Find Grants and Funding For African American Preservation in SC

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Every project needs resources to come to life. Explore our database of over 100 local, state and national organizations that provide financial assistance for preservation efforts. From grants and awards to preservation tax credits and revolving loan funds, use our funding database to find specific organizations, programs and resources that match your needs.

Using the database is simple. Select the type of funding and the geography of your funding search and our database will provide you with the most likely matches for your specific project. Looking to go broader? You can also navigate through all grant and funding programs and organizations to explore who’s active in historic preservation.

Federal Grant Funding Announcement

ATTENTION: Federal funding applicants

Federal grants listed in the SC Preservation Toolkit are subject to new rules set forth by the current administration. A funding pause is in effect due to the administration’s interpretation of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). WeGOJA recommends reviewing each federal grant to determine its status, and then working directly with the federal agency proponent to determine whether your project qualifies for funding. If you have further questions or need further assistance, please consider local, state, or private grant sources listed in the Preservation Toolkit, or email the WeGOJA Foundation at info@wegoja.org.

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Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation

The fund aims to save historic environments in order to foster an appreciation of our nation’s diverse cultural heritage and to preserve and revitalize the livability of the nation’s communities.

Lexington Commercial Facade Improvement Grant Program

The Town of Lexington’s Commercial Façade Improvement Grant has been designed to encourage enhancement and investment in the overall revitalization of Downtown Lexington. This program provides grant funds to finance exterior improvements to a property owner or tenant’s commercial building that will be aesthetically pleasing and complimentary to local design guidelines. The program provides a one-time reimbursement, of up to $10,000 per building.

Local, State, and Federal Tax Incentives for Conservation Easements Document

PDF doc produced by SC Dept of Revenue detailing the tax incentives surrounding conservation or preservation easements.

Museum Grants for African American History and Culture

The Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC) program is designed to build the capacity of African American museums and support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums.

National Fund for Sacred Places

The National Fund for Sacred Places is a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and provides training, planning grants, and capital grants from $50,000 to $250,000 for congregations of all faiths.

NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions

Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized organizations preserve and manage humanities collections by building their capacity to identify and address physical and intellectual preservation risks. The program focuses on foundational activities in preservation and management of collections, such as assessments, development of plans and policies, consultations with scholars and source communities, emergency preparedness, environmental monitoring, rehousing, format surveys and inventories, and training in preservation and collections management.

NPS Certified Local Governments

Certified Local Governments (CLG) are municipalities that have demonstrated, through a certification process, a commitment to local preservation and saving the past for future generations. Once certified, CLGs become an active partner in the Federal Historic Preservation Program. Each community gains access to benefits of the program: funding, technical assistance, and sustainability.

NPS Disaster Program

The National Park Service works with internal and external partners to help communities impacted by disasters prepare for and recover from storms, flooding, hurricanes, fires, and other perils.

NPS Historic Preservation Planning Program

The Historic Preservation Planning Program helps communities of all kinds make sense of the planning process and ensure it is useful and effective.

NPS Save America’s Treasures

The Save America’s Treasures grant program funds projects representing nationally significant historic properties and collections that convey our nation’s rich heritage to future generations. This grant program is divided into two parts: one for preservation projects (for properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places for national significance or designated a National Historic Landmark.) managed by the National Park Service. One for projects involving collections (including artifacts, museum collections, documents, sculptures, and other works of art). managed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

NPS State Historic Preservation Office Program

SHPOs are awarded Federal funding annually from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grants program. These grants are based on an apportionment formula which includes a current minimum 10% pass-through to support local preservation projects.

NTHP National Preservation Awards

The National Preservation Awards are bestowed on distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and corporations whose skill and determination have given new meaning to their communities through preservation and sustainability of our architectural and cultural heritage.

Orangeburg Facade Grant Program

The City of Orangeburg Facade Grant Program has been designed to encourage enhancement and investment to the revitalization efforts of Downtown Orangeburg. This program provides financial and technical assistance to downtown property and/or business owners for the purpose of Facade improvements that adhere to the Facade Grant Program Guidelines. Eligible applicants include owners of commercial properties and owners/managers of businesses located in the Historic Downtown Orangeburg District within the City of Orangeburg.

Our Town

Our Town is the NEA’s creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, the program supports activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities over the long term. Our Town projects engage a wide range of local stakeholders in efforts to advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes in communities.

Owner Occupied Historic Homes Tax Credit

Taxpayers who rehabilitate their owner-occupied residence may be eligible to subtract 25% of the costs of many expensive repairs and renovations from their state income taxes. The homeowner must live in the building or a portion of the building that will be rehabilitated. It can be a house or another type of historic building, such as a school or store being rehabilitated as a primary residence. The credit does not apply to buildings or portions of buildings that are used in a trade or business or produce income. The building under rehabilitation must be one of the following: - listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, - contributing to a listed National Register historic district, - determined by the SHPO to be eligible for individual listing in the National Register, or - an outbuilding that contributes to the significance of a property listed in the National Register.

Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program

The Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant Program, named in honor of the late preservation leader from Vermont, fosters economic development in rural communities through the rehabilitation of historic buildings in those communities. Eligible subgrant properties must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places or determined eligible for listing at the National, State, or local level of significance and located within rural (non-urban) communities with populations less than 50,000.

Preserving Black Churches

Annual grants from Preserving Black Churches are intended to preserve historic Black houses of worship—either with active congregations and nonactive congregations—and advance ongoing preservation activities while strengthening capacity for historic congregations, and preservation and community organizations to steward, manage, and better utilize their historic structures.

Richland County Bailey Bill Program

The Bailey Bill (SC Code of Laws §4-9-195 and §5-21-140) authorizes local governments to offer a special property tax assessment for rehabilitated historic buildings. Richland County’s ordinance was amended in May 2013 to enhance the incentives to restore historic structures, thus making these renovation projects more economically feasible for home and business owners.The main feature of the Bailey Bill is to assess property on the pre-rehabilitation fair market value for twenty (20) years. This means the owner of a historic structure continues to pay property tax on the pre-rehab value of the property, but does not pay tax on the increased value due to the renovations for twenty years. A minimum of 20% of the fair market value of the building must be spent on qualified rehabilitation expenditures.

Richland County Historic Preservation Grant Program

The RCCC Historic Preservation Grant Program helps non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, institutions, and commercial entities preserve and protect historic buildings in Richland County. Historic Preservation Grants are available up to $50,000 and may be used for preservation/restoration costs, consultant fees, or educational programs. A match of 20% is required. All projects must demonstrate a clear public benefit.

Roof Replacement Program

Roof replacements are provided for homeowners who are at 80% and below the Area Median Income. Roof replacement repairs consists of correcting code related items including roof covering, flashing, sheathing and roof structure, soffits and gutters. The applicant must have clear title to their residence with no liens or judgments filed against the property. The applicant is required to repay ½ the cost of the roof replacement in accordance with the following terms: Monthly payments that are made over a 10 year loan term with payments calculated at 3% interest rate. The owner will make monthly payments during the first five years of the loan. During the 2nd five years of the loan no payments are made and the remaining balance of the loan is forgiven at the end of the 10 year loan term.

SC Humanities Major Grants

SC Humanities provides financial support for nonprofit organizations across South Carolina to conceive and implement quality public humanities programs. Major Grants are for public humanities programs that are large in scale.

SC Humanities Mini Grants

SC Humanities provides financial support for nonprofit organizations across South Carolina to conceive and implement quality public humanities programs. Mini Grants are to support public humanities programs of modest cost.

SC Humanities Planning Grants

SC Humanities provides financial support for nonprofit organizations across South Carolina to conceive and implement quality public humanities programs. Planning Grant applications are accepted monthly on the first business day of the month for programs starting after the 15th of the following month.

South Carolina Historic Preservation State Grant Fund

The purpose of the State Grant Fund is to support historic preservation projects that benefit local communities through the physical repair and rehabilitation of South Carolina’s historic buildings. A minimum 20% cash match of the Total Project Cost is required. Buildings must be listed as a contributing resource in a National Register of Historic Places historic district or individually listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit

In South Carolina, taxpayers who qualify for the 20% federal income tax credit may also qualify for a state income tax credit of 10% or 25% (not to exceed $1 million for each certified historic structure) of their rehabilitation costs under the South Carolina Historic Rehabilitation Incentives Act. The federal and state tax credits reduce the amount of income taxes owed. In general, a dollar of tax credit earned reduces the amount of income taxes owed by one dollar. Each tax situation is different, however, and we advise you to check with a tax specialist to determine how the credits would affect your tax liability. To qualify for these tax credits, the building must be: - listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, or - located within a National Register-listed historic district and certified by the National Park Service as contributing to the significance of the district.

Substantial Rehabilitation Program

The Substantial Rehabilitation Program provides financial assistance to home owners with major housing repair needs. The owner is required to provide a minimum of 20% of the cost of construction from private sources. Additional program details include, but are not limited to: (1) Clients may qualify for the maximum loan amount of $80,000.00 from city funds; (2) The loan amount will be structured over a 20-30 year term. (3) All projects recommend for assistance will receive a full review by the Redevelopment and Preservation Commission.

Surfside Beach Design Overlay Improvement Grant

The Design Overlay Improvement Grant was created to encourage private investment in improving older properties within the Design Overlay District. The grant assists with the cost associated with exterior improvements of buildings and landscaping, and can significantly reduce costs by as much as fifty (50%) percent up for awards up to five thousand ($5,000) dollars for building improvements. Landscaping improvement grants may be up to two thousand ($2,000) dollars.

T-Mobile Hometown Grants

The grants are for towns with a population of 50,000 or less, and support community revitalization projects such as adaptive reuse of historic buildings or creation of community gathering spaces, among others.

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The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors

The purpose of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund is to assist in the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of historic interiors.

Underrepresented Communities Grant

The National Park Service’s Underrepresented Community Grant Program (URC) works towards diversifying the nominations submitted to the National Register of Historic Places. The primary purpose of the grant program is the nomination of sites and districts associated with underrepresented communities to the National Register. Each project results in at least one National Register nomination or amendment.

Upstate Land Conservation Fund

The Fund will consider select counties with a focus on high priority lands shown on the Critical Watershed Area and Habitat maps created by Furman University in 2017, which identifies lands in the Upstate that provide significant water protection benefits, other important water benefits and/or high-quality habitat. Although this is a land conservation fund, they have supported historic landscape and preservation projects.

Walhalla Facade Grant Program

The Facade Grant Program is intended to stimulate improvements to the exterior and exterior of commercial buildings in the Downtown Business District. This is a reimbursement grant of up to 50% of the total project with a maximum grant amount of $3,000 per property per twelve-month period. (Grant recipient will be reimbursed up to 50% of the project once it is completed.)

Walterboro Bailey Bill

The Bailey Bill is in place to encourage the redevelopment of Historic Commercial Buildings in the City of Walterboro’s Central Business District. This piece of legislation allows a current owner or purchaser of an eligible property to improve the structure without increasing taxable value. If an owner invests at least 50% of the taxable value in the renovation/restoration of an eligible property, they can “freeze” the taxable property value for 20 years.

West Columbia Facade Improvement Grant Program

The City of West Columbia’s Façade Improvement Grant (WCFIG) has been designed to encourage enhancement and investment to the overall revitalization of West Columbia. This program provides grant funds to finance exterior improvements to a property owners or tenant’s commercial building that will be aesthetically pleasing and complimentary to local design guidelines. The program provides for a one-time reimbursement, up to $10,000 maximum per building. There are two tiers of funding levels. Businesses spending up to $9,999 in improvements can be provided with a 50/50 reimbursement totaling up to $2,500 maximum. Businesses spending $10,000 and above in improvements can be provided with a 50/50 reimbursement totaling up to $10,000 maximum.

Westminster Commercial Building Improvement Grant Program

The City of Westminster, in its continuing effort to support the development of the Downtown Business District, and enhance commercial activity has created a Commercial Building Improvement Grant Program. The City of Westminster Local Development Corporation (LDC) is responsible for administering the Commercial Building Improvement Grant Program, intended to stimulate improvements to the exterior or interior of commercial buildings in the Downtown Business District, in commercial corridors located along major state highways, or commercial structures that are reasonably expected to provide an increase in commerce within the City limits. Grants may be awarded up to 50% of the total project with a maximum amount of $5,000 per property per year.

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