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Heritage Grants


The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area offers matching grants to provide and leverage funding for innovative projects across the region which preserve, protect, and promote the rich historical, cultural, and natural heritage of Western North Carolina while stimulating economic opportunity.

Funds for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area grants program are provided by the federal government through the National Park Service.

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has announced its 2008 Heritage Grants Program.  The total pool of available grant funds is $350,000.  The deadline for applications is October 1, 2008

The Grant Guidelines and Application Form are provided below:

BRNHA Grant Guidelines
BRNHA Grant Application Form
BRNHA Project Budget Form

Click here for a list of grant awards made in 2006/2007.

Grant Information Sessions

BRNHA staff will hold several public information sessions around the BRNHA region.  Attendance is optional, but is recommended for those who have not attended information sessions for previous BRNHA grant cycles.

The schedule for the grant information sessions is:

Date    Time Location
Monday, July 14, 2008 2:00 pm

Macon Bank Corporate Center
One Center Court

Franklin, NC

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:00 pm Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center
195 Hemphill Knob Road
Asheville, NC
Monday, July 21, 2008 2:00 pm Henderson County Courthouse
Carolina First Board Room
1 Historic Courthouse Square
Hendersonville, NC
Thursday, July 24, 2008 2:00 pm Old Burke County Courthouse
102 E. Union Street
Morganton, NC
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 2:00 pm Wilkes Heritage Museum
100 East Main Street
Wilkesboro, NC

The meetings are expected to last no more than one hour. 

Click here for directions to the grant information sessions.

Key changes from previous grant cycles:

  • The maximum grant award is now $35,000
  • Grants are awarded for up to 12 months
  • Applicants must provide at least an equal match from non-federal sources
  • New grant categories

Applicant Eligibility Requirements:

 The following types of organizations are eligible to apply for grants:

  • units of state and local government
  • federally-recognized Indian tribes
  • academic institutions
  • non-profit organizations with 501(c)3 or 501(c)6 tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service

Project Eligibility Requirements

  • Projects must be located in the 25-county region of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area or the Qualla Boundary.  The 25 counties are: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.

  • Grant applicants must provide at least an equal contribution of matches from non-federal sources.

  • The project activity to be funded by the grant should be focused on one or more of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area's core heritage themes: Agricultural Heritage, Cherokee Heritage, Craft Heritage, Music Heritage, and/or Natural Heritage.

  • At the time of application, the project must be included in at least one of the local heritage development plans authored by Heritage Councils in the 25 counties of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and the Qualla Boundary.  New project ideas can be presented to the Heritage Councils for inclusion in these plans.  Contact your local Heritage Tourism Development Officer for more information about the Heritage Councils.

  • A complete list of project eligibility requirements and grant application procedures can be found in the Grant Guidelines (see above).

For more information, contact:

Rob Bell
Director of Programs
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area
rob@blueridgeheritage.com
(828) 298-5330, ext. 308