How to Apply for this Grant
- Read this Announcement
- Read the Application Instructions
- Download the Application from Grants.gov
Questions?
- Contact the NHPRC
E-mail:
nhprc@nara.gov* 
Telephone: 202-357-5010 
Fax: 202-357-5914
* Please see our Privacy Statement
FY 2010 Grant Announcement (Initial):
State and National Archival Partnership (SNAP) Grants
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), supports projects that promote the preservation and use of America's documentary heritage essential to understanding our democracy, history, and culture.
The following grant application information is for State and National Archival Partnership (SNAP) Grants.
Funding Opportunity Number: PARTNERSHIP-10
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 89.003
NHPRC support begins no earlier than July 1, 2010.
Grant Program Description
The Commission awards grants to State Historical Records Advisory Boards to:
- Provide statewide archival services, including professional education, public information about records and archival programs, and other activities to implement state plans.
- Operate grant programs for eligible archives, manuscript repositories, and other organizations within a state.
- Collaborate on projects with other organizations to address common problems or shared opportunities within a state or among a consortium of state archives.
- Assess the health of archival and records programs, the conditions of records, and the challenges and opportunities facing historical records keepers and users; and to implement strategies and programs to address pressing archival issues.
- Hold meetings and public forums on statewide or national archival issues.
- Participate in national archival organizations.
Award Information
The NHPRC expects to award up to 56 grants in this program. Applicants may apply for outright basic grants of up to $20,000 for 18 month projects.
Projects to reactivate a State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) and develop or revise the SHRAB's strategic plan should request a maximum of $5,000.
Active State Historical Records Advisory Boards may apply for a grant of up to $20,000 to carry out project activities aligned with their board's current strategic plan.
In addition, active SHRABs may request in their applications up to $50,000 in additional funds for regrants or collaborative projects. These supplemental funds will be awarded competitively, provided monies are available.
Eligibility
These SNAP grants are awarded only to SHRABs in each state, or to the state agency responsible for the SHRAB, ordinarily the state archives. Another state agency, or a non-profit organization, such as a foundation or university, acting on behalf of the designated state agency may apply. States also include the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and United States territories.
Ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
Cost Sharing
The Commission provides no more than 50 percent of project costs for SNAP Projects. Applicants must pledge a financial contribution to the total cost of a project. This required cost sharing can include both direct and indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project.
Application and Submission Information
Applicants should follow the instructions on how to fill out the online forms and apply electronically using the Application Instructions section on the NHPRC website.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) generally requires that grant applications be submitted via Grants.gov. In the event that Grants.gov is experiencing technical difficulties that prevent submission, applicants must first attempt to resolve the issue with the Grants.gov Contact Center (800-518-4726). If Grants.gov cannot solve the problem, applicants may request an alternative. To make use of the NHPRC backup system, applicants must contact David Davis (202-357-5022) no later than 3:00 Eastern Time on the day of the deadline with their valid Grants.gov Contact Center trouble-ticket number.
A complete application includes the Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424), Assurances - Non-Construction Programs (Standard Form 424B), a Project Narrative, Summary, Supplementary Materials, and Budget. In order to ensure eligibility, applicants should first review the rules and regulations governing NHPRC grants under the Administering an NHPRC Grant section.
Project Narrative
The Project Narrative is a description of the proposal. It should be no more than 20 double-spaced pages in 12-pt type with standard margins. Please organize your narrative in these sections:
Describe the scope of the project. Is it a statewide planning effort, a regrant project, another type of statewide assistance or collaboration (such as education or technical assistance), or some combination of these? Describe each of these components in sufficient detail to give a clear picture of the project's purposes.
Briefly summarize the state's strategic plan. Is it current? Has the State Board recently reaffirmed the current plan? Explain how the project will further the goals and objectives in the State Board's strategic plan. Include summaries of recently completed NHPRC grants to your SHRAB to illustrate their successful completion and relationship to your strategic plan. Discuss the overall scope of work and your goals. Explain your organization's relationship to the SHRAB. If your organization is not a state agency, describe your relationship and why it is necessary for a third party to represent the state. Include letters of support from the leaders of the agency you represent.
If applying for supplemental funds for regrants or collaborative projects, make sure these additional activities represent a discrete component of your project. Make it clear that you can accomplish these activities independent of the basic project you have outlined or as an extension of the basic project. Explain how the supplemental request promotes the long-term success of the State Partnerships program and leverages resources. Also explain, in a budget narrative, the costs associated with the supplemental portion of the application and note each supplemental item on the budget form. The Commission looks most favorably upon proposals that provide some level of cash match for regrant funds.
Provide evidence of preliminary planning. Outline each stage of the plan of work and clarify complex work plans with a time chart identifying anticipated activities. Please include in your supplementary materials a summary of the State Board's plan and the progress made on its objectives. What are the particular objectives that will be addressed? What board members and others will do the work? How will they proceed?
The Commission supports projects that adhere to generally accepted professional standards and procedures and build on previous board projects. Has your state board or another state board undertaken similar work before? Will you be adapting or implementing work already successfully undertaken by another state board or group? How will you share the results both within your state and with other state boards and the archival profession?
If your project includes regrants, address how you will meet grants management requirements including the mechanics of awarding funding, monitoring progress of subgrantees through oversight and reports, providing assistance during regrants, receiving and evaluating final reports, and assuring necessary audits.
Describe the products you plan to produce such as brochures, websites, training materials, etc., or in the case of regrants, the number and kind of awards you expect to make.
Provide a narrative explanation of the skills and qualifications of the staff named in the project budget. Emphasize those factors that will ensure the success of the project. In your supplementary materials, provide resumes of not more than three pages per person for all staff named in the project budget and job descriptions for people to be hired.
- List four to six quantifiable objectives in the proposal by which the project can be evaluated. Include specific performance measures required of any regrant recipients.
Project Summary
The Project Summary should be no more than 3 double-spaced pages in 12-pt type with standard margins, and it must include these sections:
- Summary of Plan of Work for the Grant Period
- Methods
- Products and Publications to be completed during the Grant Period
- Names, Titles, Institutions, Phone Numbers, and E-Mail Addresses of the Project Director and Key Personnel
- Performance Objectives
Supplementary Materials
Please attach up to 20 pages of Supplementary Materials to your Narrative, such as:
- A summary of the board's plan
- The board roster
- Résumés of named staff members
- For projects requesting Supplemental Funds, a project timeline and statements of commitment by any potential partners
Applicants will be asked to compute the project costs to be charged to grant funds as well as those that will be supported by the applicant through cost sharing, which include both direct and in-direct expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project. All of the items listed, whether supported by grant funds or cost-sharing contributions, must be reasonable and necessary to accomplish project objectives, allowable in terms of the applicable federal cost principles, auditable, and incurred during the grant period. Applicants should review the appropriate Office of Management and Budget circulars on cost principles.
Charges to the project for items such as salaries, fringe benefits, travel, and contractual services must conform to the written policies and established practices of the applicant organization.
- You must submit a budget on the NHPRC Budget Form available on the Application Instructions page. You may include with your application a narrative budget supplement for budget categories not otherwise explained in the project narrative.
- Provide specific budget figures, rounding to the nearest dollar.
Budget Categories
In preparing the budget, please follow the suggestions below in each of the categories. You may also use a supplemental budget narrative to give further details, for example, on the specifications of employee's duties or equipment, the requirements and costs of consultants, or the need for travel funds:
Salaries: List each staff position and the full salary to be charged to the project and show the percentage of time each staff member will devote to the project.
- Indicate which positions are to be filled for the proposed project and which personnel are already on the staff of the applicant institution.
- Grant funds may be used to pay the salaries of only those individuals actually working on the project.
- You may count the time provided to the project by advisory board members.
Fringe Benefits: If you use a daily rate or honoraria, no separate benefits should be included.
Consultant Fees: Include payments for consultant services and honoraria.
- Include payments for consultant services and honoraria, but list consultant travel expenses in the "Travel" category.
Travel: Please note that the NHPRC does not fund staff travel to professional meetings unless the travel is essential to accomplish the goals of the project.
Supplies and Materials: Justify the cost of specialized materials and supplies in a supplemental budget narrative.
Services: Include the cost of duplication and printing, long-distance telephone, equipment leasing, postage, and other services that you are not including under other budget categories or as indirect-cost expenses.
Other costs: The NHPRC does not provide grant funds for the acquisition of routine equipment such as office furnishings, shelving, and file cabinets, but we may provide grant support for the purchase of technical equipment, such as computers and peripherals, essential for a project.
Indirect costs: Include reasonable or negotiated "overhead" costs. See the Budget Form instructions to determine how to calculate indirect costs.
- You should not include indirect costs that exceed your cost sharing obligation.
- You may waive indirect costs and instead include specific overhead costs in the appropriate budget categories.
Submission Dates and Times
- Draft (optional) Deadline: January 4, 2010
- Final Deadline: March 4, 2010
Applications must be submitted electronically by midnight Eastern Time on March 4, 2010.
The Commission considers the application in May 2010. NHPRC support begins no earlier than July 1, 2010.
Deadline Policy: Given that technical or administrative difficulties with Grants.gov may periodically delay the timely submission or receipt of applications, the Commission staff will make provisions for the receipt of such applications past the established deadline. Under these circumstances, applicants with technical or administrative issues related to Grants.gov must contact NHPRC staff as soon as possible, but no later than by 3:00 PM Eastern Time on the published application deadline. Applications that fail to meet deadlines for reasons other than those noted will not be considered for funding.
Application Review Information
The NHPRC staff will acknowledge receipt of the application soon after we receive it. The following evaluation criteria and weights will be used by NHPRC staff and other reviewers to form recommendations:
- The ability of the project to assist in meeting the need for archival preservation, training, education, and access in a state or among states. (40 percent)
- The likelihood that the project's activities will increase public access to and use of the nation's historical documents held in a state or among states. (30 percent)
- The ability to complete the project's objectives based on the qualifications of the staff, the inclusion of appropriate work plans including professional development, and the reasonableness of the budget (including cost share). (15 percent)
- Effectiveness of the dissemination plans for the project's results. (15 percent)
Review Process
After submitting a proposal, do not discuss the pending application to the NHPRC with any Member of the Commission. Commission members must ensure fair and equitable treatment of all applications and do not discuss proposals with individual applicants.
Your proposal will be reviewed by:
- NHPRC Staff
NHPRC staff evaluates the proposal and contacts the project director if there are any questions. Staff makes overall recommendations to the Commission and the Archivist based on the appropriateness of the project in meeting the Commission's goals and the SHRAB's strategic goals; a record of successful performance, on time reporting, and fiduciary responsibility. - The Commission
After reviewing proposals, Commission members deliberate and make funding recommendations to the Archivist of the United States who, as Commission Chairman, has final statutory authority and selects award recipients. Throughout this process, all members of the Commission and its staff follow conflict-of-interest rules to assure fair and equal treatment of every application.
Award Administration Information
Notification
Grants are contingent upon available appropriated funds. In some cases, the Commission will adjust grant amounts depending upon the number of recommended proposals, priorities, and total budget. The Commission may recommend that the Archivist approve the proposal and extend an offer of a grant with applicable terms and conditions, or it may recommend rejection of the proposal. Grant applicants will be notified within 2 weeks after the Archivist’s decision.
Agency Contact
Before beginning the process, applicants are encouraged to contact Daniel Stokes, Director for State Programs, (202) 357-5487 or daniel.stokes@nara.gov, at the NHPRC who may:
- Advise the applicant about the review process;
- Answer questions about what activities are eligible for support;
- Supply samples of successful applications;
- Read and comment on a preliminary draft. Applicants should submit a draft at least 2 months before the deadline.
Grant Administration
For more information on how to comply with Federal regulations, see our Administering a Grant section.
* Please see our Privacy Statement
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