# Museums for America (45.301)

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/programs/45-301-museums-for-america/  
Publisher: Well Told Grants. Data: USAspending.gov and Grants.gov, updated November 7, 2026.

Museums for America is run by Institute of Museum and Library Services. From fiscal 2021 to 2025 it awarded $132 million in 922 grants, about $143,269 per award.

## Objectives

The Museums for America (MFA) program invests in museums of all sizes and disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through educational programs and exhibits, community partnerships, and collections stewardship activities.
The goals of the program are to advance a museum’s capacity to: serve people of all ages and backgrounds through experiential learning and discovery; respond to community needs; and manage and care for collections and their associated documentation.
The primary audiences for this program are museums, museum professionals, and the publics they serve.
Museums Empowered (ME) is a special initiative of the Museums for America grant program that supports projects that use professional development and training to generate change and growth within museums of all types and sizes.
The goal of this program is to support staff learning and training to: provide museum staff with the skills to integrate digital technology into museum operations; strengthen the ability of museum staff to use evaluation as a tool to shape museum programs and improve outcomes; and strengthen and support museum staff as the essential part of a resilient organizational culture.
The primary audiences for this program are museums and museum professionals.
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 by 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.
See the Notice of Funding Opportunity for details of these grant programs' specific goals and objectives.

## Funding by fiscal year

| Year | Amount | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $27.9 million | 204 |
| 2022 | $29.5 million | 199 |
| 2023 | $30.8 million | 218 |
| 2024 | $29.3 million | 211 |
| 2025 | $14.6 million | 90 |

## Largest recipients

| Recipient | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Portland Art Museum | Oregon | $1.0 million |
| George Eastman Museum | New York | $999,544 |
| Discovery Children's Museum | Nevada | $990,595 |
| Childrens Museum of Indianapolis Inc | Indiana | $920,532 |
| Denver Art Museum | Colorado | $910,784 |
| New York Historical Society | New York | $902,550 |
| The American Museum of Natural History | New York | $885,164 |
| Explora Science Center & Children's Museum of Albuquerque | New Mexico | $851,832 |
| The Cleveland Museum of Natural History | Ohio | $819,695 |
| Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | $808,289 |
| University of Montana | Montana | $793,675 |
| The Science Museum of Minnesota | Minnesota | $780,856 |
| Yerba Buena Center for the Arts | California | $750,000 |
| Florida Holocaust Museum, Inc | Florida | $750,000 |
| Holocaust Memorial Center | Michigan | $749,981 |
| Brooklyn Children's Museum Corporation | New York | $749,139 |
| The Atlanta Botanical Garden, Inc. | Georgia | $748,922 |
| Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education | Ohio | $747,881 |
| The Tech Interactive | California | $745,915 |
| Trustees of Walters Art Gallery Inc | Maryland | $742,231 |

## Open opportunities

- [Museums for America (2027)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/mfa-fy27-museums-for-america-2027/), closes November 13, 2026
- [Inspire Grants for Small Museums (2027)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/igsm-fy27-inspire-grants-for-small-museums-2027/), closes November 13, 2026
- [Museums Empowered (2027)](https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/me-fy27-museums-empowered-2027/), closes November 13, 2026