IMLS Begins Announcing 2026 Museum Investments

IMLS Begins Announcing 2026 Museum Investments

More than 100 institutions will use the funds for education, heritage preservation, and workforce development; additional recipients to come.

WASHINGTON, DC— The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the nation’s leading source of federal funding for museums and libraries, has announced the Fiscal Year 2026 recipients of six discretionary grant award programs. These 105 institutions were selected to receive funding for projects that educate, preserve cultural and natural resources, and develop local workforces. In the coming weeks, the IMLS will announce the recipients of two more museum programs and all library programs.

In order to be awarded, institutions were required to submit a project proposal aligned with one of the grant programs listed below. Those proposals then underwent a competitive peer review process and a review by agency leadership. The full details of the awarded projects can be viewed with the IMLS Search Awarded Grants tool.

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The Grant Programs

• 21st Century Museum Professionals Program (21MP) awarded 8 grants that will develop America’s museum workforce to address contemporary challenges in the field.
• Museum Grants for African American History and Culture awarded 34 grants that build the capacity of African American museums, supporting institutional growth and professional developments in this specialized field.
• Museum Grants for American Latino History and Culture (ALHC), the newest IMLS grant program, awarded 13 grants that build the capacity of American Latino history and culture museums to serve their communities.
• Museums Empowered: Professional Development Opportunities for Museum Staff, a special initiative of the Museums for America grant program supporting staff capacity-building projects that use professional development to generate improvements in museums, awarded 18 grants. Each of the awarded institutions will focus their projects on one of three categories: digital technology, evaluation, or organizational management.
• National Leadership Grants for Museums awarded 15 grants led by museums and related organizations that address critical needs of the museum field and that have the potential to advance practice in the profession so that museums can improve services for the American public.
• Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services awarded 17 grants to Native American Tribes (including Alaska Native Villages and Corporations) and nonprofit organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining heritage, culture, and knowledge. Projects will address educational services and programs, workforce and professional development, organizational capacity building, community engagement, and collections stewardship.