Grants
STORIES OF THE
CHESAPEAKE HERITAGE AREA
Small Grant Application Timeline
FY2024
Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc. (ESHI), the managing entity for the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area (SCHA), a Maryland Certified Heritage Area, has received FY2024 funds to use toward small grants under the rules of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA). The upper limit of any grant awarded from these funds will be $5000; applicants must show a minimum of a dollar-for-dollar match in the amount of the requested grant (of which 40% must be a cash match; 60% may be in-kind). Please note that it is to your competitive advantage to show MORE than a dollar-for-dollar match). The match should be in hand or committed and may not be state funds. The project should be ready to proceed.
DEADLINE & APPLICATION SUBMITTAL
Applicants should submit the completed application package postmarked on or before November 6, 2023, to Mailing/Shipping Address or info@storiesofthechesapeake.org.
Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area
P.O. Box 727
Chestertown, MD 21620
Please be advised that applications that are incomplete as of this deadline will not be considered.
Click to download grant application
Click to download grant instructions
FY2023
Maryland Heritage Area Authority Grant Info
Intent to Apply Deadline – Jan. 28, 2022
Application Deadline – March 11, 2022
Do you have a heritage tourism related project in mind for your organization?
Perhaps you are planning to restore a historic building, create a new museum exhibit, build a visitor center, develop a walking tour mobile application, or undertake some other project that showcases Maryland’s unique historical, cultural, or natural resources. Will the project take place in a certified heritage area?
A Maryland Heritage Areas project grant may be the funding source for you!
The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) is pleased to announce that MHAA is now seeking applications for its FY 2023 grants cycle.
Webinars and Virtual “Office Hours”
Learn more about the opportunity by attending a live webinar, watching a recording of a webinar, or calling into MHAA staff’s virtual “office hours” to talk with about your project!
Click here to register for the upcoming webinars and virtual office hours
Jan 5 – 2 PM Webinar
Jan 12 – 11 AM Questions and Answers
Jan 20 – 6 PM – Questions and Answers
Jan. 26 – 4:30 PM – Questions and Answers
MHAA Grant Program Basics
MHAA provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants for capital and non-capital projects located within Maryland’s 13 certified heritage areas. Non-profit organizations, local jurisdictions, state agencies, and federal agencies are all eligible to apply.
Non-capital MHAA grants are awarded for up to $50,000 per project, while capital MHAA grants are awarded for up to $100,000 per project.
Projects seeking less than $5,000 in grant funding are not eligible for MHAA project grants. MHAA requires that both capital and non-capital projects support heritage tourism related activities or infrastructure.
Match Policy
Applicants may propose any combination of cash and in-kind match. This means a project might be matched entirely by volunteer time spent on the project if that makes sense for the application budget. Read more about this and the entire application process in MHAA’s FY 2023 Guidelines.
Application Timeline
The first step in the application process–aside from attending one of the highly-encouraged webinars and/or office hour sessions–is to submit a simple online questionnaire called an “Intent to Apply” form.
This form is due no later than 11:59 pm on January 28, 2022. To begin a new Intent to Apply form, please visit our website.
Full applications in the Stories of the Chesapeake are due online March 11, 2022.
Grant awards will be announced in July 2022.
Questions?
For more information about the application process, please refer to the webinars and to MHAA’s FY 2023 Guidelines. These guidelines are updated each year to reflect policy changes.
For projects in the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area:
Gail Owings
Executive Director
410-778-1460
info@storiesofthechesapeake.org
Final Management Plan: Five Year Strategic Plan FY2013-FY2017