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More Cultural Tourism Funding Resources

The following list of resources may provide funding support for cultural heritage tourism programming. The list includes federal grants, which are highly competitive and can often take several weeks, months and even years to build a strong proposal and compile the necessary information to apply.

Guides & Publications

USDA Resource Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives

The USDA recently published a Resource Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to provide tribal leaders and tribal citizens, 1994 Land-Grant Tribal Colleges and Universities, AI/AN businesses and non-governmental organizations serving AI/AN communities with a tool for navigating USDA resources. This guide provides readers with a comprehensive summary of USDA Programs. 

Recreation Economy at USDA Economic Development Resources for Rural Communities

USDA’s Forest Service (FS), Rural Development (RD) and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) developed this resource guide for rural communities to identify resources that develop the recreation economy. The report forecasts that interest in outdoor recreation will continue over the next 30 years.

Resources for Rural Entrepreneurs: A Guide to Planning, Adapting, and Growing Your Business

In 2022, in collaboration with a network of federal partners, the USDA Resources for Rural Entrepreneurs guide provides resources for start-ups and already-established rural businesses. RD offers more than 40 loan, grant, and technical assistance programs to help improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. Many of these programs can also support community-based entrepreneurial planning and growth. USDA partners with community leaders and developers, local, state and Tribal governments, cooperatives, nonprofits, private organizations and a nationwide network of participating lenders skilled at building local economies.

Stronger Together, Federal funding and planning strategies designed to promote sustainable economic development in rural America

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) published Stronger Together a joint planning resource guide to help community organizations access USDA and EDA resources to build strategies to boost economic development in rural America. The guide is separated into four key focus areas: Planning and technical assistance, Infrastructure and broadband expansion, Entrepreneurship and business assistance and Workforce development and livability.

Federal Resources for Native Arts & Cultural Activities

In 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts published the Federal Resources for Native Arts & Cultural Activities, a guide providing information to connect Native communities to resources that can sustain and invigorate arts and cultural heritage initiatives. It is a consolidation of opportunities offered by federal agencies for organizations looking for funding and other resources to support Native arts and culture activities.

Grants.gov

Grants.gov provides a unified site for interaction between grant applicants and the U.S. federal agencies that manage grant funds. The site allows applicants to search for funds by agency.

Federal Agencies

• U.S. Department of Commerce
• Economic Development Administration (EDA) 
• Small Business Administration 
• Regional Innovation Strategies 
• Minority Business Development Agency 

U.S. Department of Interior

• Bureau of Indian Affairs 
• National Park Service 
• Fish and Wildlife Service 
• Bureau of Land Management 
• Bureau of Reclamation 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (U.S. Department of Interior)

• Bureau of Indian Affairs 
• Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development
• Division of Transportation 
• Division of Economic Development 

National Park Service (Department of Interior)

• Grants & Financial Assistance
• Tourism Program 
• Tribal Preservation Program 
• National Historic Landmarks 
• National Register of Historic Places 
• Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program 
• Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Division 
• Cultural Resources 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih

• Office of Economic Development 
• Indian Community Development Block Grant 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Administration for Native Americans (ANA)
• Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS)
• Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Strategies (SEEDS)
• Native Youth Initiative for Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (I-LEAD)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Business & Industry Loan Guarantees 
• Community Connect Grants 
• Rural Business Investment Program 
• Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program 
• Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program 
• Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant 
• Strategic Economic and Community Development 
• Value-Added Producer Grants 
• U.S. Forest Service (trail construction, archaeology)

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

• Our Town ($25,000 – $200,000) 
• Challenge America ($10,000 underserved populations)
• Art Works ($10,000 – $100,000)

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

• Division of Preservation and Access 
• Documenting Endangered Languages
• Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
• Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions 
• Office of Challenge Programs

Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS)

• Native American Library Services: Basic Grants 
• Native American Library Services: Enhancement Grants 
• Native Hawaiian Library Services Grants 
• Museums for America 
• Inspire! Grants for Small Museums 
• Museums Empowered 
• National Leadership Grants for Museums
• Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
• Museum Assessment Program 
• Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries 

U.S. Department of Transportation
www.transportation.gov/grants

• Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 
• National Scenic Byways Program 
• Office of Tribal Transportation 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities 

State Tourism, Arts & Economic Development Agencies

Arts.gov State and Regional Arts Councils
arts.gov/partners/state-regional

California Arts Council
arts.ca.gov/grants

California Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development
business.ca.gov

Montana Tourism Office
marketmt.com

Nevada Arts Council: Folklife Community Grant
nvartscouncil.org/grants

New Mexico Tourism Office
newmexico.org/industry/work-together/grants

Oregon Tourrism
traveloregon.com/grants

Additional Resources

Community Foundations
www.cof.org/community-foundation-locator

The Council on Foundations, founded in 1949, is a nonprofit leadership association of grantmaking foundations and corporations. Use their search tool to find local funding resources.

The Grantsmanship Center
www.tgci.com

The Grantsmanship Center offers training, publications and consulting to help organizations find funding. The Center provides free access to its Funding State-by-State database listing each state’s top grantmaking foundations, community foundations, corporate giving programs and State website homepages.

Candid (formerly the Foundation Center and GuideStar)
candid.org/

Candid is an online source for grants available through private foundations, corporate foundations, and other nonprofits that accept grant proposals. It also provides research on nonprofits and guides, like the 990 Finder.