Inspire Grants for Small Museums
Deadline: November 13, 2026*
Application Instructions: The FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity is now available. Apply Here: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/363771 Eligibility Criteria: Eligibility Criteria | Institute of Museum and Library Services Grant Amount: $5,000–$75,000 Grant Period: One to three years Cost Share Requirement: If your total request for federal funding is between $5,000 and $25,000, then no cost share is required. If your request for federal funding is between $25,001 and $75,000, you must provide funds from non-federal sources in an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of your IMLS request.
Program Overview: 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, including small rural or small remote institutions and small museums that have not previously received federal funding. The program funds project-based efforts to serve the public through educational programs and exhibits, community partnerships, and collections stewardship activities.
Goal of the Inspire program: The goal of the Inspire program is to build the capacity of small museums to provide museum services to their communities through supporting:
- The development of experiential learning and discovery in small museums; and
- The management and care of collections in small museums.
Primary audiences: small -including rural and remote - museums, museum professionals, and the publics they serve.
About Organization Size: IMLS does not have fixed parameters to determine the size of a museum. All applicants have the opportunity to describe structural or organizational issues that restrict the abilities and capacity of the museum in the Organizational Profile. Attributes that should be addressed include, but are not limited to:
- number of staff members and volunteers;
- estimate of total person-hours worked per week;
- operating budget and sources of revenue;
- number and types of objects in the collection;
- size of facility and property;
- types and numbers of audiences served; and
- size relative to other organizations of the same discipline, or within the same geographic region.
Interested in learning more about this grant program?
- Watch the informational video (below) for specific details about this grant program and the process of preparing an application.
- Schedule a counseling call with a program officer. Find an available time on the calendar using the links (below).
Program Contact: If you have questions, please contact the staff members listed under the objective that best fits your project.
| Objective | Contact |
|---|---|
| Lifelong Learning | Reagan Moore Senior Museum Program Officer rmoore@imls.gov 202-653-4637 To schedule a time to talk to Reagan Moore about Lifelong Learning, click here. |
| Collections Stewardship and Access | Mark Feitl Senior Museum Program Officer mfeitl@imls.gov 202-653-4635 To schedule a time to talk to Mark Feitl about Collections Stewardship and Access, click here. |
Webinars: The FY 2026 pre-recorded webinars are available for reference:
- Getting Started with IMLS Museum Grants for FY 2026 – a general presentation on IMLS museum grant programs. We recommend that you view this presentation for an overview before considering a specific grant program. Click here to access the recording or to read the transcript.
- Preparing a Budget and Budget Justification – provides information to help you prepare these two required parts of the grant application – the IMLS Budget Form and the Budget Justification. The information in this video supports the instructions in the Notices of Funding Opportunity for each grant program. Click Here to access the recording or to read the transcript.
*All grant programs are subject to the availability of funds and IMLS discretion.