Deadline: March 13, 2026
Application: The FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (PDF, 861KB) is now available.
Grant Amount: $100,000–$500,000
Grant Period: One to three years
Cost Share Requirement: You must provide funds from non-federal sources in an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of your IMLS request.
IMLS Priorities Cover Letter: 21MP Cover letter (PDF, 151KB)

Program Overview:

The 21st Century Museum Professional (21MP) grant program supports projects that build career pathways, strengthen professional networks, and identify and share effective workforce education and training practices in the museum field. 

The goals of the program are to: 

• Support the professional development of the current museum workforce; and 

• Recruit and train future museum professionals. 

The primary audiences for this program are museums, museum service organizations and affiliated nonprofits, and museum professionals. Secondary audiences include museum visitors and future museum professionals. 

Interested in learning more about this grant program? 

1. Watch the informational video (below) for details about this grant program and the process of preparing an application.  

2. Schedule a counseling call with a program officer. Find an available time on the calendar using the link below. 

Program Contact:

Mark Isaksen 
Supervisory Grants Management Specialist 

misaksen@imls.gov 
202-653-4667 

To schedule a time to talk to Mark Isaksen, click here. 

Webinars:

We invite you to view our pre-recorded webinars:

Getting Started With IMLS Museum Grants for FY 2026 is a general presentation on IMLS museum grant programs. We recommend that you view this presentation for an overview before considering a specific grant program. Click here to access the recording or to read the transcript.

Preparing a Budget and Budget Justification provides information to help you prepare these two required parts of the grant application – the IMLS Budget Form and the Budget Justification. The information in this video supports the instructions in the Notices of Funding Opportunity for each grant program. Click here to access the recording or to read the transcript. 

*All grant programs are subject to the availability of funds and IMLS discretion.