Deadline: March 13, 2026
Application: The FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (PDF, 898KB) is now available.
Grant Amount: $5,000–$75,000
Grant Period: One to three years
Cost Share Requirement: If your total request for federal funding is between $5,000 and $25,000, then no cost share is required. If your request for federal funding is between $25,001 and $75,000, 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: Inspire Cover letter (PDF, 144KB)

Program Overview:

Inspire Grants for Small Museums (Inspire) is a special initiative of the Museums for America grant program designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through educational programs and exhibits, community partnerships, and collections stewardship activities.  

The goal of the Inspire program is to build the capacity of small museums to provide museum services to their communities through supporting: 

• The development of experiential learning and discovery in small museums; and 

• The management and care of collections in small museums. 

The primary audiences for this program are small museums, museum professionals, and the publics they serve.  

About Organization Size:

IMLS does not have fixed parameters to determine the size of a museum. All applicants have the opportunity to describe structural or organizational issues that restrict the abilities and capacity of the museum in the Organizational Profile. Attributes that should be addressed include, but are not limited to: 

• number of staff members and volunteers;  

• estimate of total person-hours worked per week;  

• operating budget and sources of revenue;  

• number and types of objects in the collection;  

• size of facility and property;  

• types and numbers of audiences served; and  

• size relative to other organizations of the same discipline, or within the same geographic region. 

Interested in learning more about this grant program? 

1. Watch the informational video (below) for specific 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 links (below). 

Program Contact:

If you have questions, please contact the staff members listed under the objective that best fits your project.  

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. Deadlines are tentative.