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New Jersey Cultural Trust Approves over $1 Million in Grants for History & Humanities Organizations
Advancing its ongoing commitment to ensuring a stable and healthy cultural industry, the New Jersey Cultural Trust Board approved a total of $1,001,964 in grants to 37 nonprofit history and humanities organizations in 14 counties during an open public meeting held virtually on November 17, 2025. With the Fiscal Year 2026 grant awards, the Cultural Trust has awarded over $12.4 million in funding for financial stabilization and historic preservation projects across New Jersey since Fiscal Year 2004.
The Fiscal Year 2026 Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants for History & Humanities Organizations (IFS History/Humanities grants) were recommended to the Cultural Trust by the New Jersey Historical Commission. The more than $1 million in awards represents the largest total amount awarded in a single IFS History/Humanities grant round in the Trust’s history.
“As history and humanities organizations across New Jersey prepare to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary, these investments in institutional stability and capacity are especially vital,” said Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way, who oversees the Cultural Trust in her capacity as Secretary of State. "By strengthening nonprofit organizations’ foundations, these grants increase the ability of our state’s cultural community to promote civic engagement, expand economic vitality, and engage diverse audiences in 2026 and beyond.”
The Cultural Trust’s IFS History/Humanities program provides financial support to assist organizations in addressing the financial and institutional challenges that threaten their stability, and to help build greater operational capacity for organizations to manage and advance their work. This includes offering funding for essential organizational infrastructure projects that other State agencies are not designed to support. The Fiscal Year 2026 grant awards will support the creation of cash reserves and working capital funds; upgrades to critical technology including websites and computers; the purchase of important capital equipment to ensure the safety of visitors and staff; the creation of strategic planning documents that will set the course to improve organizational health; and more.
“The Cultural Trust Board is excited to announce this record-breaking slate of awards,” said Cultural Trust Board Chair Carol Cronheim. “The Fiscal Year 2026 grant program received over $2 million in requests, representing a more than 130% increase over the last time this grant program was offered. As the Cultural Trust marks its 25th year, it is gratifying to see the Trust’s programs continue to grow to meet the capitalization needs of the nonprofit cultural sector.”
Unique among the other grant programs within the Department of State, Cultural Trust grants are made out of interest income generated by the Cultural Trust’s permanent investment fund, rather than from a direct annual budgetary appropriation. High interest rates, increased appropriations to the principal of the Trust’s permanent fund, and diligent stewardship of the fund resulted in high interest income for Fiscal Year 2025, which directly increased the Trust’s capacity to grant an historic amount in awards for the Fiscal Year 2026 IFS History/Humanities program.
Applications to the Cultural Trust’s annual grant programs undergo an independent third-party peer review process consisting of qualified individuals employing uniform evaluation criteria. Awards are recommended to the Cultural Trust Board in alternating years by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, New Jersey Historical Commission, and the New Jersey Historic Trust.
The Fiscal Year 2026 IFS History/Humanities grant awards, as recommended by the New Jersey Historical Commission, are as follows:
FY 2026 Institutional & Financial Stabilization Awardees
| Organization | Town/City | County | Project Description | Award Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical Society of Hammonton | Hammonton | Atlantic | Strategic planning/assessment | $25,000 |
| Friends of the Hermitage, Inc. | Ho-Ho-Kus | Bergen | Technology upgrade | $5,400 |
| Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey | Fair Lawn | Bergen | Working capital/cash reserve | $25,000 |
| Bordentown Historical Society | Bordentown | Burlington | New staff position | $40,000 |
| Roebling Museum | Roebling | Burlington | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Whitesbog Preservation Trust | Browns Mills | Burlington | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Historical Society of Haddonfield | Haddonfield | Camden | Staff/board development | $8,819 |
| New Jersey Council for the Humanities | Camden | Camden | Strategic planning/assessment | $40,000 |
| Cape May County Historical & Genealogical Society | Cape May Courthouse | Cape May | Staff/board development | $5,217 |
| Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum | Rio Grande | Cape May | Capital equipment purchase | $32,900 |
| Bayshore Center at Bivalve | Port Norris | Cumberland | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Millville Army Air Field Museum | Millville | Cumberland | New staff position | $26,794 |
| Vineland Historical & Antiquarian Society | Vineland | Cumberland | Technology upgrade | $9,186 |
| Greenwood Gardens | Short Hills | Essex | Technology upgrade | $9,682 |
| Montclair Historical Society | Montclair | Essex | New staff position | $37,975 |
| The New Jersey Historical Society | Newark | Essex | New staff position | $40,000 |
| Liberty Science Center | Jersey City | Hudson | Capital equipment purchase | $40,000 |
| Save Ellis Island | Branchville | Hudson | Strategic planning/assessment | $40,000 |
| Historic Morven, Inc. | Princeton | Mercer | Technology upgrade | $19,199 |
| Historical Society of Hamilton Township | Hamilton | Mercer | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| New Jersey State Museum Foundation | Trenton | Mercer | Technology upgrade | $14,450 |
| Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | Hopewell | Mercer | New staff position | $40,000 |
| Trent House Association | Trenton | Mercer | Strategic planning/assessment | $22,500 |
| Washington Crossing Park Association | Titusville | Mercer | Technology upgrade | $10,000 |
| Allaire Village | Farmingdale | Monmouth | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Atlantic Highlands Historical Society | Atlantic Highlands | Monmouth | Technology upgrade | $9,601 |
| Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties | Millstone Township | Monmouth | Working capital/cash reserve | $30,000 |
| Monmouth Museum & Cultural Center | Middletown Township | Monmouth | Technology upgrade | $17,895 |
| Kemmerer Library Harding Township | New Vernon | Morris | Technology upgrade | $22,386 |
| Macculloch Hall Historical Museum | Morristown | Morris | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Madison Historical Society | Madison | Morris | New staff position | $40,000 |
| Barnegat Bay Decoy & Baymen's Museum d/b/a Tuckerton Seaport | Tuckerton | Ocean | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Sparta Historical Society | Sparta | Sussex | Working capital/cash reserve | $10,000 |
| Historical Society of Plainfield | Plainfield | Union | Working capital/cash reserve | $40,000 |
| Kenilworth Historical Society | Kenilworth | Union | Technology upgrade | $15,000 |
| Liberty Hall Museum | Union | Union | Technology upgrade | $39,960 |
| Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association | Rahway | Union | Technology upgrade | $5,000 |
About the New Jersey Cultural Trust
The New Jersey Cultural Trust, an authority in but not of the New Jersey Department of State, was created in July 2000 as a public/private partnership. Through the establishment of a permanent investment fund, the Trust helps to ensure a stable and healthy nonprofit cultural industry in New Jersey that is sustainable even in the toughest of economic times. The Trust provides grants to support capital projects, endowments, and institutional and financial stabilization of arts, history, and humanities organizations in New Jersey. To learn more about the Trust, please visit our website at nj.gov/state/culturaltrust/
About the New Jersey Historical Commission
The New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC) is a state agency dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history. Established by law in 1967, its work is founded on the fundamental belief that an understanding of our shared heritage is essential to sustaining a cohesive and robust democracy. To learn more about the New Jersey Historical Commission, please visit https://nj.gov/state/historical/.
