The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) today announced 52 matching grants totaling more than $2.6 million to Maryland non-profits, local jurisdictions, and other heritage tourism organizations including museums, historic preservation, natural resources, cultural and educational organizations for projects involving historic preservation, natural resource protection, and educational programs in 13 designated Heritage Areas. These grant funds support heritage tourism projects and activities that expand economic development and tourism-related job creation in 21 counties and the city of Baltimore.
Grants to projects in Annapolis, London Town and South County (Four Rivers) Heritage Area, Anne Arundel County include:
— Capital grant for the Renovation of 1 Martin Street: Construction Phase, Historic Annapolis, Inc., Annapolis, MD, $90,000. The 1 Martin Street facility will be the organization’s main venue for meetings, event rentals and educational activities, which will provide valuable public programming space and strengthen Historic Annapolis’s organizational capacity and financial sustainability.
— Capital grant for Accessibility Planning in the Historic Area, London Town Foundation, Edgewater, MD, $5,000. Planning will determine the best methods for making the historic area more user-friendly while respecting the site’s unique historic character. Improving access will enable the London Town Foundation to bring more visitation to Historic London Town and Gardens, to become more sustainable, and serve as a model for other local heritage sites to improve their own accessibility.
— Capital grant for Metal Stairwell Window Restoration, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Inc., Annapolis, MD, $81,737. This project will fund the restoration of the 1932 building’s original, four metal windows in the stairwells, used by thousands of visitors each year. The large metal windows require repairs and complete restoration to ensure their integrity for many years to come.
In addition, Four Rivers received a Management grant for $100,000, making a total of $276,737 in MHAA funding to the Four Rivers Heritage Area for FY16, for projects totaling $2,093,474. The Management grant to the Four Rivers Heritage Area supports activities such as the annual mini-grants program, the annual heritage awards, regional interpreter training, networking meetings for site directors and managers, educational workshops, online resources, and new collaborative initiatives.
Congratulations to the recipients of the FY16 grants. It’s not too early to begin planning for the FY17 MHAA grants. Applications and instructions are released in January with an “Intent to Apply” form due in late January and a local due date of late February. Plan to attend the Four Rivers Heritage Area Grants Workshop scheduled for winter 2016. For more information about Four Rivers, contact Executive Director Carol Benson at 410-222-1805.