Preservation Pennsylvania administers a Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) program on behalf of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC).

TAGs are available to assist Pennsylvania organizations with general operating budgets of less than $250,000, that have been in existence for more than two years and have tax-exempt status (501(c)(3)) with the Internal Revenue Service or be an entity of local government.

Grant awards will not exceed $1,500. A cash award will not be given to the grantee but will be made to the consultant or entity providing the services. Matching funds are not required. The grants are administered on a competitive basis and the awards are made throughout the year based on review by PHMC, Preservation Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations staff. Applications must be submitted through the PHMC eGrant system.

Examples of eligible projects include:

Preservation planning
* Organizational Development
* Long range planning, including capital campaign and fundraising training
* Preliminary Building Assessment
* Historic Resource Survey training for staff and volunteers
* Seminars to introduce preservation tools to municipal officials
* Project development for public programming such as architectural tours and homeowner workshops
* Main Street training for preservation programs
* Community visioning
* Registration costs for conferences and training workshops

Grant Period and Implementation Timetable
Technical Assistance Grants may be applied for throughout the year. Applications are generally reviewed at least on a quarterly basis. Consultants are selected shortly thereafter, and projects are implemented in a timely manner.

Organizations seeking Technical Assistance Grants are encouraged to contact Preservation Pennsylvania first before proceeding with the application process.  Although the funding is provided by the PHMC, Preservation Pennsylvania is responsible for the administration of the project.

For further information on the program and eligibility, visit: http://www.artsnet.org/phmc/grants_technical.htm

For the e-grant application, visit: http://www.artsnet.org/phmc/egrant.htm

For Homeowners

What sources of funding are available to restore a building?

This is probably the question we hear most often at Preservation Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, there are limited public or private sources of money for historic preservation.

At this time, there is no source of funding in Pennsylvania for people who wish to restore their personal residences. Private homeowners of historic buildings must find financing the same way any other homeowner would: bank loans and personal funds. Low-income homeowners may qualify for other housing or rehab assistance programs not specifically tied to historic preservation. However the following links may be helpful.

• Historic Homeownership Assistance Act
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 203(k) Program

For Nonprofit Organizations, and Municipalities

• Funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation: Includes the Preservation Services Fund, the Louis J. Appell, Jr. Preservation Fund for Central Pennsylvania, the Henry Jordan Preservation Excellence Fund, the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors, and two loan programs.
• Funding for historic preservation available from the Pennsylvania Historical
  and Museum Commission .
• Certified Local Government Program
• Partners for Sacred Places The only national, non-sectarian, non-profit organization devoted to helping congregations and their communities sustain and actively use older and historic sacred places.
• Save America's Treasures Grant Save America's Treasures federal grants are now available for preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites. Eligible applicants include nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c), U.S. organizations, units of state or local government, and federally recognized Indian Tribes. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and require a dollar-for-dollar, non- federal match. The minimum grant request for collections projects is $25,000 federal share; the minimum grant request for historic property projects is $125,000 federal share. The maximum grant request for all projects is $700,000 federal share.
  The application deadline is 5:00 pm Eastern time, Thursday, April 26, 2007. This is NOT a postmark deadline. The 2007 federal Save America's Treasures guidelines and application can be accessed at http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/treasures/index.htm or by calling us at (202) 588-6012.
  
• The 1772 Foundation provides grants for historic preservation throughout the United States. They seek bricks-and-mortar projects that are architecturally and/or historically significant. Organizations must have 501c3 designation to apply. They do not fund religious institutions or schools, and they do not fund publicly-owned properties unless there is an active friends group. Most successful applicants show a full match for their request, have solid visitor numbers, and show a positive impact on their community. The foundation has a special interest in agriculture, transportation, and industry. Arts and culture uses are a lower priority. Most grants range from $25,000-$50,000, although they have made grants from $4,000-$250,000.
  To apply, email a one-page letter of inquiry to the foundation. If the foundation is interested, they will request a full application which involves three pages of narrative, a budget page, an image, and a copy of the 501c3 designation letter. This is all incorporated into a single Word document and e-mailed to the foundation. They do not accept snail-mail. Their website has information about applying and a list of recent projects. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
• The American Association for State and Local History and The History Channel are sponsoring the Save Our History Grant Program which provides $250,000/year to history organizations in support of school programs. The three award categories honor preservation work, classroom work, and community work. Each grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize. Application deadline is April 8, 2005.

For Developers

• 20% Tax Credit for Rehabilitating Historic Properties 
• 10% Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit for Non-Historic Buildings
• Information from the National Trust for Historic Preservation onfunding available for the rehabilitation of income-producing properties