IMLS, SBA Offer Webinar On the Paycheck Protection Program for Museums, Libraries  

IMLS, SBA Webinar Now Available On-Demand 

As Small Business Administration (SBA) Phase 2 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding remains available, IMLS hosted SBA Economic Development Coordinator Noah Brod in a webinar discussing PPP issues most relevant to museum and library communities.  

The webinar is now available on-demand on the IMLS website. Mr. Brod’s presentation addresses PPP issues pertaining to eligibility, payroll costs, and forgiveness calculations, as well as questions concerning unique business organizational structures. Along with the most up-to-date SBA guidance available, the webinar features a Q&A segment addressing PPP-related concerns specific to museum and library communities.

For more information, please visit the IMLS website and subscribe to email updates.

Photo courtesy of High Desert Museum

$15 Million in IMLS CARES Act Grants Now Available for Museums and Library Services 

Applications for Pandemic Response Funding Due June 12, 2020

Washington, DC— The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced two new funding opportunities for museums, libraries, federally recognized tribes, and organizations that primarily serve Native Hawaiians. The combined $15 million federal investment will provide direct support to these institutions, equipping them to respond to community needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Museums and libraries have never been more essential to their communities," said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. "COVID-19 has not only created a public health emergency, but it has also created a deep need for trusted community information, education, and connection that our libraries and museums are designed to provide."

The CARES Act allocated funding to IMLS to enable libraries and museums and organizations serving tribal communities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including by expanding digital network access, purchasing Internet accessible devices, and providing technical support services to their communities. The $15 million available through these new grants follows previous phases of funding announced over the past few weeks. 

The deadline for submitting applications for either funding opportunity is June 12, 2020, with awards anticipated in August.

IMLS CARES Act Grants for Museums and Libraries supports museums and libraries in addressing their communities’ immediate and future needs caused by the pandemic. Projects may focus on preserving jobs, training staff, addressing the digital divide, planning for reopening, or providing technical support and capacity building for digital inclusion and engagement. Applicants are encouraged to prioritize services for high-need communities.

IMLS CARES Act Grants for Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum and Library Services assists tribes and organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in responding to the urgent and future needs of their communities. Applications focused on digital inclusion, technical support, rehiring or retraining staff, reopening planning, and other pandemic-related priorities are welcomed.

"Access to and use of all kinds of health, job, government, educational, social, and cultural resources are necessary to weathering the current situation, beginning efforts to reopen, and providing services to sustain communities,” said Kemper. "Together, we can brighten the future for museums, libraries, and people across America.”

Upcoming Webinars

Interested applicants are invited to attend free informational webinars to learn more: 

• IMLS CARES Act Grants for Museums and Libraries: Thursday, May 14, 2:00-3:00 PM ET 

• IMLS CARES Act Grants for Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum and Library Services: Friday, May 15, 2:00-3:00 PM ET 

These webinars will be through GoToMeeting, and advance registration is required. Recordings will be made available on-demand on the IMLS website. 

For More Information 

To apply for these grants, as well as to IMLS’s other available funding opportunities, please visit the IMLS website. 

Photo Courtesy of NCSU Libraries

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Financial relief for Maine cultural organizations

The Maine Humanities Council is honored to invite Maine non-profit humanities and cultural organizations that are facing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus to apply for rapid-response relief grants of up to $7,500. 

• Organizations serving and led by communities traditionally under-resourced in the humanities are encouraged to apply. The application is simple and the review process will be swift.
• Zoom information sessions will be held online on Friday, May 8, at 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. The deadline to register for a session is Thursday, May 7. To submit questions and register, please email us your name and the session you'd like to attend. Everyone who registers will be sent an invitation link via email.

IMLS Announces New Stimulus Funding for Communities Across America 

$30 Million Infusion to Provide Emergency Relief Through State Libraries 

Washington, DC— The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced measures to award the first $30 million of $50 million appropriated to the agency in the CARES Act. 

The $30 million in the funding phase announced today will be distributed to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, and the Freely Associated States based on population. The agency is allocating these grants through its most significant in-place funding vehicle for all states and territories, State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs), who are encouraged to use all available mechanisms to reach museum and tribal partners, as well as traditionally eligible libraries. 

These funds are in addition to previously announced measures to support the urgent needs of museums, libraries, their staff, and the communities they serve. On April 6, IMLS authorized new flexibilities for its nearly 1,300 open awards in response to the impact of COVID-19. 

“Together, we must address this challenge in the places most affected by coronavirus,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. “This pandemic has highlighted the fact that people in rural and tribal communities, as well as those in high-poverty areas or remote regions lacking access to broadband, have been disproportionately affected. We must target these funds to provide job, health, economic, and other high-impact relief, and this funding round focuses on providing efficient, urgent help to citizens across the nation.” 

States and territories will be able to use the funds to expand digital network access, purchase internet accessible devices, and provide technical support services to citizens to address digital inclusion efforts and related technical support, using the following types of data to prioritize efforts: 

• Poverty/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); 
• Unemployment; and 
• Broadband availability. 

“The urgent expansion of broadband access and digital services enables people to connect to the health, community, government, and job information so critical today, and to the other programs and services that play an enhanced role in the current health emergency,” said Kemper. “While we are distributing these funds through State Library Administrative Agencies, we urge museums and related organizations to partner with libraries in this vital endeavor.”  

IMLS will provide additional details and anticipated timelines of this funding availability directly to SLAAs. The agency also plans to announce additional measures to aid museums and libraries, both through its current funding and that received through the CARES Act. 

More information is available at imls.gov/coronavirus. For the latest information, subscribe to IMLS news updates. 

We are excited to announce $14 million in African American Civil Rights Historic Preservation Fund grants to fund 51 projects across 20 states and the District of Columbia. These projects will preserve sites and history related to the African American struggle for equality in the 20th century. Grant-supported projects include surveys and documentation, interpretation and education, oral histories, architectural services, historic structure reports, planning, and physical preservation.

Projects receiving grants this year will preserve resources, places, and stories like the Shepard Library at Stillman College, the Albert Kahn House in Detroit, Michigan, and the Greenwood Center buildings in Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Grant projects also include surveys across the country from Montgomery, Alabama to Muskegon, Michigan to identify lesser-known civil rights sites.

We've provided a breakdown of all 51 projects in a table at the bottom of this email. For more information about the African American Civil Rights Grant Program visit the program page on our website.

For more information about all of our other programs supported by the Historic Preservation Fund visit our website.

IMLS Authorizes New Grant Flexibilities for Libraries, Museums

How Awardees Can Address Urgent Needs Caused by COVID-19

WASHINGTON, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced the first of a number of critical measures to aid museums, libraries, and communities across the nation in response to COVID-19.

The new guidelines outline how institutions with open IMLS grants may adapt their existing funds to address immediate needs and extend timelines for their work to accommodate the disruption caused by coronavirus. Examples include continuing to employ staff, modifying project activities to align with social distancing requirements, and covering basic costs necessary to resume community work once the emergency has passed.  

“Today, IMLS begins the initial phase of our response to the COVID-19 emergency with new guidelines for our existing available funds,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. “We are determined to respond as quickly as possible, and that these funds have a direct, positive impact on museum and library operations and employment, and through that, on their communities.” 

IMLS committed to working with grantees to provide the maximum flexibility allowed by our governing authorities. For the complete guidelines, please visit the FAQ page on the IMLS website. Topics addressed include:

• Continuing to charge salaries and benefits to a currently active award if the work specified in the award cannot be performed due to disruption caused by COVID-19;

• Charging costs associated with the cancellation of project events, travel, or other activities;

• Due date extensions for reports and audits; and

• No-cost extensions for awards.

For questions about submitting new applications, please visit the FAQ page or contact an IMLS program staff member listed on the grant program page. Please note that there are new application deadlines for five library services programs.

On March 27, the CARES Act allocated $50 million in funding for IMLS to address the COVID-related digital divide. More information on the availability of these funds will be forthcoming. For the latest information, subscribe to IMLS news and visit imls.gov/coronavirus.