be filed electronically using the System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE). If you are having any difficulties registering for SAGE, please contact the Commission immediately at 609-292-6062.

What's New for FY 2014-FY 2015

For the FY 2014 – FY 2015 General Operating Support grant cycle, all application narratives will be submitted as an uploaded document. All narratives must be typed with no smaller than 12 point font and with a minimum of 1” margins on four sides. Pages must be numbered. The narrative portion may not exceed ten pages, with spacing at no less than 1.5 lines per line of text. Different standards may apply for county cultural and heritage agencies.

The New Jersey Historical Commission strongly encourages organizations applying for a General Operating Support grant to participate in the Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (StEPs) offered by the American Association for State and Local History. The Commission offers annual workshops that focus on different aspects of the StEPs program, and is available to provide additional information about it to any interested organization. Organizations applying to the Commission’s GOS program that are participating in StEPs are strongly advised to include information about their engagement with StEPs in their application.

The New Jersey Historical Commission is also encouraging applicants for General Operating Support grants to address plans for celebrating New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary in 2014 in their narrative. The New Jersey Historical Commission will be offering a number of special programs to celebrate this anniversary, based on the themes of innovation, diversity and liberty. For more information about the 350th Anniversary or to coordinate with the Commission in this effort, please contact the Commission at (609) 292-6062.

Past Grants Awarded

For a listing of the Commission's recent grants made to organizations, projects and individuals click on the appropriate heading below:

Grants awarded by the New Jersey Historical Commission, FY 2006-FY 2013:

General Operating Support Grants

The New Jersey Historical Commission is a state agency within the Department of State dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history. All of its grant funding is provided by legislative appropriation.

ELIGIBILITY: General Operating Support grants are available only to organizations. There are general standards of eligibility as well as specific requirements for programs. See pp. 11-14 in the General Operating Support guidelines for notes on eligibility.

General Operating Support Grant FY 2014-2015 GOS Guidelines

PURPOSE: General assistance to historical organizations, museums, historic sites, archives, libraries, and similar organizations with collections or programming relating to the history of New Jersey.

The Commission is committed to providing this support so that these historical organizations can develop and improve their services. It makes every effort to support a wide and varied list of history organizations providing New Jerseyans with excellent services, but the Commission’s funds are limited. Full funding is rarely possible.

All Interim Reports and Final Reports will be filed electronically using the System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE). The link to create Interim Reports and Final Reports can be found in the 'Related Items' box of the Proposal Menu for your grant. If you are having any difficulties creating or submitting an Interim or Final report, please contact the Commission immediately at 609-292-6062.

Project Grants and Minigrants

ELIGIBILITY:  Grants are available for both individuals and organizations. There are general standards of eligibility as well as specific requirements for programs. See the posted guidelines for each grant or award for details regarding eligibility.

DEADLINES:  All applications for Project grants and Minigrants will be filed using the System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE), and must be complete and filed by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline dates listed below. The entire proposal must be submitted by the applicant; Commission staff will not assemble proposals. No revisions of the grant package are permitted after the submission deadline. All applications for Project grants and Minigrants must be complete AND SUBMITTED by the posted deadline. Applications that have not been formally submitted using the SAGE system will be cancelled.

Project Grants and Minigrant Guidelines FY 2013 Project Grants and Minigrants Guidelines

All Project and Minigrant recipients that applied for their grant using the System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE) must also submit their Final Report using the same system. The link to create your Final Report can be found in the 'Related Items' box of the Proposal Menu for your grant. If you are having any difficulties creating or submitting a Final report, please contact the Commission immediately at 609-292-6062.

Project Grants

Projects: Funding for expenses of specific projects relating to New Jersey history. Eligible categories include conservation of historical materials (manuscripts, books, costumes, historical visuals); editorial and publication projects; educational initiatives; exhibitions; media (films, radio, videotape, digital media); public programs; and research (including archaeological projects, fellowships, oral history, and National and New Jersey registers of historic places nominations). Guidelines for FY 2013 Project Grants and Minigrants are posted above.

Minigrants

Support for smaller projects related to New Jersey history. Applicants may request support for planning (long-term, strategic, interpretive) but they may not use Minigrant funds for other types of operating support. Eligible categories include conservation of historical materials (manuscripts, books, costumes, historical visuals); editorial and publication projects; educational initiatives; exhibitions; media (films, radio, videotape, digital media); public programs; and research (including archaeological projects, fellowships, oral history, and National and New Jersey registers of historic places nominations). Guidelines for FY 2013 Project Grants and Minigrants are posted above.

Prizes

Richard J. Hughes Award: Please include a statement of at least one paragraph in length detailing the accomplishments of your nominee. Be sure to include contact information for you and your nominee. Self nominations are permitted.

Guidelines and Application

Alfred E. Driscoll Dissertation Prize: Eligible dissertations must be completed within the last two calendar years (2013 and 2014) and individuals may be nominated by others or they may nominate themselves. Dissertations that have already been accepted for publication are eligible, and their presses may apply for publication assistance. Unsuccessful applicants may resubmit their dissertations in subsequent years.

Richard P. McCormick Prize for Scholarly Publication is an award of $1,500 to the author of an outstanding scholarly book on New Jersey history published during the preceding two years. To apply, submit two copies of the book and the nomination form postmarked by March 15, 2013.

The Driscoll Prize and the McCormick Prize are offered in alternating years. The McCormick Prize is offered in odd years; the Driscoll Prize in even years.

Guidelines and Application

Mildred Barry Garvin Prize: $1,500 award to a New Jersey teacher, guidance counselor, or school librarian for outstanding teaching of black American history or related activity at any grade, K-12. A nomination form for this prize is included in the grant booklet.

Guidelines and Application

Caucus Archival Projects Evaluation Service (CAPES)

The New Jersey Historical Commission would like to take this opportunity to encourage your organization to consider CAPES (Caucus Archival Projects Evaluation Service), a service which provides free professional assessment of archival paper collections by consultants of the New Jersey Caucus of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference.

If your New Jersey history organization has a collection of paper items such as manuscripts, books, photographs, and maps, you may take advantage of a FREE assessment from a professional archivist of how your collection can best be conserved.

CAPES consultants are available to evaluate archival collections held by New Jersey archives, libraries, historical societies, and other agencies. The linked document below is a letter from CAPES coordinator Frederic Pachman, and provides background information on the program, contact information, and other important details.

Consider applying for CAPES, a joint project of the New Jersey Historical Commission and the New Jersey Caucus of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference. In these difficult economic times, CAPES can provide an important service to your organization.

CAPES Guidelines and Application

CAPES Letter