OpportunityTitle: Museums for America
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: To be eligible for an award under this MFA Notice of Funding Opportunity, you must be an organization that meets all three of the following criteria:1. You must be either a unit of State, local, or tribal government or be a private, nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code;2. You must be located in one of the 50 States of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and3. You must qualify as one of the following:(a) A museum that, using a professional staff, is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes; owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; cares for these objects; and exhibits these objects to the general public on a regular basis through facilities that it owns or operates.1) What types of institutions are included in the term &#8220;museum&#8221;? If they otherwise meet these requirements, &#8220;museums&#8221; include, but are not limited to, aquariums, arboretums, art museums, botanical gardens, children&#8217;s/youth museums, general museums (those having two or more significant disciplines), historic houses/sites, history museums, natural history/anthropology museums, nature centers, planetariums, science/technology centers, specialized museums (limited to a single distinct subject), and zoological parks.2) What does it mean to be &#8220;using a professional staff&#8221;? An institution uses a professional staff if it employs at least one staff member, or the full-time equivalent, whether paid or unpaid, primarily engaged in the acquisition, care, or exhibition to the public of objects owned or used by the institution.3) What does it mean to &#8220;exhibit the objects to the general public&#8221;? An institution exhibits objects to the general public if such exhibition is a primary purpose of the institution. An institution that exhibits objects to the general public for at least 120 days a year is deemed to exhibit objects to the general public on a regular basis. An institution which does not have the exhibition of objects as a primary purpose and/or does not exhibit objects to the public for at least 120 days a year may be determined to be eligible as a museum under certain circumstances. For more information, please see 2 C.F.R. &#167; 3187.3.(b) A public or private nonprofit agency that is responsible for the operation of a museum that meets the eligibility criteria in 1, 2, and 3(a), applying on behalf of the museum.
Description: The goal of the Museums for America (MFA) grant program is to support projects that strengthen the ability of an individual museum to serve its public.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: snarva@imls.gov
GrantorContactText: Sandra Narva, Senior Program Officer, 202-653-4791, snarva@imls.gov; Connie Bodner, Supervisory Grants Management Specialist, 202-653-4636, cbodner@imls.gov; Steve Shwartzman, Senior Program Officer, 202-653-4641, sshwartzman@imls.gov; Reagan Moore, Museum Program Officer, 202-653-4637, rmoore@imls.gov; Mark Feitl, Museum Program Officer, 202-653-4635, mfeitl@imls.gov; Ashley Jones, Museum Program Specialist, 202-653-4782, ajones@imls.gov