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.

Eligibility

Below you will find information about the kinds of institutions we fund and the kinds of records eligible for funding. If your question is not answered here, please contact the USHRAB executive secretary at USHRAB@utah.gov. We also have a funding cheat sheet that answers common eligibility questions available for download.

Revised NHPRC Funding Cheat SheetDownload

Which institutions are eligible?

  • State, county, municipal, tribal, or other non-Federal units of government responsible for the care and custody of permanent records
  • University and college special collections and archives
  • Historical societies, museums, libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions who care for documentary collections
  • Other non-profit organizations (must have 501(c)(3) status)

What records are eligible?

  • Manuscripts, personal and family papers, organizational and business archives
  • Permanent records of enduring and historical value created by non-Federal units of government
  • Collections of photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and electronic records
  • Unpublished architectural, cartographic, and engineering drawings