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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

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

In collaboration with a robust 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. We partner closely 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.

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

• Indian Country Region/Tribal
• Tourism Tribal Business Planning Grant
• Indian Equity Fund

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

• Tourism Development Grant Program
• Clean & Beautiful Cooperative
• Marketing Grant Program

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.

A Warm Thank You to Our Partners