Grant Application & Administration

Funding for grants to Certified Local Governments (CLG) comes from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Historic Preservation Fund (CFDA 15.904), administered by the National Park Service, which provides financial support to State Historic Preservation Offices. Under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act, 10% of the annual appropriation to Ohio is set aside for CLG grants. Ohio's CLG grants are awarded on a 60%/40% matching basis except for projects that qualify as Funding Priorities; for these projects, the grant can cover up to 100% of the project cost. For other projects, the grant amount covers up to 60% of the total project cost with the grant recipient providing the balance. The grant recipient match can be made through any combination of cash, in-kind and donated services and materials. With the exception of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, federal funds cannot be used to meet the matching share requirements of CLG grants.

Certified Local Government Grant Process

Funds are Available for Historic Preservation Projects in Your Community

Each year the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office awards competitive matching grants to assist Certified Local Government communities in completing preservation projects. Now is the time to start thinking about 2024 projects.

When is the Application Deadline?
Applications must be completed by April 30, 2024, through the Foundant Application. All additional/supplemental materials are to be submitted via SharePoint.

Who Can Apply?
The 79 Ohio communities participating in the Certified Local Government (CLG) program are eligible to apply for CLG Grants. CLGs may partner with another party and name them as project administrator.

Funding Priorities for 2024
We are eliminating the matching funds requirement for projects that meet one of the Funding Priorities listed below.  If your project addresses one of these priorities the grant can cover 100% of your project costs. SHPO encourages applicants to contact our office at 614.298.2000 with questions about qualifying for a Funding Priority. The State Historic Preservation Office has identified the following Funding Priorities for 2024:

  • Projects to survey, nominate, or rehabilitate resources of the recent past, as defined in Ohio Modern: Preserving Our Recent Past / Statewide Historic Context, such as mid-20th century properties or properties reflecting mid-century themes such as civil rights.
  • Projects that update National Register-listed historic district nominations with expanded periods of significance and/or boundary amendments. In-state historic preservation-related training for CLG commission and related bodies, design guidelines, or community-based preservation plan or plan components.
  • Projects to survey, nominate or rehabilitate properties pertaining to the heritage of under-represented groups as defined in titled Reconciliation, Recovery and Resilience: A Historic Preservation Plan for Ohioans, 2023-2030, Goal 4. This can include ethnic minorities, women, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender and other regional, socioeconomic and ethnic groups.

Grant Project Administration

It is the responsibility of the grant recipient to issue a news release and notify both state and federal legislators that the community has received a CLG grant. A sample release and notification letter can be requested from the SHPO Grants Manager. Copies are to be submitted to SHPO with the first progress report.

Federal Funding Acknowledgement
Both the following narrative and graphic acknowledgements are to appear on the acknowledgement page in a report or publication, included in hard copy or electronic grant-funded products distributed to the public, and included in any press release about the project. Pre-approval from the SHPO is needed if any shortened version of this acknowledgement text is to be used.

Narrative Acknowledgement
This project was made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior administered by the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection. Department of the Interior regulations prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental federally assisted programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or disability. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of Federal assistance should write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C. Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240.

Acknowledgement Graphic
In addition to the narrative funding acknowledgement, the funding acknowledgement graphic must appear in all hard copy or electronic grant-funded products. The graphic is offered in several formats below. High resolution is suitable for publication and low resolution for use on web pages.

Color Acknowledgement Image - high resolution
Color Acknowledgement Image - low resolution

Project Sign
When a rehabilitation project is undertaken using CLG grant funds, a sign at the project site acknowledging federal assistance must be erected when the work begins and be maintained until work is complete. The sign must be viewable from a public right of way.

The sign shall be obtained and installed by the grant recipient. The cost of the sign is an allowable grant project expense. The sign should read:

Rehabilitation of {property name}, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Ohio Historcy Connection, Historic Preservation Office.

Two color photographs of the sign in place must be submitted to the SHPO with the first progress report.

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