IMLS details Museums Empowered grants, $5,000–$250,000 awards and Nov. 15 deadline

Mark Isaacson, program staff in the Office of Museum Services at the Institute of Museum and Library Services, outlined the Museums Empowered grant program and application process in an IMLS informational video.

Isaacson said Museums Empowered is a Museums for America initiative that funds project-based professional development and training designed to produce organizational growth and systemic change within museums. "These projects are expected to involve multiple levels of staff, leadership, or volunteers in a set of logical interrelated activities tied to directly addressing a key need or challenge in your strategic plan," he said.

The program centers on four goals: helping staff integrate digital technology into museum operations; supporting inclusive and equitable services for diverse audiences including people with disabilities; strengthening staff capacity to use evaluation to improve programs; and building organizational learning and management practices. Isaacson cited recent awards to illustrate each goal: The Phillips Collection received about $239,000 for digital asset management work; the New York Historical Society received about $189,000 in 2024 for cultural competency and accessibility work; the Mid-America Science Museum received $46,000 for evaluation capacity; and the Peabody Essex Museum received $250,000 for a staff-wide professional development initiative.

On eligibility, Isaacson said applicants must be located in one of the 50 states, U.S. territories, or the District of Columbia and must be a unit of state, local, or tribal government or a private nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status. Museums must have at least one full-time-equivalent professional staff member, a physical location that they own or operate, be open to the public at least 120 days in the year prior to the application deadline, and own or use tangible objects.

Budget and submission rules were emphasized. Isaacson said: "Your project budget can request a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $250,000 in federal funds." He added that all project budgets require at least a 1:1 cost share, which may include cash, staff time, volunteer time, third-party contributions, foundation grants or state and local government support. Applicants must follow federal cost principles (2 CFR 200) and ensure proposed costs are allowable, auditable, and incurred during the award period.

Isaacson walked through application components and page limits, noting the narrative is limited to seven pages and that the NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity) lists required, conditionally required, and supporting documents. He warned that omission of required documents can lead to an application's rejection and that reviewers will remove pages beyond the specified limits before review.

IMLS provided recent-cycle statistics: "In the most recent application cycle, we received 72 applications requesting over $13,000,000. From these applications, we selected 18 projects to receive funding totaling about $3,300,000," Isaacson said. He also noted approximately 155 Museums Empowered awards are listed in the IMLS awarded-grants archive.

On process and timing, Isaacson described the review workflow: IMLS staff check applications for completeness and eligibility, select peer reviewers from the museum field to score applications, and prepare materials for IMLS leadership. "By law, the IMLS director is charged with the authority and responsibility to make final award decisions," he said. Award notifications, including reviewer scores and comments, are expected to be emailed in early August 2025; all Museums Empowered projects must be scheduled to start on Sept. 1, 2025. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 15, 2024. Applications must be submitted via grants.gov workspace and require active SAM.gov registration and a unique entity identifier; IMLS does not accept mail or email submissions.

Isaacson encouraged applicants to use available resources: read the NOFO on grants.gov, consult sample applications on the IMLS website, use grants.gov Workspace collaboration and validation tools, verify SAM.gov and grants.gov registrations early, and schedule counseling calls with IMLS program staff if needed. Contact information and links for counseling calls are listed on the Museums Empowered grant program landing page.

Next steps: applicants should confirm eligibility, align the proposal with one program goal, prepare a clear seven-page narrative addressing the NOFO review questions (project justification, work plan, and results), develop a detailed budget and budget justification showing cost computations, and submit a complete application via grants.gov before the Nov. 15, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Eastern deadline.

The video and NOFO materials are available on the IMLS website and grants.gov; applicants with specific questions can contact IMLS program staff for assistance.