1. DC Community Heritage Project (DCCHP)
The DCCHP is a unique partnership of HumanitiesDC and the DC Office of Historic Preservation. The program provides funding and capacity support to Washingtonians interested in preserving the history of their landmarks, neighborhoods, and culture.
Awards up to $2,500
No LOI or Preliminary Proposal Required
Projects must emphasize community history and/or preservation
120-day grant period (June 15 – Oct 15)
All grants must result in a tangible work which can be archived and made freely available to researchers
Applications are due on May 12; Decisions will be made by June 3; Grant agreements will be signed and Checks will be issued by June 15; Final Reports and products are due Nov 15; Showcase, Dec 7.

2. What do we fund? Grant Funds May not be Spent On:
Organizational expenses unrelated to programming (rent, office supplies, etc.)
Refreshments, Hospitality, Parties
Production of visual, performing, or fine arts projects
Grant Funds May be Spent On:
Project supplies
Project venue rental
Honoraria
Project Transportation
A/V Rental for project
Project Publicity and Promotion

3. Qualifying Questions
Are you currently completing a HumanitiesDC grant project? (IF SO YOU CANNOT APPLY FOR THIS GRANT).
Does the project focus on history and/or preservation of Washington’s landmarks, neighborhoods, and/or culture?
How will the project benefit DC residents?
Have all HumanitiesDC and/or Historic Preservation Office grants received by my sponsoring organization been closed out successfully?
Can the project be completed within the term of the grant cycle?
Is the sponsoring organization a DC non-profit?
Is it feasible to find a 1:1 cash or in-kind match for the project?

4. Application Roles
Organizational Sponsor – The non-profit responsible for disbursing the grant funds.
In most cases, the same organization will carry out the grant’s activities. Applicants are required to submit contact information for the organization’s chief executive.
Project Director – The person responsible for administering the grant and/or the person responsible for carrying out its proposed program.
(In some cases you may have multiple people in this role)
Humanities Scholar – An expert in the proposed project’s field.
This person should provide guidance and advice throughout the project, ensuring that its methods, findings, and interpretations are based on vetted and traceable information.
Project Bookkeeper – The person responsible for maintaining receipts, in-kind documentation, and other financial records pertaining to the project.
The bookkeeper may not serve as the organization executive, the project director or the project scholar.

5. Project Narrative
The project narrative is the most substantive part of the DCCHP proposal. It is separated into four components:
Project Description - A precise indication of your project’s goals and how they will be reached. The description should include a specific list of activities, an implementation timeline, a list of key individuals and their roles in the project.
Project Collaboration – Outlines the role of the sponsoring organization (if it is not directly responsible for carrying out the project), the role of the humanities scholar, and the roles of any additional organizational partners.
Final Product – A description of the product that will result from the project. The final product must be able to serve as a long term record of the project’s achievements.
Outcomes and Evaluation – A description of how the project will be promoted to the public, and how its outcomes will be evaluated.

6. Application Budget Sheet
Project Budget Sheet
Category
HCWDC Funds
Sponsoring Cost Share
Total Project Budget
Requested*
Cash+
In-Kind
Budget
Honoraria $
Salary/wages
Travel
Supplies
Publicity, promotion, printing
Postage, telephone
Facilities rental
Evaluation
Total $ $ $
*Total requested must not exceed 50 percent of the total project budget.
+Source of cash contributions: Organization’s own funds $_________ Other sources $_________
List other sources: ______________________________________________________________

7. Budget Narrative
The Budget Narrative should provide specific detail to each category (row) on the budget sheet.
Example: Under “Salary/Wages” an applicant has listed $600 in DCCHP Funds, $500 in cash and $500 in in-kind contributions for a total of $1,600 in that category.
The narrative for that category might read:
Salaries and wages will be paid in the amount of $300 each to two professional oral historians (12 hours each at $25/hour). The project scholar is contributing half of her $1,000 consulting fee as an in-kind donation*, and the remainder will be paid for by the sponsoring organization.
All grants awarded through HumanitiesDC require a 1:1 match. The match can be comprised of any combination of cash and in-kind.
*You may use average salaries as quoted by the Department of Labor and Statistics to help determine appropriate in-kind rates. (

8. Example Project Types Museum exhibit or traveling installation
Documentary film
Educational website
Curricula or Lesson Plans
Oral History Project
NRHP Nominations
Original Research / Published Works
Church History
Archive Planning or Creation
Site Interpretation/ Neighborhood Walking Tour
Community History Day
Historic Mapping Projects

9. Final Product
Each funded project is required to produce a final product that will be added to HumanitiesDC’s DC Digital Museum (DCDM), an online repository of materials related to the city’s history, life and culture. The DCDM is open and freely accessible to the public, but it is also a digital archive aimed at preserving interpreted and original content for the benefit of researchers, students, teachers, and future generations of Washingtonians. It is the responsibility of each grantee to ensure that all submitted final products are free of copyright restrictions (though creators retain copyrights to their completed works). HumanitiesDC can make template deed of gift forms for oral history recordings available to awarded applicants. For more information of the DCDM, please contact HumanitiesDC’s Curator of Digital Collections, Jasper Collier at

10. To begin an application, go to: http://grantapplication. wdchumanities

11. Create a new account if necessary

12. Creating An Account How to create a new account:
Obtain the EIN and DUNS numbers from your sponsoring organization.
The system will first ask you to input some basic information about the sponsoring organization.
Next the system will ask for Project Director information. This information should be filled out by the applicant (even if a different person will actually be conducting the program).
Then the system will ask if the applicant is the Executive Officer of the sponsoring organization. If this role is filled by someone else, you will need to input their information as well on the next screen.
Finally, the system will ask you to create a password.
Once you’ve completed these steps you will be able to access the DC Community Heritage Project Grant application.

13. Recap
Have a clear conception of the story you want to tell, and why it is important.
Clearly state the goal of your project and how you will achieve it.
Itemize your budget and explain in each item in your budget narrative.
Include letters from partner organizations acknowledging their participation.
Think about audiences for your final product. Who will it benefit now, and who will it benefit as part of a permanent archive?

14. If you are awarded a grant
Funds will be disbursed to the Sponsoring Organization not directly to the Project Director or Project Bookkeeper.
You must agree to and sign all grant conditions before checks will be distributed.
You may be required to take part in media and promotion around the DCCHP as a whole.
All grantees must display their work for a public audience at the Showcase in December
Be prepared to comply with legally binding terms of the grant agreement such as:
Feature the DCCHP logo, the HumanitiesDC logo, the DCHPO logo, and a paragraph of disclaimer language from the National Park Service on all materials produced as part of the grant.
Failure to complete the project will require that the full grant award be repaid to Humanities DC, even if a portion of the funds have already been spent.

15. Questions/Contact
HumanitiesDC Director of Grants Louis Hicks DC Historic Preservation Office Patsy Fletcher