Federal grant programs / Institute of Museum and Library Services

Museums for America (45.301)

Also known as Museums for America; Museums Empowered; Inspire Grants for Small Museums

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$132 million
• Grant awards922
• Typical award$150,288
• Awarded in FY 2025$14.6 million
• Size rank723 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants, direct payments for specified use

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $27.9 million in fiscal 2021 to $14.6 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 723rd largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 13% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 52 states and territories.

What the program funds

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.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

• Museums for America (2027)
  Open · Closes November 13, 2026 (13 days left) · up to $350,000
• Inspire Grants for Small Museums (2027)
  Open · Closes November 13, 2026 (13 days left) · up to $75,000
• Museums Empowered (2027)
  Open · Closes November 13, 2026 (13 days left) · up to $350,000

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

An applicant to Museums for America or its initiatives must meet geographic and governance criteria and qualify as one of the following types of organizations: 1. A museum that, using a professional staff, is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes; owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; cares for these objects; and exhibits these objects to the general public on a regular basis through facilities that it owns or operates. 2. A public or private nonprofit agency that is responsible for the operation of a museum that meets these criteria. Applicants should consult the Notices of Funding Opportunity for MFA and the special initiatives for more details.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Grant funds must be used for the purposes outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, and in accordance with the Institute of Museum and Library Services General Terms and Conditions. Examples of allowable costs include personnel salaries, wages, and fringe benefits for project staff; travel expenses for key project staff and consultants; materials, supplies, software, and equipment related directly to project activities; adaptive and/or assistive technologies and other resources and services to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities; equipment to improve collections storage and exhibit environments; third-party costs; publication design and printing; program evaluation; staff and volunteer training; paid internships/fellowships; and indirect or overhead costs. Examples of unallowable costs include general fundraising costs; contributions to endowments; general operating support; acquisition of collections; general advertising or public relations costs designed solely for promotional activities other than those related to the specific project; construction or renovation of facilities; social activities, receptions or entertainment; and research projects.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Museums for America and Museums Empowered (special initiative): At least one-to-one cost share from non-federal sources is required. Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (special initiative): For FY2025, cost sharing is allowed but not required for projects requesting between $5,000 and $25,000 in federal support. At least one-to-one cost share from non-federal sources is required for projects requesting between $25,001 and $75,000 in federal support.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Jan 13, 2026 to Mar 13, 2026

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Museums for America: FY2023 awards ranged from $16,325 to $250,000. Average = $199,125. FY24, awards ranged from $11,625 - $250,000. Average = $203,147. In FY2025, requests may range from $5,000 to $250,000. Museums Empowered (special initiative): FY2023 awards ranged from $28,383 to $250,000. Average = $207,620. FY2024, awards ranged from $46,264 to $250,000. Average = $184,884. In FY25, requests may range from $5,000 to $250,000. Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (special initiative): F FY2023 awards ranged from $8,721 to $50,000. Average = $42,504. FY24, awards ranged between $9,950 - $50,000. Average = $42,623. In FY2025, applicants may choose between two funding levels. Small projects will range from $5,000 to $25,000. Large projects will range from $25,001 to $75,000.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.

By state

33 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.