In 2020, The Sayre Historical Society used an EMHR Partnership/Mini-Grant to help cover costs associated with electrifying the iconic railroad caboose outside their museum.
The Endless Mountains Heritage Region will be distributing Partnership/Mini-Grants again this year to help 501(c)3 non-profit organizations start or complete projects that enhance the heritage value of their respective communities. Public education institutions and municipalities are also eligible for funding. Applications will be accepted from Monday, March 22 to Friday, April 23.
Previous Mini-Grant recipients have used funds for trails projects, park improvements, special purpose and feasibility studies, construction or repairs to historic venues, educational programs for adults and children, increasing public access to heritage sites, interpretive and way-finding signage, mural projects and more. Organizations may also apply for grants to assist with costs of implementation projects.
“The EMHR is proud to offer this annual grants program to our heritage partner organizations across the four-county region,” said EMHR executive director Cain Chamberlin, who noted that the EMHR has nearly $65,000 in grants available, which is $5,000 more than last year and $10,000 more than the year before that. “We are excited to be able to provide more financial assistance to our applicants, particularly when so many entities have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The EMHR receives many great applications each year and, because there are limited funds available, it becomes a very competitive grant process. “Our grants review committee always wishes we could fund all of the proposed projects and programs, but they do their best in selecting the ones that further the mission and the objectives of the EMHR,” Chamberlin stated.
Applicants must be a paying member of the EMHR, which serves Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties to apply. And the organization must be in one of those counties. There were no applications submitted from Sullivan County this year, and Chamberlin is hopeful that the EMHR can help to fund projects there this year.
Grant amounts can range from $1,000 to $10,000 with a 100 percent match required. In other words, if the total project cost will be $16,000, the organization can apply for up to $8,000. An applicant’s match can be in the form of cash-match or in-kind match, meaning volunteer hours and donated professional services can be utilized.
Successful applicants will be announced in May. Work on projects may begin in June and must be completed by August 31, 2021 with proper documentation submitted to the EMHR. Administrative assistant Vanessa Billings-Seiler is more than happy to answer questions from applicants prior to submission and during the course of the project itself.
The EMHR Partnership/Mini-Grants program is made possible with direct support from the PA DCNR. For more information, interested readers should log on to www.emheritage.org and click on Grants. Questions may be directed to Billings-Seiler at 570-265-1528 or vbillings-sieler@emheritage.org.
Direct Dennis/Perkins descendant Daryl Gore stands next to the excavated foundation of the Perkins homestead. An EMHR Partnership/Mini-Grant helped to make this and repairs to a nearby spring house possible in 2020.
In 2020, The Wyoming County Cultural Center successfully applied for a Partnership/Mini-Grant have Tunkhannock artist Bob Lizza create another mural panel for the exterior of the Dietrich Theater.
A Partnership/Mini-Grant supported the enhancement of the Susquehanna River access point at the French Azilum Historic Site in 2020, as seen here during the Fall Heritage Sojourn.
In 2020, the boroughs of Lanesboro and Susquehanna Depot successfully applied for EMHR funds for a special purpose study to determine how to connect the municipalities via the D&H Rail Trail.
The Nicholson Heritage Museum has benefited greatly from EMHR funding over the years. An additional $8,500 was allotted in 2020 for ongoing renovations of the former train station there.