Deadline: November 14, 2025*
Application: The FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity is not yet available. The FY 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (PDF, 874KB) is available for reference.
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.
Program Overview:
Inspire! Grants for Small Museums is a special initiative of the Museums for America program. It is designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, policy development and institutional planning, technology enhancements, professional development, community outreach, audience development, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation. Inspire! has three program objectives:
- Lifelong Learning
- Institutional Capacity
- Collections Stewardship and Access
Interested in learning more about this grant program? Here are a few resources to look at next:
- View selected examples from recently funded projects posted on the Sample Applications webpage.
- Search awarded grants to find similar projects, you can search by location or keyword.
- Watch the informational video (below) for specific details about this grant program and the process of preparing an application.
- Schedule a counseling call with a program officer. Find an available time on the calendar using the links (below).
Program Contacts:
If you have questions, please contact any of the staff members listed under the objective that best fits your project.
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Lifelong Learning |
Institutional Capacity |
Collections Stewardship and Access |
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Reagan Moore Gibran Villalobos To schedule a time to talk about Lifelong Learning projects, click here. |
Reagan Moore To schedule a time to talk to Reagan Moore about Institutional Capacity projects, click here. |
Mark Isaksen Melinda McPeek To schedule a time to talk about Collections Stewardship and Access projects, click here. |
Webinars:
The FY 2025 webinars are available for reference.
Getting Started with IMLS Museum Grants for FY 2025 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.
FY 2025 Inspire! Grants for Small Museums provides detailed information about the goal of this specific grant program and how to apply. Click here to access the recording or to read the transcript.
To view all archived webinars, please click here.
*All grant programs are subject to the availability of funds and IMLS discretion. Deadlines are tentative.