Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants facts for kids
The Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants is a special program that gives out money, called a grant, to help protect Minnesota's past and its unique traditions. This program gets its money from something called the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The Minnesota Historical Society is in charge of making sure the grants are given out fairly.
These grants help projects all over Minnesota that focus on saving the state's history and cultural heritage. In 2010 and 2011, the program planned to give out a total of $6.75 million to different projects.
How the Grants Program Started
On November 4, 2008, people in Minnesota voted in a special election, called a referendum. They approved something new to add to the Minnesota State Constitution, which is like the state's rulebook. This new part was called the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment.
This amendment made the state's sales tax go up by a tiny bit (0.375%). The extra money from this tax was set aside for special programs. These programs are meant to "restore, protect, and enhance" things like wild lands, animals, clean water, state parks, and trails. The money also helps with arts, arts education, and, very importantly, preserving Minnesota's history and cultural heritage.
After the vote, the Minnesota Historical Society's State Historic Preservation Office held meetings. These meetings happened from November 2008 to January 2009. They wanted to hear ideas from groups interested in history, like local history clubs, people who protect old buildings, archaeologists (who study old things), librarians, and people who research family history.
The ideas from these meetings helped the Minnesota Legislature (the state's lawmakers) decide how to use the money. They created the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. This fund then gave money to the Minnesota Historical Society to start the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program. It also helped other state history projects. Based on all this feedback and the new laws, the Minnesota Historical & Cultural Grants program officially began in October 2009.
How Grants Are Given Out
The laws said that these grants should go to programs and projects across the state. These projects could be run by local, county, or state history groups. The main goal is to protect important historical and cultural things.
The money from these grants is meant to add to other money sources, not replace them. To get a grant, groups have to apply and compete with others. This is called a "competitive grants process."
The first round of "Small Grants" started in October 2009. Applications for "Mid-Size" and "Large" grants opened in November 2009. For the 2010 FY (which is like a financial year), the program received 369 applications. Out of these, 180 projects were chosen to receive money.
A special group called the Historic Resources Advisory Committee decides on the Mid-Size and Large grants. This committee has 13 people who know a lot about history, academics, and libraries. They review the applications and choose the best projects.
