Trends in preservation and operating funding

Working in cooperative network settings for the past 14 years, I have noticed distinct trends in the development of preservation, access and grant programs that support both projects and operations.  No matter what "nay Sayers" may claim, that there has not been a better time than now for cultural heritage institution funding in the past decade.

We need to keep our eye on what the economy does to grant funding, but the current programs in place, many of them new, are providing many opportunities. These include traditional federal sources, foundations, and some non-traditional sources.

Traditional Federal Funding

Many types of federal funding are coming under greater Congressional review, and are becoming easier to apply for and receive.

• In preservation activities, new "Preservation Assistance Grants" from the National Endowment for the Humanities' Division of Preservation and Access had originally been targeted to 15 states, which had historically not received as many Preservation and Access grants as others, but are now equally available in all states. The $5,000 grants can be used for general preservation consulting, consulting on a specific project, education, and after those steps, for infrastructure activities such as equipment and supplies.

• Another new funding source is the "Save Americas Treasures" program from the National Park Service. In its initial years, this funding was directed toward historic structures and objects. It is now being directed toward a greater variety of materials and collections. Because of the larger amounts awarded in these grants, they can be used for infrastructure improvement.

• The Institute of Museum and Library Services has for years, starting when it was the Institute for Museum Service, provided grants for the General Operating Support of Museums. The Library/Museum partnership grants, National Leadership Grants and the block grants from State Libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) are supplying money to many institutions, their collections, and their operations and personnel.

Foundations

Foundations are also turning toward cultural heritage institutions with a greater level of funding. Large general foundations such as the Ford Foundation and the Mellon Foundation are providing grants to archives and other repositories. And Community Foundations are focusing more on their local history and community treasures, and providing support to local archives and historical societies.

While not always operating grants, some of these funds have been awarded to start archival programs or to improve business planning of the institutions.

Non-Traditional Sources

Support that was not thought possible a decade ago is growing, as groups as diverse as the National Science Foundation and the telecommunications industry are providing research, project and some operating funds to cultural heritage institutions.

"Infrastructure improvement" through grants can be done via re-housing or new storage furniture and supplies for moving image collections. It can also go as far as funding for new environmental control systems, fire detection and suppression systems, and even new buildings. The ability to use grant money to get a long-lasting system upgrade or improvement can be a key turning point in the existence of an archival collection.

The Planning Process

When you are developing a project-supporting or operations-supporting grant, you should plan to devote a lot of time to writing the grant, but even more to the planning and development of the project.

Begin with staff discussion and board discussions of how a grant can improve the work of and contribute to the mission of your institution. Through market analysis of your constituents, by public focus groups, and by other means, you should focus the scope of the grant so that it answers specific needs and is manageable by your institution.

Managing a grant in your institution can be a life changing even life-threatening situation for your organization.  I know it was for my former workplace, when we received our first grant. We had to start recording project time with timesheets; submit monthly, quarterly, annual and project budget reports; look for matching funds; and undergo many other transformations of how we did business. To avoid these "shocks to the system" you should look at both guidelines for writing your grant and guidelines for grant administration from your funding source. It may help you to decide to pursue a certain type of grant, or decide against it.

In using grants for planning purposes, my suggestion is to pursue planning grants of a year in length as springboards to larger grants, projects or leaps to sources of operational funds. Funding to plan the staff, board, and constituent meetings I mentioned earlier and then synthesize the findings of those studies into a larger programmatic proposal can help you work your way into funding scenarios in a more cool, calm and collected manner.

Operating Grants

Operating grants are certainly difficult to write and receive. The very nature of most grant programs, especially from foundations, is to fund new and innovative projects rather than continuing activities.  Foundations and federal agencies also prefer project grants because they have specific start and end dates, and because they set goals and action plans which can be evaluated.

However, even though we hear about a dislike in awarding operating grants, according to the 2002 Edition of the Directory of Operating Grants more than 500 foundations award grants to support operations in cultural institutions.

These grants support the general, ongoing operating expenses of the institution's usual activities. And this funding is unrestricted - meaning you are not required to develop directly attributable activities/specifically to get the grant.  Operating grants help to underwrite mortgage or rent payments, salaries, office supplies, utilities, and other overhead expenses.

In order to convince foundations, federal agencies, and donors to supply operating support, your agency must make itself and its mission unexpendable. You must perform a crucial role for your user community. Then that role can be matched to a foundation or organization's action plan or agenda. With research, when you find a funder, you can develop shared goals and objectives.

There are some other aspects you need to watch for when developing an operating grant. 

• Almost all foundations awarding operating grants give to institutions in their local area. This can range from a metropolitan area to a county, or a state, but rarely are operating grants awarded on a national basis. Keep your focus close to home in your research.

• Some foundations say they provide operating grants; others say they specifically do not.  A third group -- those who don't specify if they award operating grants in their description and literature -- should also be a target for your proposal.

• Another idea is to develop measurable outcomes in your operations -- hiring additional staff will allow you to complete X amount of additional work. These longitudinal comparative statistics can help you and the funder evaluate your project.

• The absolute key component of an operating grant proposal is that you need to scientifically point out the needs to be addressed and the fact that there would be no group to address those needs if your organization ceased to exist.

• Who is your target user population?  You need to describe your user community, and how you have served them in the past.

If you do receive an operating grant, a realistic time limit is necessary. How long of a period do you plan to cover with this proposal? You cannot think of operating grants as never-ending. You might consider using the period covered by the operating grant to plan a diverse fundraising and grant writing program.

Through new and alternative grant resources, through a planning process, and through having the data to prove your institution is an indispensable asset to the community, you can move forward to take advantage of the operating funds available to your institution in order to strengthen your programs and community.

(This article is based on a presentation from the "Operating Funds and How to Get Them" Panel at the Association of Moving Image Archivist (AMIA) 2001 Meeting)