African American Heritage Grant - Education Grants 

The African American Heritage Grant, administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's Division for Historic Preservation, in partnership with the New York State Commission on African American History and the New York State Department of State, is a funding initiative designed to preserve, document, and educate the public about African American history across New York. It is supported by a legislative appropriation from the State of New York, specifically directed to the Commission to enhance public understanding of African American contributions to the state's historical and cultural fabric. The Education Grants component of this program supports nonprofit organizations and municipalities in developing projects that focus on interpreting, researching, programming, and documenting Black history throughout New York State. Projects must center on the historical period spanning from 1627, marking the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam, to 1975, the end of the Black Arts and Black Power movements. The objective is to uplift the histories of African Americans by creating publicly accessible educational resources and experiences that are accurate, inclusive, and community-informed. Applicants may propose a variety of project types under the Education Grants category. Eligible uses of funds include oral history initiatives, mobile applications, interactive digital content, educational exhibitions, public art with educational components, interpretive signage, digitization and archiving efforts, and collaborations with scholars to reframe existing narratives. The grant also supports research and documentation efforts such as historical resource surveys, National Register of Historic Places nominations, and cemetery or burial ground documentation projects that do not involve physical ground disturbance. Projects must include relevant professionals suited to the scope of work, such as historians, planners, or graphic designers. Education Grants range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $150,000, with a total of $2.8 million allocated across two anticipated funding rounds. Matching funds are welcomed but are not required. Nonprofit organizations must be registered in the Statewide Financial System and pre-qualified to do business with New York State by the time of application. Municipal governments (city, town, village, county) are also eligible to apply. Faith-based organizations may apply, provided that their proposed educational programming is open to the general public. The application process involves a required pre-application eligibility questionnaire. Once the project is deemed eligible, applicants are granted access to the full application materials. While the opening and closing dates for applications have not yet been announced, interested applicants are encouraged to subscribe to the African American Heritage Grant mailing list to receive updates, including information about upcoming informational webinars. For further information, applicants may contact the program via email at [email protected] or by calling (518) 237-8643. The program encourages broad participation across New York’s nonprofit and public sectors to ensure that underrepresented and historically significant African American stories are preserved and shared widely through impactful educational initiatives.