The 2023 application process is now open. Submit your completed application with any supporting documents by April 30, 2023. Grantees will be notified in June, 2023. For a copy of the Grantee’s Responsibilities, click here.
The Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation (NSHSF) Statewide Grants Program is now in its third year. Your donations help provide grants that benefit local historical and educational organizations with programming and learning opportunities in community history. Examples of applying organizations include museums, historical societies, and libraries that use core educational, preservation and interpretive programs. Grants up to $2,500 will be available.
For a limited number of organizations that do receive some government support from counties or municipalities, funds are universally applied to operating expenses such as a salary for a director, utilities, insurance, or maintenance. This focused allocation leaves the organizations searching locally for funds to serve school classes, prepare exhibits, process and preserve artifacts, and undertake activities such as lectures and museum festivals. There is a tremendous statewide need for education, outreach and interpretive funding in these organizations.
There hasn’t been nor is there now in Nebraska a statewide grants program that can assist local historical efforts on the part of historical societies, museums, archives, and libraries. While states such as Florida, Montana, Minnesota and others have programs in place and while those have been extremely helpful to the chronically-underfunded local historical efforts, to date, no such program has been available in Nebraska.
In 2022 we were able to grant a total of $25,000 to these deserving organizations.
Our goal for 2023 is to increase the total to $50,000! Scroll down to donate to this project and help us support more of these local nonprofits.
Donate today to the NSHSF Statewide Grants Program!
Gifts of all amounts are welcomed and appreciated.
To donate to the Statewide Grants Program via check, please make your check payable to the NSHS Foundation and mail to:
PO Box 5703
Lincoln, NE, 68505
Congratulations to our 2022 recipients:
- Bone Creek Art Museum #2
- Brownville Historical Society
- Chadron Public Library
- Columbus Public Library
- Crawford Historical Museum
- Cuming County Historical Society
- Dixon County Historical Society
- Douglas County Historical Society
- Elkhorn Valley Historical Society
- Elmwood Public Library
- Finch Memorial Library
- Florence Historical Foundation
- Friend Historical Society
- Genoa Historical Museum
- Great Plains Welsh Heritage Project
- Historical Society of Ravenna
- Howard County Historical Society
- Johnson County Historical Society
- Kimball Public Library
- Loup County Historical Society
- Lux Center for the Arts
- Midtown Neighborhood Alliance/Blackstone Neighborhood Association
- Nebraska Jewish Historical Society
- Palisade Public Library
- Plainview Historical Society
- Scribner Musbach Museum
- Shelton Historical Society
- Sutherland Public Library/Maxine White
- Washington County Historical Association
- Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars through the Nation, doing good.
In Nebraska, the history of our state and Nation are kept alive by thousands of these stars doing good through the works of community historical societies, museums and libraries. They protect and preserve not what is Nebraska history but a history that is at the heart of our Nation’s history.
