The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) administers programs and services specific to their particular State including the National Register of Historic Places programs (administered through each SHPO), as well as, but not limited to, tax incentives, easements, grants, technical assistance, Section 106 review, and education programs. Rule of Thumb: Make the SHPO your first stop for most historic preservation and restoration inquiries.

We maintain a directory of SHPO's in the United States - for a full list, please click here.

1) Federal Tax Credit Program
(www.nps.gov/tps/tax-incentives.htm)
The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program encourages private sector rehabilitation of historic buildings and is one of the nation's most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs. It generates jobs and creates moderate and low-income housing in historic buildings.

The program is administered by National Park Service and the Internal Revenue Service in partnership with State Historic Preservation Offices.

Publications for more information about the Federal Tax Credit Program:

• Federal Tax Incentives for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, Annual Report
• Incentives! Guide to Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program for Income-Producing Properties

• Q: What is the 20% tax credit for rehabilitating historic buildings?
• A: One of the federal government’s most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs, the Preservation Tax Incentives reward private investment in rehabilitating historic properties such as offices, rental housing, and retail stores. Abandoned or under-used schools, warehouses, factories, churches, retail stores, apartments, hotels, houses, and offices in many cities have been restored to life in a manner that retains their historic character. The Preservation Tax Incentives have also helped to create moderate and low-income housing in historic buildings. (source: www.nps.gov/TPS/tax-incentives/incentives/essentials_1.htm)

• Q: Can the 20% federal tax credit be used to rehabilitate an owner’s private residence?
• A: No. The 20% credit is available only to properties rehabilitated for income-producing purposes, including commercial, industrial, agricultural, rental residential or apartment use. The credit cannot be used to rehabilitate your personal residence in which you live. However, if a portion of a personal residence is used for business, such as an office or a rental apartment, in some instances the amount of rehabilitation costs spent on that portion of the residence may be eligible for the credit. (source: www.nps.gov/TPS/tax-incentives/incentives/essentials_2.htm)

• Q: To qualify for the 20% tax credit, does a building have to be individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places or included in a National Register historic district?
• A: In general, yes. However, buildings that have been determined eligible by the State Historic Preservation Office for individual listing in the National Register or that may be included in a local certified historic district or in a historic district that is potentially eligible for listing in the National Register may also qualify for the credit. (source: www.nps.gov/TPS/tax-incentives/incentives/essentials_3.htm)

2) State, Tribal, and Local Plans & Grants Division
(http://www.nps.gov/orgs/1623/index.htm)
Since 1968, the National Park Service has provided funding for a variety of grant programs aimed at protecting our Nation's most significant historic and cultural sites and our diverse cultural heritage. More than one billion dollars has been awarded to Federal, State, and local governments, Native American Tribes, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions for preservation projects in all 50 states and the U.S. Territories.

The Historic Preservation Grants Division is responsible for the administration of the National Park Service's preservation grant programs:

• State Historic Preservation Office HPF Grants
• Tribal Historic Preservation Office Grants
  
• Tribal Heritage Grants (previously Tribal Project Grants)
• Disaster Recovery Grants
• Underrepresented Community Grants
• Save America's Treasures Grants (Authorized But Not Currently Funded)
• Preserve America Grant Program (Authorized But Not Currently Funded)
• Japanese American Confinement Sites Grants
• Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs)

Scholarship Assistance from the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

• Diversity Scholarship Program (DSP) - has provided financial assistance to more than 1,100 individuals from diverse racial, ethnic, economic and cultural backgrounds. The goal of the Diversity Scholarship Program is to increase the diversity of participants at the annual National Preservation Conference and in the preservation movement.
• Preservation Leadership Training - limited number of scholarships are available to ensure the cultural diversity of Preservation Leadership Training participants and will be applied to housing and/or meal fees.
• Mildred Colodny Scholarship for Graduate Study in Historic Preservation - provides financial assistance (a tuition award and a paid internship) and experiential learning opportunities to individuals preparing for careers in historic preservation.  The purpose of the Colodny Scholarship is to increase the diversity of people pursuing degrees and careers in historic preservation in the United States.

Institute of Museum and Library Services:

• Conservative Assessment Program
• Grants to States Program
  
• Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
• Museum Assessment Program
• Museum Grants for African American History and Culture
• Museums for America
• National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards
• National Leadership Grants for Libraries
• National Leadership Grants for Museums
• National Medal for Museum and Library Service
• Native American Library Services: Basic Grants
• Native American Library Services: Enhancement Grants
• Native American / Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program
• Native Hawaiian Library Services
• Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries

National Endowment for the Arts:

• Grants for Arts Projects - Art Works: Design - According to National Endowment for the Arts guidelines, historic preservation organizations that focus on architecture, landscape architecture, or designed objects should apply for funding under this program.

National Endowment for the Humanities:

• Challenge Grants - Challenge grants help institutions and organizations secure long-term support for, and improvements in, their humanities programs and resources.
• Collaborative Research Grants (Humanities) - These grants support original research in the humanities.
• Preservation Grants for Smaller Institutions - These grants fund the preservation and conservation of collections.
• We the People: Interpreting America’s Historic Places Grants - Interpreting America's Historic Places projects may interpret a single historic site or house, a series of sites, an entire neighborhood, a town or community, or a larger geographical region.

• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - makes grants in six core program areas: Higher Education and Scholarship; Scholarly Communications; Research in Information Technology; Museums and Art Conservation; Performing Arts; Conservation and the Environment.

• Charles E. Peterson Fellowship - In a joint program with the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, the Society of Architectural Historians is pleased to offer an annual fellowship that will support the participation of a graduate student in the research and writing for a volume in the Buildings of the United States (BUS) series.
  
  
• E. Geoffrey and Elizabeth Thayer Verney Fellowship - In an effort to enhance the public's knowledge and understanding of the heritage of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the Nantucket Historical Association offers an annual fellowship, the E. Geoffrey and Elizabeth Thayer Verney Fellowship.
  
  
• Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) - offers several grants and scholarships to individuals and organizations to promote professional development, outreach to the public, and publications.
  
  
• Getty Foundation grants - through strategic grants and programs, the Foundation supports projects in Los Angeles and throughout the world that advance the understanding and preservation of the visual arts.
  
  
• Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts - project-based grants to individuals and organizations and produces public programs to foster the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society.
  
  
• HABS-SAH Sally Kress Tompkins Fellowship - the Sally Kress Tompkins Fellowship, a joint program of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) and the National Park Service's Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), permits an architectural historian to work on a 12-week HABS project during the summer.

• John Coolidge Educational Fund Fellowships - The New England Chapter, Society of Architectural Historians invites applications for student fellowships supported by the chapter’s John Coolidge Educational Fund. Fellowships will be awarded to a graduate student at a New England college or university:
  • The John Coolidge Research Fellowship
  • The Robert Rettig Student Annual Meeting Fellowship

• The Kinsman Foundation - at its beginning in 1983, The Kinsman Foundation chose 4 granting areas to pursue.  Historic Preservation, originally characterized Historic Preservation and Restoration, continues as a primary interest. In 2006 we recognized that architectural preservation was effectively a focus in this area.
  
  
• National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) -NHPRC is the grant making affiliate of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It "supports a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources relating to the history of the United States."
  
  
• Nebraska State Historical Society Research Grants - awards up to three research grants of $1,000 each to support the work of scholars pursuing original research and interpretive writing on some aspect of history or archeology of Nebraska or the Great Plains.
  
  
• Presidential Library Grants - several private foundations associated with our Presidential Libraries provide grants-in-aid to assist researchers studying Presidential Library holdings.

• Society of Architectural Historians' Study Tour Fellowships - SAH Study Tour Fellowships are open to current PhD students and emerging professionals (within five years of having received a terminal degree). 

One of our most commonly asked questions concerns funding sources for those seeking to restore their primary residence.  Unfortunately, the majority of grants and funding sources are only available for non-profit organizations and/or for income-producing properties (ie. apartment buildings, commercial buildings).  There are, however, some resouces available for primary resident projects:

• Contact your SHPO, local CLG (certified local government commission, landmarks board, etc) and/or your local historical society(s).  There may be tax incentives and other assistance available at the local, state or federal level.  We maintain a directory of such organizations - please click here to do a search for your state.
  
  
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - flexible loan program that helps developers, investors, and families at all income levels to buy and restore properties in urban and rural historic districts.
    
    
• Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service - offers funds for the acquisition, construction, repair or rehabilitation of homes and apartment-style housing for low and moderate-income residents in rural areas.
  
  
• Preservation Easement Tax Incentives (PDF Document) - A preservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that protects a significant historic, archaeological, or cultural resource. An easement provides assurance to the owner of a historic or cultural property that the property's intrinsic values will be preserved through subsequent ownership. In addition, the owner may obtain substantial tax benefits.

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance - Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals.
  
  
• Foundation Center - national nonprofit service organization recognized as the nation’s leading authority on organized philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust.
  
  
• Grants.gov - One stop shopping for federal grants. Choose from topics such as: Agriculture, Arts, Business and Commerce, Community Development, Environmental Quality, Housing, Natural Resources, Transportation and many more.
  
  
• The Grantsmanship Center - founded in 1972 by Norton J. Kiritz to offer grantsmanship training to nonprofit and government agencies.