Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives | MAJOR 202107

Opportunity Information: Apply for MAJOR 202107

Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives is a discretionary grant program run by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) within the National Archives and Records Administration. The goal is to fund projects that noticeably improve how the public discovers, accesses, and uses major historical records collections. While many kinds of historical materials are eligible, the program places special emphasis on records that illuminate Americas early legal history, including colonial and territorial documentation, county and early statehood records, and tribal proceedings. In practice, the program is looking for projects that help people find and work with historically significant collections that are currently hard to access, scattered, under-described, or not available online.

The program supports a range of project types as long as they lead to better public access. Funded work may include digitizing historical records held by a single institution and publishing them online for free public use. It may also include providing access to born-digital records, which often require specialized workflows to preserve and deliver safely. Another strong fit is the creation of freely available virtual collections that pull together related records from multiple institutions, helping users explore a topic or record series without needing to know where each physical item is held. The program also allows projects focused on developing new tools, methods, or approaches that make records easier to search, navigate, or interpret, particularly when the approach can be reused by others.

NHPRC encourages collaboration, especially projects that unite complementary materials held across different repositories. Competitive applications tend to address large, well-defined needs in the field and produce results that are replicable and scalable, meaning other institutions could adopt the same model without reinventing it from scratch. The program also signals that public engagement matters, so applicants are encouraged to involve communities and users in meaningful ways rather than treating access as purely a technical deliverable. Applicants are also advised to review NHPRCs published rules on what it will and will not fund, because proposals made up entirely of ineligible activities will be rejected. NHPRC notes that a separate program, Access to Historical Records: Archival Projects, has different requirements and award amounts, so applicants should make sure they are applying under the right track.

Awards in this category run from one to three years, with grant amounts between $100,000 and $350,000. NHPRC expects to make up to five awards, with up to $1,000,000 total planned for the category. Funded projects cannot start earlier than January 1, 2022, and recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publicity, publications, and any other products created with grant assistance.

Eligible applicants include US nonprofit organizations and institutions, colleges and universities (public or private), state and local government agencies, and federally acknowledged or state recognized Native American tribes or groups. The program requires cost sharing: NHPRC will cover no more than 50 percent of the total project cost, so the applicant must provide the remaining share. The applicants match can include direct expenses, indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-federal third-party support, and income earned by the project. However, a key restriction is that NHPRC funds cannot be used for indirect costs, so any indirect costs must appear under the applicants cost-sharing portion rather than being charged to the federal grant.

Finally, there are standard federal registration requirements. Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application, keep that registration active throughout the review and award process, and include a valid DUNS number in the application materials (noting that the opportunity references guidance available through SAM user materials). The opportunity was posted under Funding Opportunity Number MAJOR 202107, with an original closing date of January 13, 2021, and an award ceiling of $350,000 per grant.

• The National Archives and Records Administration in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 89.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 02, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 13, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for MAJOR 202107

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