Grants & Funding

• Preservation Alliance Grants
• Other New Hampshire Grants (below)
• National Grants

New Hampshire Grants (non-Preservation Alliance)

Moose Plate Grants: The Conservation License Plate Program provides funds to supplement existing efforts to preserve New Hampshire resources, from scenic lands and wildlife to historic sites. Grants of up to $10,000 are made available to state and county agencies, towns and cities and non-profit organizations that operate or manage publicly owned and accessible historic properties and historic or archaeological artifacts. The NH Division of Historical Resources, (603) 271-3483, manages this grant program.

NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP): provides matching grants to public entities (other than state agencies) and non-profit organizations, to help communities acquire and preserve natural, cultural and historical resources. 

Hart Family Fund for Small Towns
In Bill Hart's honor, a fund will eventually total at least $500,000. The purpose of the Hart Family Fund for Small Towns is to assist small town preservation and revitalization initiatives around the country, with a focus on towns with populations of 5,000 or less. National Trust for Historic Preservation, Northeast Regional Office, Seven Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA 02109. Telephone: 617-523-0885 nero@nthp.org

Public Service of New Hampshire
Community development grants avail­able in the PSNH service territory on a rolling basis throughout the year for historic preservation and more. Public Service of New Hampshire Doris Burke, Community Development Mgr. 603-634-2442  PSNH, 780 North Commercial St. Manchester, NH 03101 www.prospernh.com (select "PSNH advantage").

The New Hampshire Coastal Program offers matching grants for technical assistance, planning/management, and construction/acquisition. New Hampshire's 17 coastal cities and towns, the Rockingham and Strafford Regional Planning Commissions, state agencies, and non-profit organizations are all eligible for funding. Recipient's portion of the matching funds can be as non-Federal cash or in-kind services.  For more information, contact the Coastal Program Office, 152 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 (603)431-9366 or call the Office of State Planning in Concord (603)271-2155.

Northern Forest Partnership Program has $142,000 available for Northern Forest Projects.
Application Deadline Sept. 30, 2008. Non-profits, businesses and local government entities, including schools, in 29 Northern Forest counties in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York are eligible to apply for the grants. The competitive grant program is jointly administered by the North East State Foresters Association and the Northern Forest Center. In 2008, the Northern Forest Partnership Program will award grants for projects in 8 categories of work including training, wood-products manufacturing, recreation and tourism, energy, agriculture, arts and culture, conservation, and ecosystem services. Please read the full descriptions of these Grant Categories before applying. To apply for grant funding, use the link below. Please read the Guidelines and FAQs completely, then complete the Application and e-mail it by 5 pm, Sept. 30, 2008. Geographic and other restrictions apply. Please read complete guidelines: 2008 NFPP Guidelines

New Hampshire's Transportation Enhancement Act: provides funds and selects projects that preserve the historic culture or enhance the operation of the transportation system. Project categories include: facilities, safety and educational activities for bicyclists and pedestrians; acquisition of easements for scenic or historic sites; scenic or historic highway programs (including tourist and welcome centers); landscaping, beautification, historic preservation; rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures or facilities (including historic railroad facilities and canals); preservation of abandoned railway corridors (including the conversion for use as bike and pedestrian paths); control and removal of outdoor advertising; archaeological planning and research; environmental mitigation to address highway created water pollution and establishing transportation museums.

The Winthrop L. Carter Fund for Historic Preservation of the Greater Portsmouth Community Foundation supports the preservation or restoration of historic structures and artifacts in the GPCF region. For more information, and to determine whether your community is in the foundations region, contact the Greater Portsmouth Community Foundation, Unit 2B, Nobles Island, 500 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 (603) 430-9182; FAX 603-431-6268).

The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority is the state's housing advocacy agency, and administers a variety of funding sources, including federal and state loans and grants to support housing programs and projects.

The Downtown Initiative is a three-year initiative to encourage downtown redevelopment by providing financial support and incentives to encourage reinvestment into New Hampshire's downtowns through extensive renovations to multi-use structures that contain commercial or retail spaces on the ground floor and residential units on the upper floors. The Downtown Initiative will focus on renovation of underutilized properties that are integral to a community's downtown commercial center. The Downtown Initiative is targeted at communities throughout the state that have a plan for their downtowns. The goal is to create new housing units across the housing market in the form of market-rate rental units, affordable first home condominiums, and subsidized rental units.

The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) provides financial and technical assistance to community development corporations, worker cooperatives, and certain municipal entities. The Authority is unable to assist for-profit businesses directly, but can work through a for-profits nonprofit partner. CDFA funds major community development projects primarily with the Community Development Investment (Tax Credit) Program. It has proven to be a major source of support for affordable housing and economic development.

The Community Development Block Grant program, administered by the Community Development Finance Authority, provides federal funds to communities for housing, economic development, and public facilities for low- and moderate-income people. Feasibility Grants are available for project planning (including feasibility studies, surveys, and professional architectural and engineering services). Implementation grants provide substantial funding for construction and rehabilitation work. For more information, contact Patrick Herlihy, Community Development Block Grants, 14 Dixon Avenue, Suite 102, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 226-2170.

The Cultural Facilities Grant program of the NH State Council on the Arts provides matching grants for planning and capital projects to New Hampshire non-profit organizations with cultural facilities and historic preservation projects that facilitate arts programming. Facilities must meet minimum standards for a barrier-free entrance before organizations may apply for a grant for any need other than to assist them in meeting the barrier-free standard. For more information, contact Assistant Director Yvonne Fried (603) 271-0791.