2025 NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program: Conservation Treatment

The NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program: Conservation Treatment is a partnership of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and GHHN that provides support for treatment procedures to aid in stabilizing and preserving objects held in collections of museums, historical, and cultural organizations in New York State. 

The work must be performed by, or under the direct supervision of, a professional conservator. Organizational grant awards will not exceed $7,500. No match required. 

Additional funding from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation supports projects on Long Island and in New York City, and support from the Coby Foundation provides dedicated funding for textile conservation. 

APPLICATION PORTAL:
https://www.greaterhudson.org/conservation-treatment-grant.html

PORTAL OPENS: June 1, 2025
DEADLINE: September 2, 2025, by 11:59 pm

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY: Applications will be accepted from nonprofit organizations, museums, historical organizations, or other cultural institutions, either incorporated in or registered to do business in New York State, that own, care for, and exhibit collections to the public. Grant awards will be made to institutions lacking in-house conservation staff with expertise in the area for which support is requested. Organizations may submit only one request involving a single object or a group of related objects, all owned by the applicant institution from New York State. 

WHAT WE FUND: Support is available for the conservation treatment of paintings, works on paper (including individual drawings, watercolors, prints, or photographs), textiles (including costumes, domestic textiles, and upholstery), furniture, frames, indoor and outside sculptures, historical, ethnographic, and decorative objects. Support is also available for treatment costs for supports, stands, and mounts that are integral to the treatment of the object. 

WHAT WE DO NOT FUND:
Grants will not support the conservation of library or archival materials or collections (i.e., books, ledgers, log books, letters, scrapbooks, newspapers, ephemera, maps, or any item primarily used for informational/research value). Grants will not support staff salaries. Grants will not support out-of-state transportation, or the cost of obtaining the treatment estimate for this proposal. Funds are not available for preventive care, such as rehousing or reformatting of objects, purchase of storage furniture, or the monitoring 

or upgrading of environmental systems. This is not a reimbursable grant. Conservation treatment projects that have already been initiated before the application deadline and/or award notification will not be supported.

FUNDING PRIORITIES: NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program: Conservation Treatment embraces the widest spectrum of cultural expression and artistic pluralism and encourages organizations to demonstrate a holistic and comprehensive DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and access) commitment. We believe the objects an organization chooses to conserve tells the story of what is valued. Our funding priorities value objects and stories that tell a more inclusive narrative of New York State. Therefore:

- The NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program: Conservation Treatment will strongly encourage requests for support of objects involving historically marginalized and underrepresented communities.
- For the purposes of this grant, historically marginalized and underrepresented communities may include: African American/Caribbean, Latino/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, Native American/Indigenous; LGBTQIA and people with disabilities.
- Additionally, objects that interpret the stories of New York State are strongly encouraged for conservation.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Greater Hudson Heritage Network website: https://www.greaterhudson.org/nyscaghhn-grants.html

Link to complete RFP: https://www.greaterhudson.org/conservation-treatment-grant.html