FY26 Museum Program Information Form

OMB Number: 3137-0092 Expiration Date: 5/31/2026

IMLS Museum Program Information Form

PLEASE NOTE: Information contained within this form may be made publicly available.

Section 1. Grant Program

Select the grant program to which you are applying.

21^st Century Museum Professionals Program

Inspire Grants for Small Museums

Refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity for funding ranges and cost-share requirements associated with these project types

Select one project type:

• Small project with no cost share required

• Large project with 1:1 cost share required

Museums Empowered

Museums for America

Museum Grants for African American History and Culture

Refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity for funding ranges and cost-share requirements associated with these project types.

Select one project type:

• Small project with no cost share required

• Large project with 1:1 cost share required

Museum Grants for American Latino History and Culture

National Leadership Grants for Museums

Refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity for funding ranges and cost-share requirements associated with these project types.

Select one project type:

• Non-research

• Research

Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services

Grant Program Goals and Objectives

Select the grant program goal that best aligns with your proposed project. Once you have selected a goal, select one associated objective.

21^st Century Museum Professionals

Goal 1, Support the professional development of the current museum workforce

Obj 1.1: Develop new or enhanced professional development and training programs for the museum workforce.

Obj 1.2: Support assessment and evaluation of training and professional development programs to identify and share effective practices.

Goal 2, Recruit and train future museum professionals

Obj 2.1: Expand pathways into the museum field by adapting higher education programs to be more responsive to the needs of the museum workforce.

Obj 2.2: Support assessment and evaluation of recruitment, training, and higher education programs to identify and share effective practices

Inspire Grants for Small Museums

Goal: Build the capacity of small museums to provide museum services to their communities.

Obj 1: Lifelong Learning: Support the development of experiential learning and discovery in small museums.

Obj 2: Collections Stewardship and Access: Support the management and care of collections in small museums.

Museums Empowered

Goal 1, Digital Technology: Provide museum staff with the skills to integrate digital technology into museum operations. 

Obj 1.1: Support staff learning and integration of digital communication platforms and social media tools to enhance audience engagement and community outreach

Obj 1.2: Support staff learning and integration of digital tools and services that enhance access to museum collections. 

Goal 2, Evaluation: Strengthen the ability of museum staff to use evaluation as a tool to shape museum programs and improve outcomes. 

Obj 2.1: Increase staff knowledge of program evaluation methods and the usefulness of evaluation reports, tools, data, and metrics.

Obj 2.2: Provide museum staff with the tools and strategies to adapt evaluation methods to address a specific audience or institutional need. 

Goal 3, Organizational Management: Strengthen and support museum staff as the essential part of a resilient organizational culture. 

Obj 3.1: Develop comprehensive organizational learning opportunities that address one or more emerging priorities facing a museum. 

Obj 3.2: Develop programs that address the specific learning and growth opportunities identified by staff needs assessments. 

Museums for America

Goal 1, Lifelong Learning: Advance the capacity of a museum to serve people of all ages and backgrounds through experiential learning and discovery. 

Obj 1.1: Support public programs, including adult programs, family programs, school, and/or early childhood programs.

Obj 1.2: Support exhibitions and interpretation. 

Goal 2, Community Engagement: Advance the efforts of a museum to respond to community needs.

Obj 2.1: Support collaborative planning, outreach, and evaluation efforts to improve access and engagement.

Obj 2.2: Support the implementation of community-centered partnerships, exhibitions, and programs.

Goal 3, Collections Stewardship and Access: Advance the management and care of collections and their associated documentation. 

Obj 3.1: Support cataloging, inventorying, registration, and collections information management. 

Obj 3.2: Support conservation and environmental improvement and/or rehousing; conservation surveys; and conservation treatment. 

Obj 3.3: Support database management, digital asset management, and digitization. 

Museum Grants for African American History and Culture

Goal 1, Build the capacity of African American museums and HBCUs to serve their communities. 

Obj 1.1: Develop, enhance, or expand public programs, exhibitions, and/or school programs. 

Obj 1.2: Strengthen museum operations by developing new or improved strategic plans, management practices, or institutional policies.

Obj 1.3: Improve care and conservation of museum collections and archives and expand access. 

Goal 2, Support the growth and development of a professional workforce at African American museums and HBCUs. 

Obj 2.1: Develop and implement internship, fellowship, and mentoring programs to support people entering the museum field. 

Obj 2.2: Create learning and growth opportunities designed to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities of museum staff and/or volunteers.

Museum Grants for American Latino History and Culture

Goal 1, Build the capacity of American Latino museums to serve their communities. 

Obj 1.1: Develop, enhance, or expand public programs, exhibitions, and/or school programs. 

Obj 1.2: Improve care and conservation of museum collections and archives and expand access to collections.

Obj 1.3: Strengthen museum operations by developing new or improved strategic plans, management practices, or institutional policies.

Goal 2, Support the growth and development of a professional workforce in American Latino museums.

Obj 2.1: Develop and implement internship, fellowship, and mentoring programs to support people entering the museum field.

Obj 2.2: Create learning and growth opportunities designed to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities of museum staff and/or volunteers.

National Leadership Grants for Museums

Goal 1, Advance museum-based learning and engagement practices in the museum field.

Obj 1.1: Support the development, implementation, and dissemination of model programs that facilitate adoption by museums across the field.

Obj 1.2: Support research focusing on museums’ roles in engaging learners of all types.

Obj 1.3: Support forums that convene experts and stakeholders, including those from adjacent fields as appropriate, to explore current and emerging issues and inform the field.

Goal 2, Advance the museum field’s ability to respond to community needs.

Obj 2.1: Support the development of new and innovative methods for addressing community challenges through partnerships, services, processes, or practices for use across the museum field.

Obj 2.2: Support research focusing on museums’ roles in responding to community needs.

Obj 2.3: Support forums that convene experts and stakeholders, including those from adjacent fields as appropriate, to explore current and emerging issues and inform the field.

Goal 3: Identify new solutions that address high priority and widespread collections care or conservation issues.

Obj 3.1: Support the development, implementation, and dissemination of new tools or services that facilitate access, management, preservation, sharing, and use of museum collections.

Obj 3.2: Support research focusing on any broadly relevant aspect of the management, conservation, and preservation of collections.

Obj 3.3: Support forums that convene experts and stakeholders, including those from adjacent fields as appropriate, to explore current and emerging issues and inform the field.

Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services

Goal, Build the capacity of Native American Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to provide museum services to their communities.

Obj 1: Support the preservation and perpetuation of languages and cultural practices.

Obj 2: Support the professional development of the museum workforce.

Obj 3: Support the management and care of museum collections and their associated documentation.

Project Element

Select the primary element that is core to your proposed project from the list below. Your response to this question will help us match your application to reviewers with appropriate experience.

Museums for America

Project Element

• Lifelong Learning

  • Early Learning/Family Programs

  • Exhibitions

  • Interpretation

  • School Programs

  • Public Programs

• Community Engagement

  • Audience Accessibility

  • Community-Driven Programs

  • Community-Focused Planning, Outreach, and Evaluation

  • Exhibition Co-Curation

• Collections Stewardship and Access

  • Cataloguing, Inventorying, Registration

  • Collections Information Management

  • Conservation Environmental Improvement/Rehousing

  • Conservation Survey and/or Treatment

  • Database/Digital Asset Management

  • Digitization

Inspire

Project Element

• Lifelong Learning

  • Early Learning/Family Programs

  • Exhibitions

  • Interpretation

  • School Programs

  • Public Programs

• Collections Stewardship and Access

  • Cataloguing, Inventorying, Registration

  • Collections Information Management

  • Conservation Environmental Improvement/Rehousing

  • Conservation Survey and/or Treatment

  • Database/Digital Asset Management

  • Digitization

Section 2. Applicant Information

Refer to the entity listed in Item 5a of the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance – Short Organizational Form (SF-424S) that you are submitting with your application.

Does this entity have an organizational unit that will carry out the activities described in your application?

Helpful Definitions

An organizational unit is governed by a larger administrative body. Examples include museums that are parts of colleges or universities and museums that are administered by units of state or local government. As a result of this arrangement, an organizational unit usually does not have its own Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and does not have the legal authority to apply for IMLS funding on its own. It works with the larger administrative body, which is referred to as the legal applicant, to submit an application.

A legal applicant has its own Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and has the legal authority to apply directly for IMLS funding. The name of the legal applicant is listed in Item 5a of the SF-424S. Examples include independently operating museums; nonprofit organizations that are responsible for the operation of museums; universities; and units of state, Tribal or local government that administer museums. A single legal applicant may have many organizational units or it may have none.

NO. Check here if the entity identified in Item 5a on the SF-424S submitted with your application does not have an organizational unit that will carry out the activities described in this application.

If you selected NO, pick the institution type that most accurately describes the legal applicant:

YES. Check here if the entity identified in Item 5a on the SF-424S submitted with your application has an organizational unit that will carry out the activities described in this application.

If you selected YES, provide the following information for the organizational unit that will carry out the activities described in this application. Do not repeat the information you provided for the legal applicant on the SF-424S.

Section 3. Financial Information

Federally recognized Indian Tribes, including Alaska Native villages, regional corporations, and village corporations, are not required to submit this information.

1. Complete the following table with figures representing the most recently completed fiscal year in the top row, followed by those for the previous year, and concluding with those for the year before that. Provide the information requested for the legal applicant if you have not identified an organizational unit for this application. If you have identified an organizational unit for this application, provide the information requested for that unit.

Fiscal Year	Total Revenue*	Total Expenses**	Surplus or Deficit

* For nonprofit tax filers, Total Revenue can be found on Line 12 of the IRS Form 990.

** For nonprofit tax filers, Total Expenses can be found on Line 18 of the IRS Form 990.

2. If the Total Revenue amounts declined by more than 15% for any year over year listed OR if there was a deficit of more than 10% of the Total Revenue for two or more years listed above, explain the circumstances in the box below.

3. Were there any material weaknesses identified in your prior year’s audit report?

• Yes

• No

• Not applicable

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity's financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. If yes, please explain in the box below.

4. Has your organization had a single or program-specific audit in the past three years?

• Yes

• No

Section 4. Museum Profile

If your organization is eligible to apply for an IMLS grant as a museum, then answer the questions a through k below. Applicants to the Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services program are not required to complete this section.

1. Is your organization a public, Tribal, or private nonprofit agency or institution?

Yes

No

2. Is your organization organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes?

Yes

No

3. Does your organization own or utilize tangible objects and care for such tangible objects?

Yes

No

4. Does your organization exhibit tangible objects to the general public in a facility that you own or operate?

Yes

No

5. What was your institution’s attendance for the 12-month period prior to the application?

Fewer than 1,000

1,000 - 9,999

10,000 - 99,999

100,000 - 999,999

1,000,000 - 9,999,999

10,000,000 +

6. How many days was your institution open to the public during these 12 months?

0 - 119

120 - 249

250 – 365

7. Does your organization use a professional staff (i.e., does your organization employ at least one staff member, or the full-time equivalent, whether paid or unpaid, primarily engaged in the acquisition, care, or exhibition to the public of objects owned or used by the organization)?

Yes

No

Number of full-time paid institutional staff:

0

1

2

3

4 - 10

11 - 50

51+

8. Number of full-time unpaid institutional staff:

0

1

2

3

4 - 10

11 - 50

51+

9. Number of part-time paid institutional staff:

0

1

2

3

4 - 10

11 - 50

51+

10. Number of part-time unpaid institutional staff:

0

1

2

3

4 - 10

11 - 50

51+

Section 5. Funding Request

Refer to the Grant Fund and Cost Share totals in Section 10 of the IMLS Budget Form that you are submitting with your application. Enter the amount in dollars you are requesting from IMLS and the amount of non-federal funding you are providing as cost share/match below.

IMLS Funds Requested      

Cost Share/Match Amount*      

Total      

* Enter $0 if the budget includes no cost share/match.

Section 6. Indirect Costs

Refer to the IMLS Budget Form – Indirect Costs in the Budget guidance in the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the program to which you are applying. Then select one option below. Your selection should match the choice you make on the IMLS Budget Form that you are submitting with your application.

	Current indirect cost rate(s) have been negotiated with a federal agency. Select from list:       Rate:       Expiration Date:       Until Amended:
	Indirect cost proposal has been submitted to a federal agency but has not yet been finalized. Select from list:       Rate:      Proposal Date:      
	Applicant chooses a rate not to exceed 15% of Modified Total Direct Costs and declares it is eligible for the 15% rate.
	Applicant chooses not to include indirect costs.

Section 7. Abstract

Refer to the instructions for writing an Abstract in the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the program to which you are applying. Enter or paste your Abstract below (maximum 3,000 characters, including spaces).

PLEASE NOTE: Information contained within this form may be made publicly available.