The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council (HCC) announces that up to $200,000 in funding is available through the 2021 Natural & Cultural Grant program.

Each year, the HCC encourages applications that focus on the conservation of cultural, natural, agricultural or environmental resources or projects that produce educational programs or products on these topics. All projects must take place in Douglas County, Kansas, and be completed within two years.

To be eligible for funding, projects must fall into at least one of the following categories:

• Historic structures, historic sites, archaeological sites, historic cemeteries.
• Prairie; woodlands, waterways; habitat restoration/preservation; cultural landscapes, trails.
• Agriculture (working farms, heritage farms; high quality agricultural soils).
• Stories from before the Civil War to the present including Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area themes: Civil War & pre-Civil War heritage; settlement stories before and after Civil War; the enduring struggle for freedom and the continuing struggle for freedom, or pre-settlement history.
• Elevating under told/little-known stories of underrepresented people: Magnifying the narratives from Indigenous communities, immigrant or refugee populations, or marginalized groups. Giving visibility to little-known but significant places/stories.

Who may apply? Douglas County based entities such as nonprofit organizations or businesses, K-12 schools, colleges or universities, any unit of local government, individuals and families. Out-of-county organizations, businesses or units of government must have a Douglas County partner.

An information session will be presented via Zoom at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. No registration is required. You are not required to attend to be eligible to apply. The Zoom meeting information, grant guidelines and the application are available on the Douglas County website at: https://dgcoks.gov/hcc.

The application deadline is March 10. Interested parties are required to discuss their project with the HCC Program Coordinator Jan Shupert-Arick by Feb. 25 in advance of the application deadline. The Council will evaluate all proposals and make recommendations for funding to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners in May for approval. Projects must start after grant awards are announced.