The Minnesota Historical Society has awarded $283,359 in Legacy Amendment grants to 17 history and preservation projects in 15 counties.
The Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants program provides awards of $20,000 or less to nonprofits, educational institutions, local governments and federally recognized tribes. The latest round was approved by the Historical Society’s executive council May 21.
Two St. Paul institutions received funding. Hamline Church United Methodist was awarded $19,999 to hire an engineer to evaluate how its heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system affects the historic church environment. Macalester College received $19,535 for research on the environmental effects of military-industrial development in Minnesota during World War II and the Cold War.
Other grants will support museum collections, archival digitization, building assessments and preservation planning. Recipients include the Anoka County Historical Society, Red Lake Nation College, the Listening Point Foundation in Ely and the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics.
Several awards involve properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, including the Ortonville Free Library, the Great Northern Railway Depot in Princeton, Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Appleton and the Taylors Falls United Methodist Church.
The grants are funded through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund created by Minnesota voters through the 2008 Legacy Amendment. Awards are competitive and are reviewed using program criteria and professional preservation standards.
Small grants are offered quarterly, while grants above $20,000 are offered annually. The next listed small-grant deadlines are July 10 and Oct. 9.
Program details and application information are available at mnhs.org/preservation/legacy-grants. Applications must be submitted through the Minnesota Historical Society’s online grants portal.
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