USHRAB is funded through a State Board Programming Grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant-making body of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA has been operating without an appointed and Senate-confirmed Archivist of the United States since the former Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogun, resigned in early 2025. Without this position filled, the NHPRC has been unable to meet and approve grant applications for over a year, including USHRAB’s Programming Grant application that was submitted in May of last year. The NHPRC has access to the grant funds, but the funds are being left unspent due to the delay in filling this position.

This means that as of June 30, 2026 USHRAB no longer has federal grant funding to support its programs, and we will be unable to offer Archival Project Grants or Professional Development Microgrants to support Utah’s cultural heritage organizations’ valuable work in preserving and providing access to our state’s historical records.

You can help! If you’ve received a grant from USHRAB or planned on applying for one, you can reach out to Utah’s US Senators and let them know how impactful USHRAB’s federally-funded grants are to organizations that protect Utah’s history, especially in rural Utah. Even if you have not used USHRAB’s services, if you believe that our mission to “help archives, libraries, museums, and other organizations protect your community’s history and provide public access to historical records” is important, please consider contacting the US Senators and letting them know that they should prioritize confirming the next Archivist of the United States.

Continuing Services
Although USHRAB’s grant programs will be on hiatus, other services, such as Archives Fundamentals training, Ins and Outs of Access training, Digital Project Planning training, consultation services, and Utah Archives Month resources will continue to be available.

Our annual grant round opens on August 1. Applicants are required to submit the Archival Project Grant Application PDF, the Project Plan, Staff, and Budget Worksheet, and other supplementary documents via email by September 15. Guidelines, supplementary documentation forms (digitization agreements, document owner permission forms), as well as the rubric that the Board will use to score your applications are available on ushrab.org/forms.

The Board will meet in late September and provide a feedback document to each applicant. Applicants are highly encouraged to incorporate this feedback when they revise their applications. Applicants should also reach out to the executive secretary if they need clarification or have questions about feedback or revisions. The deadline to submit the final application is October 15.

The Board will make its final funding decisions at its official fall board meeting in late October. Applicants will be notified of the results in the fall.

USHRAB accepts applications through email. Please send the completed the application form, Worksheet form, and supplemental documentation (if applicable) to the USHRAB executive secretary USHRAB@utah.gov

Required Forms

USHRAB Archival Project Grant Application FormDownload

USHRAB Project Plan, Staff, and Budget WorksheetDownload

USHRAB Archival Project Grant GuidelinesDownload

After opening the Worksheet document, use the tabs on the bottom of the window to navigate between each form.