CONCORD, NH – Nonprofit organizations looking for help on maintenance and infrastructure upgrades for historic buildings have until Dec. 1 to submit a letter of inquiry for a Historic Preservation Matching Grant from New Hampshire Preservation in partnership with the 1772 Foundation.
The 1:1 matching grants range from $2,000 to $10,000 and are for organizations with a 501(c)(3) IRS designation that own, or have a long-term lease, on the building the money would be used for.
Eligible projects include exterior painting, finishes and surface restoration; upgrades to or installation of fire detection; lightning protection and security systems; repairs to or restoration of porches, roofs and windows; structural foundation and sill repair or replacement and chimney and masonry repointing.
Over the last six years, grants from the program have supported 91 nonprofit projects in the state. In this year’s funding, 17 projects shared $125,000 in grant money.
Among this year’s recipients was the New Hampshire Children’s Alliance, which was awarded $10,000 for fire suppression and detection at its new Child Advocacy Center of Manchester, 607 Chestnut St.
Requirements include a condition assessment or other information demonstrating understanding of the building’s significance and priority needs that has been prepared or updated within the last five years; a cyclical maintenance plan with at least one year of monitoring information completed.
The grant awarding organizations also “strongly encourage” that preservation projects adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Letters of inquiry are accepted through Dec. 1, and invited applicants will be notified on Dec. 19, and applications from those invited are due Feb. 13. Visit nhpreservation.org for more information..
The Rhode Island-based 1772 Foundation partners with historic preservation organizations in the six New England states, as well as New York and Georgia, on the program.
“Small matching grants for brick-and-mortar preservation projects have long played an important role in the 1772 Foundation’s grant making, as it was the passion of its founder, Stewart B. Kean,” B. Danforth Ely, 1772 Foundation Board president, said in 2020 after the first round of grants in the program were awarded. “The vast response to this grant has also shown to the foundation how necessary these brick-and-mortar grants are to keeping our historic structures standing.”