New York State African American Heritage Grant Program

New York State African American Heritage Grant Program is sponsored by New York State. Supports nonprofit organizations and local governments in documenting, interpreting, and preserving places and stories of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in New York.

African American Heritage Grant - New York State Parks & Historic Sites African American Heritage Grant African American Heritage Grant Boating Infrastructure Grant Program Certified Local Government Program Environmental Protection Fund LWCF Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program Maritime Heritage Subgrant Program Municipal Parks and Recreation Grant Snowmobile Trail Grant Program Recreational Trails Program ZBGA Capital Grant Program ZBGA Operational Support Grant Program The New York State African American Heritage Grant Program (NYSAAH) provides grants to assist nonprofit organizations and local governments in documenting, interpreting, and preserving places and stories of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in New York.

The program is 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 .

Funding for this program comes from a New York State appropriation to the Commission to support and promote a greater understanding of the history and achievements of African Americans and people of African descent throughout the State. For detailed information regarding eligibility, application process, ratings criteria, and more, please refer to the African American Heritage Grant Guidelines under "Grant Resources" below.

The NYSAAH grant program was created to educate the public about sites and people connected to a broad spectrum of Black history across New York. All eligible projects must focus on the period from 1627, when the first enslaved Africans arrived in New Amsterdam, to 1975, the latter part of the Black Arts and Black Power movements.

Using the years 1627-1975 ensures that the most important places, people, and events within the diverse legacy of contributions, struggles, and cultural influences are preserved and recognized.

Nonprofit organizations registered in New York State and municipalities (city, village, town, county) committed to embracing, preserving, and sharing the history, place making, and achievements of African Americans in New York State through targeted education and capital projects are eligible to apply to the NYS AAH Grant Program.

Examples of nonprofit organizations eligible to apply for this opportunity include Black cultural institutions, local preservation organizations, historic sites or museums, historical societies, Friends Groups, faith-based organizations, and burial ground or cemetery associations.

All applicants must be registered in the Statewide Financial System (SFS), and nonprofit organizations must be pre-qualified to do business with New York State by the grant application deadline. For information, visit: NYS Resources for Grant Management. There are two separate grant categories: Education Grants and Capital Grants.

Applicants may apply for one or both categories. Please note that separate grant applications are required for each category. Matching funds are welcome but not required.

Education grants support education, interpretation, programming, research, and/or documentation projects that highlight, uncover, uplift, and amplify the contributions and history of African Americans in New York State. Project teams must include professional services applicable to the project type (e.g., historian, graphic designer, planner, etc.).

Eligible projects may include (but are not limited to): Oral history projects that document historic events, people, and/or places Website, mobile app, interactive digital media, story maps, audiovisual programming Collaborating with scholars and creatives to re-imagine interpretation and programming, tours of historic places, and exhibitions that focus on Black history as a primary narrative Educational programming focused on Black history Public art that includes an educational component Historic markers and interpretive signage Digitization and/or archiving of papers, photos, and video records providing information on significant civil rights events, persons, and associated sites that will be stored in a place available to the public Historic resource surveys to discover and document buildings and sites National Register of Historic Places nominations for properties that meet the NR criteria Cemetery or burial ground projects resulting in publicly available research describing the origins and daily lives of the deceased individuals.

These projects may include: Existing burial grounds: Archaeological survey reports and documentation with no ground disturbance (e.g., ground-penetrating radar, unmanned aerial vehicle technology from a licensed provider, photogrammetry of headstones, and/or LiDAR) Burial sites disturbed by a construction project: Predevelopment work associated with proposed reinterment, including feasibility studies and engagement of descendant communities and potential partners (i.e., the municipality, county, or town historian, private property owner, and maybe a funeral home) Reinterment: The reinterment of human remains disturbed by a construction project may be an eligible project, provided that an organization shows that it has successfully addressed the complex cultural, equity, and legal issues.

Education projects proposed by faith-based organizations must be open to all members of the public. Competitive faith-based applicants will demonstrate how their proposed programming aligns with the NYS AAH grant program goals as defined above. Capital grants can support pre-development planning and design, construction, or a combination of both for existing buildings, structures, or sites.

Subject properties are not required to be formally listed as historic resources, but the property itself, or the organization receiving the funding, must have a mission that promotes the contributions and history of African Americans in New York State. Note that for projects combining pre-development planning and design and construction, the pre-development costs cannot exceed 15% of the total grant request.

Eligible capital projects include: Capital improvements to existing facilities, sites, and monuments, including conservation, restoration, rehabilitation, stabilization, preservation, new construction, and accessibility upgrades.

Historic cemetery preservation projects: cleaning, repair, resetting, and conservation of gravestones, monuments, walls, steps, structures, and other above-ground features associated with African American burial sites.

Pre-development planning and design, such as Feasibility and reuse studies Property condition assessment reports with cost analyses Architectural/engineering plans, specifications, and construction documents Landscape conservation plans Archaeological investigations necessary for construction Preference will be given to capital projects that are: properties threatened by adverse circumstances, putting into question their continued use and long-term survival.

publicly accessible properties that benefit public education and programming related to African American history. Properties do not need to be designated as historic or more than 50 years old to be eligible. However, for capital projects involving National Register-listed or NR-eligible and National Historic Landmark properties, all work must conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties .

When capital funding is awarded to faith-based organizations, the space being improved must be open to the public and have a dual purpose (not solely used for religious services or worship). For example, NYSAAH grant funding may be used to rehabilitate a sanctuary space, provided that space is open to the public and serves a secondary purpose in addition to religious services, such as community meetings.

For capital projects, the applicant must either own the property for which the grant funding is requested or show proof of a long-term lease agreement and owner consent to the grant application and proposed work. In addition, all capital grant awards to National Register-listed properties will require a preservation covenant with a specific term, conveyed to the State and recorded against a property deed.

Preservation covenants run with the land and apply to the grant recipient and all successive owners, operators, and lessees. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in upcoming informational webinars; dates are to be announced. All applicants will be required to complete a brief online pre-application questionnaire to confirm the project’s eligibility for this program.

Upon eligibility confirmation, the full application package will be provided. Learn more about the African American Heritage Grant Program by viewing one of our recorded informational webinars. These webinars provide an overview of both Education and Capital grant opportunities.

Topics covered include eligibility requirements, examples of eligible Education and Capital projects, components of the full application form, how applications are evaluated, program goals, and more.

Recordings of both April 2026 webinars can be viewed here: African American Heritage Grant Guidelines For detailed information regarding eligibility, application process, ratings criteria, and more, please refer to the African American Heritage Grant Guidelines. African American Heritage Grant FAQ Have more questions about the African American Heritage Grant Program? Check out our FAQ for more information.

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