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Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (IMLS) is a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that funds project-based educational programs, exhibitions, and community partnerships at small museums of all disciplines. Awards range from $5,000 to $75,000 for grant periods of one to three years.
No cost share is required for requests between $5,000 and $25,000; requests between $25,001 and $75,000 require matching funds from non-federal sources equal to the IMLS request. The FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity is currently available. Eligible applicants are small museums across all collecting and non-collecting disciplines in the United States.
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Application: The FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (PDF, 898KB) is now available. Grant Amount: $5,000–$75,000 Grant Period: One to three years Cost Share Requirement: If your total request for federal funding is between $5,000 and $25,000, then no cost share is required.
If your request for federal funding is between $25,001 and $75,000, you must provide funds from non-federal sources in an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of your IMLS request.
IMLS Priorities Cover Letter: Inspire Cover letter (PDF, 144KB) Inspire Grants for Small Museums (Inspire) is a special initiative of the Museums for America grant program designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through educational programs and exhibits, community partnerships, and collections stewardship activities.
The goal of the Inspire program is to build the capacity of small museums to provide museum services to their communities through supporting: The development of experiential learning and discovery in small museums; and The management and care of collections in small museums. The primary audiences for this program are small museums, museum professionals, and the publics they serve.
IMLS does not have fixed parameters to determine the size of a museum. All applicants have the opportunity to describe structural or organizational issues that restrict the abilities and capacity of the museum in the Organizational Profile.
Attributes that should be addressed include, but are not limited to: number of staff members and volunteers; estimate of total person-hours worked per week; operating budget and sources of revenue; number and types of objects in the collection; size of facility and property; types and numbers of audiences served; and size relative to other organizations of the same discipline, or within the same geographic region.
Interested in learning more about this grant program? Watch the informational video (below) for specific details about this grant program and the process of preparing an application. Schedule a counseling call with a program officer.
Find an available time on the calendar using the links (below). If you have questions, please contact the staff members listed under the objective that best fits your project. Collections Stewardship and Access Senior Museum Program Officer To schedule a time to talk to Reagan Moore about Lifelong Learning, click here .
Senior Museum Program Officer To schedule a time to talk to Mark Feitl about Collections Stewardship and Access, click here . We invite you to view our pre-recorded webinars. Getting Started with IMLS Museum Grants for FY 2026 is a general presentation on IMLS museum grant programs.
We recommend that you view this presentation for an overview before considering a specific grant program. Click here to access the recording or to read the transcript. Preparing a Budget and Budget Justification provides information to help you prepare these two required parts of the grant application – the IMLS Budget Form and the Budget Justification.
The information in this video supports the instructions in the Notices of Funding Opportunity for each grant program. Click Here to access the recording or to read the transcript. *All grant programs are subject to the availability of funds and IMLS discretion.
Deadlines are tentative. In 2024, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded $266. 7 million through grantmaking, research and policy development, to advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related organizations.
Inspire! Grants for Small Museums Advance | Support | Empower Office of Special Counsel
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Private nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3)), local governments, tribal organizations. ([uasd. org](https://www. uasd. org/nsdc-grants-update? utm_source=openai)). Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $5,000 - $75,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (IMLS) are due November 13, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (IMLS) is funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
IMLS posted all thirteen FY2027 Notices of Funding Opportunity to Grants.gov on September 1, 2026, every one closing November 13, 2026. Museums for America expects 122 awards with the ceiling raised to $350,000. Native American Library Services Basic expects 170. The African American and American Latino history programs both survived into the FY2027 slate. Here is what actually changed, and how to plan against a budget request of zero.
Read articleOn August 26, 2026, the NEA, NEH and IMLS jointly rescinded the disparate-impact provisions of 45 CFR Part 1110. No comment period, no delayed effective date, and an admission buried in the preamble: across FY2020 through FY2024 the agencies ran zero disparate-impact-only investigations. Here is what actually changes for grantees — and what does not.
Read articleIMLS was targeted for elimination by executive order in March 2025, had its entire staff placed on leave, and survived through litigation that settled on April 9, 2026. FY26 award notifications land this month, the FY27 National Leadership Grants deadline is tentatively November 13, 2026, and the President's FY27 budget proposes zero funding. Here is how the agency actually works, which of its channels is most durable, and how cultural institutions should plan against genuine institutional uncertainty.
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