ANNOUNCING: SPECIAL PURPOSE FALL GRANT CYCLE!

The Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation is launching a Special Purpose Grant Cycle.  Applications are due September 15, 2024 and selected grantees will be notified in October of 2024.  Preference is given to non-profit organizations operating in and serving local communities. For this Fall session grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded.

The focus areas for grant distributions will assist local historical efforts on the part of historical entities. Grants should be for special projects and must be used by
May 31, 2025. Examples of special projects are: speakers; education materials for project acquisitions that enhance content or the visitor’s experience; fees for students to visit a museum; gas expenses for school bus transportation; registration costs for conferences and statewide meetings; and grants for professional development conferences and webinars.  Click here to read the Grantees Responsibilities.

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:
Century House
1201 Lincoln Mall, Suite 100
Lincoln, NE, 68508

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 $3,000 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.

The Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation is committed to individual and organizational efforts to build respect, dignity, fairness, equality, and self-esteem. We respect and value diverse life experiences, and are devoted to creating an inclusive and equitable environment for all.

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.

  • The Aeola H. Brennemann Library Foundation (FBO Grant County Library)
  • American Historical Society of Germans from Russia
  • Anna Bemis Palmer Museum/York County Foundation for Nonprofits
  • Battle Creek Community Development
  • Black Hills Parks and Forests FBO Scotts Bluff National Monument
  • Cedar County Historical Society
  • Cortland Museum
  • Custer County Museum
  • Dixon County Historical Society
  • Douglas County Historical Society
  • Dixon County Historical Society
  • Elkhorn Historical Society
  • Friends of Fort Hartsuff
  • Friends of the Gering Public Library
  • Front Street Cowboy Museum, Inc.
  • Gage County Historical Society and Museum
  • Genoa US Indian School Foundation
  • Gibbon Heritage Center Foundation
  • Haigler Community Foundation
  • Heritage Museum of Thurston County
  • Historical Society of Garden County
  • Hitchcock County Historical Society
  • Joslyn Castle and Gardens
  • Julian Preservation Committee
  • Keene Memorial Library
  • Keya Paha Public Library
  • Legacy of the Plains Museum
  • L/L County Genealogical Society
  • Movement in Omaha for Racial Equality
  • Museum of the Fur Trade
  • Nebraska Jewish Historical Society
  • North Bend Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Otoe County Historical Society/NE City Historical Society
  • Otoe County Museum Society, Inc.
  • Plainview Historical Society
  • Polish Heritage Center, Inc.
  • Prairie Arts Center
  • Rising City Public Library
  • Robert Henri Museum and Art Gallery
  • Sarpy County Historical Society
  • Saunders County HS and Museum
  • Scottsbluff Public Library Foundation
  • Seward Library Foundation
  • Silver Creek Historical Committee
  • South Sioux City Public Library
  • Stuhr Museum Foundation
  • Tarnov Heritage Museum
  • The Durham Museum
  • Wildwood Historic Center
  • Willa Cather Foundaton

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 Nations history.

2024 Statewide Grantees and location