CAPACITY BUILDIING FOR HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCU) ARCHIVES

to advance the capacity and effectiveness of HBCU archives to care for their collections and make them discoverable and accessible to the public and to the broader field of researchers, students, and teachers. The collaborative teams should demonstrate a commitment to building meaningful, mutually-beneficial and respectful collaborations by promoting resource sharing and capacity building at all levels. Collaborative teams also must demonstrate commitment to institutional advancement and capacity-building for small and underserved HBCU archives and repositories, especially those organizations with missions to serve a collective of HBCUs; strengthen the archival ecosystem that supports HBCU collections and history; and/or service similar organizations that preserve collections that document African American or other marginalized histories. Prospective applicants to the Capacity Building for HBCU Archives program may: ? share affinities among the scope and subject matter of their collections; and/or ? provide a service or services to a member-based collective, consortium, or alliance of similar organizations; and/or ? serve similar types of user communities such as HBCUs. Competitive proposals will focus on one or more of the following areas: Education and Training ? To provide archival training for working professionals and other stakeholders currently working in HBCU libraries and archives that have insufficient archival training but whose essential job duties require archival activities on a regular basis. Such training should equip working professionals with practical archival tools, skills, and best practices to integrate into their daily work and archival processes at their home institution. ? To provide education and training for HBCU archivists and other stakeholders on current electronic records systems and related tools and best practices for preserving, arranging, processing, and describing these and other born-digital and digitized records collections. ? To create a “traveling archivist” or similar field-service program that will send professional archivists and librarians to provide high quality assistance on-site. Library or archival staff at partnering HBCU repositories will receive practical and affordable 3 recommendations they can undertake to improve collection preservation and access. For example, activities can include a site visit to the participating repository and a survey of their collections followed by specific recommendations made by the traveling or visiting archivist. ? To provide archival education and training programs, in collaboration with community-based archives or other local cultural memory entities, to cultivate a community of practice that can lead to cost-savings and long-term sustainability for HBCU archives. Capacity Building ? To hire consultants to assist archives and libraries at HBCUs to develop basic planning and process documents to enhance eligibility for higher levels of funding. Examples include but are not limited to the development of strategic plans, collection management plans, preservation plans, emergency plans, digital infrastructure plans; sustainability plans, and/or climate action plans. ? To provide direct assistance to HBCUs for the development of strategic plans and assessment documents to increase the capacity to sustain collections long term. Examples include but are not limited to preservation assessment, self-assessment, and/ or conservation assessment. ? To develop or expand existing models for collaboration with community-based archives or consortia that support enhanced discovery, online access to, and expanded research use of HBCU archival collections. ? To assist HBCU archives and their community-based partners in developing programs that leverage their collective professional knowledge, skills, and resources. Preservation and Digitization Preparation Grants ? To purchase or provide essential preservation needs, such as shelving, archival furniture, and related archival equipment or systems for collections management. ? To purchase or provide essential archival rehousing supplies for collections at HBCUs. This includes but is not limited to protective enclosures and archival boxes and shelving. ? To purchase or provide digitization equipment and accompanying training. ** If you have additional ideas for a possible application – whether involving one of the above suggested areas of focus, or another idea that builds the capacity of HBCU archives to care for and provide discovery and access to their collections – we strongly encourage you to get in touch to discuss your plans before drafting or making your application. All applicants are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to submit draft materials for additional comment and feedback. (Drafts are due no later than August 15, 2024.) 4 Award Information The Capacity Building for HBCU Archives grant is for one year. Awards may range from $150,000 to $250,000 with the possibility of renewal up to two years. The NHPRC expects to make up to six grants in this category for up to $1,000,000. Applications are due on November 7, 2024. Building Capacity at HBCU Archives Grants begin no earlier than July 1, 2025. Eligibility Eligible applicants: ? US nonprofit organizations including HBCUs, educational institutions serving HBCUs, and/or similar community-based organizations serving HBCUs. ? Colleges, universities, and other academic institutions actively serving HBCUs. ? State or local government agencies. Applications from and collaborations involving Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are strongly encouraged. For a comprehensive list of the Commission’s limitations on funding, please see “What we do and do not fund.” Applications that consist entirely of ineligible activities will not be considered. In order to ensure eligibility, applicants should first review the rules and regulations governing NHPRC grants under the Administering an NHPRC Grant section. Cost Sharing Cost sharing is not a requirement for this program. However, the applicant's financial contribution may be included on the NHPRC Budget form. Cost share may include both direct and indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project. Indirect costs must be listed under the applicant’s cost sharing contribution. NHPRC grant recipients are not permitted to use grant funds for indirect costs (as indicated in 2 CFR 2600.101). Other Requirements 5 Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting an application, maintain SAM registration throughout the application and award process, and include a valid Unique Entity ID in their application. To register or request a Unique Entity ID, go to https://sam.gov. Already manage an entity that does business with the federal government? You may want to consult this article on the transition from DUNS to the Unique Entity ID. Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current. It may take up to one month to register or reactivate your registration with SAM.gov and Grants.gov. NHPRC will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.