Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (2026) | AAHC FY26

Opportunity Information: Apply for AAHC FY26

The Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (2026) opportunity is a discretionary federal grant program offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under CFDA 45.309. It is designed to strengthen African American museums by improving their long-term capacity and by supporting the professional growth of the people who work in those institutions. In practical terms, the program is focused on helping organizations build stronger operations, develop staff skills, and expand the public's ability to discover and use museum and archival collections that document African American history and culture.

This grant program supports projects in three closely related areas. First, it funds efforts that nurture museum professionals, which can include training, leadership development, mentoring, and other workforce-focused initiatives that help staff perform core museum functions more effectively. Second, it supports institutional capacity-building, which generally refers to projects that make an organization more resilient and capable over time, such as improving essential systems, strengthening planning and governance, refining policies and procedures, or enhancing the infrastructure needed to care for collections and serve audiences. Third, it prioritizes increased access to museum and archival collections, meaning projects that make collections easier to find, understand, and use, whether through improved collections management, digitization and description, cataloging and metadata work, rights and access planning, or public-facing access strategies that connect communities, researchers, and students with materials held by African American museums and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Key administrative details from the posting include an opportunity number of AAHC FY26, a grant funding instrument type, and an arts and humanities activity category. The program lists an award ceiling of $500,000 per award and anticipates making about 35 awards. The application closing date is March 13, 2026, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of January 13, 2026. Eligibility is summarized broadly as "Others" in the source data, but applicants are expected to consult the official Notice of Funding Opportunity for the specific eligibility requirements and any additional constraints, definitions, or documentation that IMLS may require for this program and fiscal year.

Overall, the AAHC program is aimed at supporting the health and growth of African American museums and related institutions by investing in people, strengthening organizational foundations, and improving stewardship and accessibility of collections that preserve and interpret African American history and culture.

• The Institute of Museum and Library Services in the arts, humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (2026)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.309.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-01-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-03-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 35 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for AAHC FY26

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