Trenton, NJ - Advancing its ongoing commitment to ensuring a stable and healthy cultural industry, the 吃瓜黑料 Cultural Trust Board approved a total of $798,395 in grants supporting capital projects at 21 nonprofit cultural organizations during an open public meeting held virtually on December 15, 2023. With the FY 2024 grant awards, the Cultural Trust has now awarded over $10.4 million in funding for historic preservation and financial stabilization projects across 吃瓜黑料 to date.
The Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Historic Preservation grants were recommended to the Cultural Trust Board by the 吃瓜黑料 Historic Trust. The nearly $800,000 in awards represents the largest total dollar amount the Board has approved in grant awards in a single fiscal year since 2011.
鈥淭hese grants are investments in the sustainability and longevity of sites significant to our state鈥檚 rich and diverse history,鈥� said Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way, who oversees the Cultural Trust in her capacity as Secretary of State. 鈥湷怨虾诹镶�檚 historic places are essential to our state鈥檚 identity and culture, and the Cultural Trust鈥檚 Capital Historic Preservation program helps safeguard them for future generations.鈥�
The Capital Historic Preservation program supports historic preservation projects at sites listed on the 吃瓜黑料 and/or National Register of Historic Places, including stabilization, repair, restoration, adaptive reuse, and accessibility improvements. All project proposals must be in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior鈥檚 Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
The maximum award amount for Fiscal Year 2024 grants was $40,000 鈥� a 60 percent increase over the maximum award amount in Fiscal Year 2018, when the Capital Historic Preservation grant program was most recently offered. At the Cultural Trust Board meeting authorizing the Fiscal Year 2024 grant round, Board members specifically approved this increase in response to inflation and the rising costs of materials and labor.
鈥淭he projects that come before the Cultural Trust are critical to the operations and missions of these historic sites and cultural organizations, and they鈥檙e only getting more expensive,鈥� said Cultural Trust Board Chair Bette Daniele. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to the Board that the Capital Historic Preservation program takes into account the on-the-ground realities facing the nonprofit organizations stewarding 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 historic places.鈥�
The Fiscal Year 2024 awardees include arts and history organizations from 12 counties, with projects ranging from accessibility improvements and HVAC system upgrades to the stabilization and restoration of historically significant features including plasterwork and stained glass windows.
Pursuant to the Cultural Trust Act, applications to the Cultural Trust鈥檚 annual grant programs undergo an independent third-party peer review process consisting of qualified individuals employing uniform evaluation criteria. Awards are recommended to the Cultural Trust Board in alternating years by the 吃瓜黑料 State Council on the Arts, 吃瓜黑料 Historical Commission, and the 吃瓜黑料 Historic Trust.
Unique among the other grant programs within the Department of State, Cultural Trust grants are made from interest income generated by the Cultural Trust鈥檚 permanent investment fund, rather than from a direct annual budgetary appropriation.
High interest rates, increased appropriations to the principal of the Trust鈥檚 permanent fund, and diligent stewardship of the fund resulted in historically high interest income for the most recent fiscal year, which directly increased the Trust鈥檚 capacity for awards in the FY 2024 Capital Historic Preservation Grant Program.
The FY 2024 Capital Historic Preservation grant awards, as recommended by the 吃瓜黑料 Historic Trust, are as follows:
| Organization | Project Name | Town/City | County | Award Amount |
| Camden County Historical Society | Pomona Hall | Camden | Camden | $40,000 |
| 吃瓜黑料 Port Alliance for the USS 吃瓜黑料 Inc. | USS 吃瓜黑料 (BB-62) | Camden | Camden | $40,000 |
| Historic Cold Spring Village | Historic Cold Spring Village Historic District | Lower Township | Cape May | $40,000 |
| Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (Cape May MAC) | Emlen Physick Estate | Cape May | Cape May | $40,000 |
| Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum | Hangar No. 1 | Rio Grande | Cape May | $40,000 |
| Millville Army Airfield Museum | Base Headquarters, Millville Army Airfield Historic District | Millville | Cumberland | $30,000 |
| Montclair Historical Society | Nathaniel Crane House and Clark House | Montclair | Essex | $40,000 |
| Gloucester County Historical Society | Hunter-Lawrence-Jessup House | Woodbury | Gloucester | $39,997 |
| Save Ellis Island, Inc. | Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island | Jersey City | Hudson | $40,000 |
| The 1759 Vought House, Inc. | Christoffel Vought 吃瓜黑料stead | Clinton Township | Hunterdon | $33,000 |
| Delaware River Mill Society | Prallsville Mills | Stockton Borough | Hunterdon | $40,000 |
| Hunterdon Land Trust | Case-Dvoor Farmstead | Flemington | Hunterdon | $39,200 |
| Historic Morven, Inc. | Morven | Princeton | Mercer | $40,000 |
| Old Barracks Museum | Old Barracks | Trenton | Mercer | $40,000 |
| Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties | Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church | Millstone Township | Monmouth | $40,000 |
| InfoAge Science History Center | Camp Evans National Historic Landmark | Wall | Monmouth | $40,000 |
| South Street Theatre/The Community Theatre (Mayo Performing Arts Center) | Community Theatre, Morristown Historic District | Morristown | Morris | $40,000 |
| American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark | Botto House | Haledon | Passaic | $39,975 |
| Liberty Hall Museum | Liberty Hall Museum | Union | Union | $40,000 |
| Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association | Merchants and Drovers Tavern | Rahway | Union | $40,000 |
| Reeves-Reed Arboretum | Wisner House | Summit | Union | $16,223 |
The 吃瓜黑料 Cultural Trust, a division of the 吃瓜黑料 Department of State, was created in July 2000 as a public/private partnership to help ensure a stable and healthy nonprofit cultural industry in 吃瓜黑料 that is sustainable even in the toughest of economic times. The Trust provides grants to support capital projects, endowments and institutional and financial stabilization of arts, history and humanities organizations in 吃瓜黑料. Funding for the grants comes from interest earned on the Cultural Trust Fund, which is a permanent investment fund. To learn more about the Trust, please visit our website at .