OARS funding Libraries & Museums

The Museums for America (MFA) program supports projects that strengthen the ability of an individual museum to serve its public.

National Leadership Grants for Museums support projects that address critical needs of the museum field and that have the potential to advance practice in the profession so that museums can improve services for the American public.

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers the Dialogues on the Experience of War program as part of its current initiative, Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War. The program supports the study and discussion of important humanities sources about war, in the belief that these sources can help U.S. military veterans and others think more deeply about the issues raised by war and military service. Although the program is primarily designed to reach military veterans, men and women in active service, military families, and interested members of the public may also participate. The program awards grants of up to $100,000 that will support * the convening of at least two discussion programs for no fewer than fifteen participants; and * the creation of a preparatory program to recruit and train program discussion leaders (NEH Discussion Leaders). Discussion programs may take place on college and university campuses, in veterans' centers, at public libraries and museums, and at other community venues.

Founded in 1962, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music is dedicated to promoting understanding of the life and works of composers Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein and preserving the legacies of Weill and his wife, actress-singer Lotte Lenya. Since 1984, the foundation has awarded more than five hundred grants totaling $3 million to organizations and scholars worldwide in support of excellence in the presentation and study of Kurt Weill's compositions. In 2013, the Blitzstein catalogue joined the list of works eligible for support. The foundation awards grants to individuals and nonprofit organizations for performances of musical works by Weill and Blitzstein, for scholarly research pertaining to Weill, Lenya, Marc Blitzstein, and for relevant educational initiatives. To that end, the foundation is accepting applications for projects and performances taking place on or after January 1, 2018, and before June 30, 2019.

The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21) supports developing a diverse workforce of librarians to better meet the changing learning and information needs of the American public by: enhancing the training and professional development of librarians, developing faculty and library leaders, and recruiting and educating the next generation of librarians.

National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) support projects that address significant challenges and opportunities facing the library and archives fields and that have the potential to advance theory and practice. Successful proposals will generate results such as new tools, research findings, models, services, practices, or alliances that will be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend the benefits of federal investment.

The Flagstaff Area National Monumentsâ¿¿ (FLAG) museum collections include archeological, ethnological, artistic, and historical objects, natural history specimens, and archives from Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki National Monuments. The majority of the FLAG museum collections are at the Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC) in Tucson and the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) in Flagstaff. A FLAG Museum Collection Condition Survey will take place at each repository to create an overarching Survey report which will be written by the WACC Senior Conservator; however, since the repository locations are over four (4) hours apart and staff at each repository are most familiar with the FLAG collections therein, work will be divided between WACC and MNA with location-specific personnel involved at their respective repositories.

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural, and performing arts programs; schools, hospitals, educational and skills training programs, programs for youth, seniors, and the handicapped; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and their programs. Grants typically range from $1,000 to $20,000.

This American Philosophical Society program of small grants to scholars is intended to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the cost of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses.

This project provides a museum conservation focused educational work experience opportunity for participants interested in art and artifact conservation, as well as recent graduates from art conservation training programs, which complements classroom instruction. The participants will acquire and apply diverse skills related to best practices in preventive care and conservation treatment in relation to preparing collections for storage, research, and potential exhibit in a National Park Service setting. They will be exposed to the technical experience of surveying and treating archeological collections. The training and practical work experience this project provides will enhance the studentsâ¿¿ employability in the public or private sector.

National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) support projects that address significant challenges and opportunities facing the library and archives fields and that have the potential to advance theory and practice. Successful proposals will generate results such as new tools, research findings, models, services, practices, or alliances that will be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend the benefits of federal investment.

The Archives Leadership Institute seeks to build the capacity of attendees as leaders both in their own institutions and in the archives field. The NHPRC envisions a minimum of a one-week program that will tailor contemporary best practices in leadership skills to issues specific to archives professionals. The grantee will be responsible for all project phases, from curriculum design and development through administering the program for the attendees it selects. Topics for the Institute may include issues in technology, economics, public policy, and constituent relations, along with practical questions of administration, strategic planning, leading change, and fund raising. In addition, there should be opportunities for participants to develop solutions to the specific needs of their institutions. To cover these topics and needs, Institute faculty should include experts and educators in leadership development and organizational management as well as experienced archival leaders. There are models of such institutes in other fields that will be useful for applicants as they develop their proposals. Applicants may benefit from looking at these examples: Getty Leadership Institute for museum professionals Seminar for Historical Administration for administrators of historical sites and museums Leading Change Institute (successor to Frye Leadership Institute) for librarians and library administrators Award Information The Commission expects to make one award for up to three years with the expectation that an institute will take place each year beginning in 2019. Applicants may propose to host two or three institutes, depending on the total time period of their projects.

Evidence-based practice is the purposeful implementation of processes that have been proven by research to be most effective. The concept is an evolving one in the field of corrections, and within the field of librarianship it is also beginning to be discussed. The correctional librarian is uniquely positioned between both worlds, providing the services of a special library in a correctional setting for a population of patrons with a variety of criminogenic needs affecting their personal development toward a life free of crime. Evidence-Based Librarianship in Corrections is an area of exploration for the National Institute of Corrections to address the professional needs of the nation's library service providers working in corrections. By weaving together the best of research and evidence from both the corrections and library services fields, this work aims to fill the lack of information available to professionals in the field looking for proven, evidence-based approaches to professional questions.

The Humanities Collections and Reference Resources (HCRR) program supports projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital objects.

As part of broader university-wide diversity and inclusion efforts, the Office of the President and the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship (OARS) have issued a special call for proposals to conduct research, scholarship, or creative activities in the areas of social justice, human rights, diversity, and inclusion. Proposals may be submitted in any of these areas, but must address a scholarly question that will lead to testable objectives or measurable outcomes.

A Community Thrives is a new approach to social impact programs that was developed through a collaboration across the entire USA TODAY NETWORK. While most initiatives designate funds or give support to great charities, we're going to instead fund and support great ideas. The volunteering begins with you pitching your creative solutions to solving our communities' most critical needs.

Humanities Access grants help support capacity building for humanities programs that benefit one or more of the following groups: youth, communities of color, and economically disadvantaged populations. Humanities Access grants establish or augment term endowments (that is, endowments whose funds are entirely expended over the course of a set time period) to provide funding for existing programs at institutions such as public libraries, local and regional museums, historical societies, community colleges, HBCUs and tribal colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, archival repositories, and other cultural organizations. Humanities Access grants are intended to seed longer-term endowment-building efforts.

Humanities Access grants help support capacity building for humanities programs that benefit one or more of the following groups: youth, communities of color, and economically disadvantaged populations. Humanities Access grants establish or augment term endowments (that is, endowments whose funds are entirely expended over the course of a set time period) to provide funding for existing programs at institutions such as public libraries, local and regional museums, historical societies, community colleges, HBCUs and tribal colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, archival repositories, and other cultural organizations. Humanities Access grants are intended to seed longer-term endowment-building efforts.

Together with University Advancement, the Office for the Advancement of Research & Scholarship (OARS) is rolling out an new crowdfunding platform called HawksNest. Through HawksNest, alumni, family, and friends of the university can directly support the research, scholarship, and service projects of Miami University students, faculty, and staff. This is how HawksNest works: * Any Miami University student, faculty, or staff member may complete an online application to have a project considered for funding. * An internal review team assesses applications and posts approved projects on HawksNest for a maximum of 45 days. * Potential donors visit the site to learn about and pledge funds to approved projects. * Once a funding goal has been met, the project can begin! * Project managers use the site to keep donors up-to-date with information on the project's progress.

Applicant organizations for NEA Big Read must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; a division of state, local, or tribal government; or a tax-exempt public library. Eligible applicants include organizations such as literary centers, libraries, museums, colleges and universities, art centers, historical societies, arts councils, tribal governments, humanities councils, literary festivals, and arts organizations. Note: K-12 schools, school districts, boards of education, or other school governing bodies, whether public or private, are not eligible applicants, but may partner with eligible applicants. NEA Big Read supports organizations across the country in developing community-wide reading programs which encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences. These programs include activities such as author readings, book discussions, art exhibits, lectures, film series, music or dance events, theatrical performances, panel discussions, and other events and activities related to the community's chosen book or poet. Activities focus on one book or poet from the NEA Big Read library.

America's cultural heritage is preserved not only in libraries, museums, archives, and other community organizations, but also in all of our homes, family histories, and life stories. The Common Heritage program aims to capture this vitally important part of our country's heritage and preserve it for future generations. Common Heritage will support both the digitization of cultural heritage materials and the organization of public programming at community events that explore these materials as a window on a community's history and culture. The Common Heritage program recognizes that members of the public-in partnership with libraries, museums, archives, and historical organizations-have much to contribute to the understanding of our cultural mosaic. Together, such institutions and the public can be effective partners in the appreciation and stewardship of our common heritage. The program supports day-long events organized by community cultural institutions, which members of the public will be invited to attend. At these events experienced staff will digitize the community historical materials brought in by the public. Project staff will also record descriptive information-provided by community attendees-about the historical materials. Contributors will be given a free digital copy of their items to take home, along with the original materials. With the owner's permission, digital copies of these materials would be included in the institutions' collections. Historical photographs, artifacts, documents, family letters, art works, and audiovisual recordings are among the many items eligible for digitization and public commemoration. Projects must also present public programming that would expand knowledge of the community's history. Public programs could include lectures, panels, reading and discussion, special gallery tours, screening and discussion of relevant films, presentations by a historian, special initiatives for families and children, or c