Foundation News Archive 2026
Hart Family Fund for Small Towns
Do you need support for your preservation project? Do you live in a town of 10,000 or less? The National Trust is now accepting applications for the Hart Family Fund for Small Towns.
It offers funding to small towns with populations under 10,000.
I have included a list of those towns in who may apply.
All the best.
Huzzah!
Smallest Incorporated Villages (< 3,000)
- Dering Harbor: ~50 residents (least populous in the state).
- Saltaire: ~37–100 residents.
- Ocean Beach: ~79 residents.
- Shoreham: ~500 residents.
- West Hampton Dunes: ~900 residents.
- North Haven: ~900 residents.
- Belle Terre: ~1,000 residents.
- Poquott: ~1,000 residents.
- Old Field: ~1,000 residents.
- East Hampton (Village): ~1,000 residents.
- Amagansett: ~1,200 residents.
- Sagaponack: ~300 residents.
- Bellport: ~2,000 residents.
- Village of the Branch: ~2,000 residents.
- Nissequogue: ~2,000 residents.
- Head of the Harbor: ~1,500 residents.
- Greenport: ~2,100 residents.
- Westhampton Beach: ~1,700 residents.
- Sag Harbor: ~2,000 residents (shared with Southampton).
- Brightwaters: ~3,000 residents.
- Islandia: ~3,600 residents.
- Southampton (Village): ~3,000–4,600 residents. ZippBoxx +6
Villages and CDPs with Populations Under 10,000
- Port Jefferson: ~7,700–8,100 residents.
- Amityville: ~9,500–9,700 residents.
- Northport: ~7,200 residents.
- Mattituck: ~4,000 residents.
- Cutchogue: ~3,400 residents.
- Springs: ~6,500 residents.
- East Moriches: ~5,100 residents.
- East Quogue: ~5,100 residents.
- North Patchogue: ~5,400 residents.
- Southold (CDP): ~5,200–6,000 residents. ZippBoxx +4
Smallest Townships
- Shelter Island: ~1,575 residents (smallest township by population). United Way of Long Island |
Located in an authentic Gold Coast mansion on the former Frick family estate, the Nassau County Museum of Art presents multiple fine art exhibitions and related public and educational programs each year. The property features a sculpture garden with 44 major works on view, formal gardens, a century-old pinetum, and miles of wooded trails on the 145-acre preserve. Also on the estate is the Manes Art Education Center, which offers year-round classes and seasonal events for all ages and abilities and hosts an Artist-in-Residence program.
NCMA presents Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artist of the Gilded Age (July 25 - November 8, 2026), a landmark exhibition celebrating one of America's most influential artists and designers. Featuring more than 130 oil and watercolor paintings from the Museum's extraordinary holdings, the exhibition offers an unprecedented examination of Tiffany's achievements as a painter and demonstrates how his lifelong engagement with painting informed the innovations that would later make him internationally renowned in the decorative arts.
Happy back-to-school season! As we enter the 2026-2027 school year, we invite teachers and students to explore the many free classroom-ready resources the Gilder Lehrman Institute has to offer.
______________________________________________________________________
Explore the Gilder Lehrman Citizenship Hub ahead of Constitution and Citizenship Day on September 17. The hub includes customized versions of the US naturalization exam for K–12 students and learners of all ages.
Students can watch short videos on various questions and test their knowledge by grade level. Each version of the test is available on Kahoot!
Free lesson plans aligned with history and civics standards are available for grades 3–5 and 7–12.
________________________________________________________________
Students can learn about America's founding era with the Hamilton Education Program Online (EduHam)! This free site offers an engaging, easy-to-use way for students and teachers to explore American history through the arts. It includes primary source documents related to Alexander Hamilton, the American Revolution, and the founding era of the United States.
Participants in grades 6–12 are eligible for our national competition and lottery by submitting an original creative piece on a topic from the founding era. The competition closes on December 15, 2026, and the lottery closes on February 15, 2027.
Twenty winners will be invited to New York City for an all-expenses-paid trip, including a performance of HAMILTON, in spring 2027.
>> Register for the Hamilton Education Program Online
_____________________________________________________________
Our Declaration at 250 Hub provides teachers with interactive resources to teach the Declaration of Independence. The hub includes an online exhibition, the annotated Declaration of Independence, videos, infographics, historical documents, and additional resources we've gathered from across the Gilder Lehrman website. We've added grade levels to each section to make them easier to navigate.
>> Explore resources related to Declaration of Independence
_____________________________________________________________
The Gilder Lehrman Institute's AP African American Studies Guide is a centuries-spanning, expert-led, document-based exploration of Black history.
Resources include
- Essays on Black internationalism, Black feminism, and African Americans in the Seminole Nation
- Videos on slavery and freedom in Brazil, the history of the National Urban League, and housing discrimination
- Videos from partners at Annenberg Classroom and the UNLADYLIKE2020 series
>> Explore the AP African American Studies Guide
___________________________________________________________
Our AP US History Study Guide provides students and teachers with numerous materials to prepare for the AP US History (APUSH) exam, including
- Custom videos for each of the College Board's AP historical periods, with links to essays and other resources for further study
- Interactive features, including historical timelines
- Essays and videos by renowned historians that illuminate key concepts
- Primary sources relating to each period, including letters, diaries, maps, photos, and books
>> Explore the AP US History Guide
____________________________________________________________
History U allows high school students to explore a wide range of American history topics with top scholars—completely free of charge.
Each History U course includes video lectures led by acclaimed and award-winning historians, short quizzes, primary and secondary source materials, and a certificate of completion. Check out the latest course geared towards AP studies.
>> Explore all History U courses
____________________________________________________________
Stay tuned for more learning opportunities this fall. Have questions? Email us at education@gilderlehrman.org.
The Conservation Preservation Discretionary Grant Program guidelines and online grant application for 2026-2027 are now available.
The New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials provides $500,000 each year for preserving materials in the collections of libraries, archives, historical societies, and similar agencies.
The grant awards for 2026-2027 will be limited to a minimum of $2,500 and a maximum of $45,000.
Conservation and Preservation Discretionary Grant funds have been used to support preservation activities across New York in a variety of ways. Examples of past projects include:
- Conservation treatment projects
- preservation and rehousing of architectural drawings and blueprints;
- digitizing and reformatting audio files;
- rehousing photographic negatives;
- conservation of published books from the 17- and 1800s;
- preservation microfilming of city directories; and
- rehousing of personal papers.
Find guidelines & grant information here. The online application is here. If you do not currently have a username and password to access the online application, please submit an Account Registration Form.
The due date for applications is 5 pm Wednesday, April 1st, 2026.
Please read the grant guidelines carefully before applying. For additional information go to: Conservation/Preservation Discretionary Grant Program.
Please Note: New York State has implemented a prequalification requirement for not-for-profit entities applying for grants. Proposals received from not-for-profit applicants that have not Registered and are not Prequalified in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) on the proposal due date of 5:00 p.m. on 04/01/2026 cannot be evaluated. Such proposals will be disqualified from further consideration. As this process may take up to a few weeks, it is advised that interested agencies begin this process immediately upon RFP announcement. Even if you have prequalified in the past, please be sure you have completed the necessary steps to maintain a Prequalified Status.
Questions about the program should be addressed to:
Lauren Cardinal
Conservation/Preservation Program Officer
New York State Library
Room 10B41, Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
(518) 486-4864
