MHAA provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants to nonprofit organizations and government entities for capital and non-capital projects located within a Heritage Area. Grants can support projects involving historical, cultural, or natural resources, sites, events or facilities. Eligible projects must have a heritage tourism component or contribute to research that will directly inform a heritage tourism product. Full details are available in the MHAA project grant guidelines.

Non-Capital. Grants of up to $50,000, with a required one-to-one match of non-state support, are available for non-capital projects, which can include Planning (research, field investigation, data recovery, feasibility and planning studies, design documents and other planning activities that support the heritage area); Interpretation (exhibits, signage, pedestrian wayfinding signage, interpretive brochures, educational programs and materials, other interpretive activities that support the heritage area); and Programming (seminars, conferences, performances, reenactments, commemorations, festivals).

Capital. Grants of up to $100,000, with a required one-to-one match of non-state support, are available for capital projects, which can include Acquisition (fee title of real property, interest other than fee title (i.e. easement) of real property); Development (repair or alteration of an existing building, structure or site, new construction for heritage tourism purposes); Rehabilitation (returning a property to a state of utility); Restoration (accurately depicting a property as it appeared at a particular period of time, removal of features from another time period, reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period); and Pre-Development (plans and specifications, fees for architectural design and engineering).