Funding a preservation project often requires a complex combination of public and private dollars. Listed on this page are the funding opportunities administered by the National Park Service. Additional funding sources include other federal agencies, state, and tribal historic preservation offices, private foundations, and community development organizations.
Fund a Preservation Project
Preservation projects include a wide range of activities from bricks-and-mortar rehabilitation to neighborhood surveys and documentation efforts.
Tax Credits
Federal tax credits provide an incentive to private developers to preserve historic properties and often close a financial gap necessary to make projects a reality.
Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit: A 20% federal income tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic income-producing buildings.
Non-historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit: A 10% federal income tax credit for the rehabilitation of pre-1936 buildings that are not listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Historic Preservation Fund
From the Historic Preservation Fund, there are several grant programs that fund a wide variety of preservation projects. Active grant programs include:
NPS/ Tribal Heritage Grant Files
- State Historic Preservation Office grants
- Tribal Historic Preservation Office grants
- Tribal Heritage grants
- Disaster Recovery grants
- Underrepresented Community grants
- Japanese American Confinement Sites grants
- Historically Black Colleges & Universities grants
Resource Preservation Grants
Several programs that focus on specific historic and cultural resource types offer grants.
Battlefield Planning grants: Awarded to groups, institutions, organizations, or governments sponsoring preservation projects at historic battlefields. Any battlefield on American soil is eligible for this grant.
Civil War Battlefield Land Acquisition grants: Awarded to state and local governments for acquisition of eligible Civil War battlefield land and for the acquisition of permanent, protective interests (easements) in Civil War battlefield land.
NAGPRA grants: Grants for consultation and documentation as well as repatriation activities for Native American cultural items, including human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
National Maritime Heritage grants: Grants for education and preservation projects related to historic maritime resources.
Research and Technology Grants
Preservation Technology and Training grants are available to undertake innovative research or determine ways to adapt existing technology with the goal of providing solutions to national needs in the field of historic preservation.
NPS/ San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park