§308903 Grants

Summary

At least half of the grant money must go to projects that preserve collections and historic places. The Secretary runs a competitive grant process and sets the rules. To apply, an eligible group must send whatever information the Secretary asks for. A project can get a grant only if the collection or place is nationally important and is threatened or at risk. For collections, the Secretary will get advice from certain organizations. For historic places, the site must be on the National Register at the national level or be a National Historic Landmark when the application is filed. Grants will be given only to projects that fix or greatly reduce the threat, clearly benefit the public, and can finish on time and on budget. The Secretary may favor projects that also match the Preserve America goals and will give only one grant per project. The Secretary will consult the same organizations when choosing projects, but any organization that applied must not take part in that consultation. The Secretary must tell four congressional committees the list of planned grants at least 30 days before giving them out. Recipients must pay at least 50% of the project cost themselves, in cash or donated goods/services, and show a realistic plan to cover that share before getting a grant.