East Texas Grant Opportunities
Explore funding opportunities for East Texas museums, historic sites, communities, nonprofits, cultural organizations, parks, and tourism partners.
Use the search box to find opportunities and click a grant name for official details. Deadlines and requirements may change, so always confirm information with the funding organization before applying.
TFTR provides this directory for informational purposes and does not administer these grants unless otherwise noted.
| TFTR Cultural & Heritage Tourism Grant Directory | |
|---|---|
| Grant Name | Description |
| African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund | Supports preservation, interpretation and organizational capacity for historic sites, landscapes and museums representing African American heritage. |
| Anice Read Fund | For Texas Downtown members; downtown-focused projects with annual awards of $500–$5,000. |
| Arts Respond Performance Support | Helps nonprofit organizations and units of government bring artists from the Texas Touring Roster to museums, festivals, historic sites, schools, and community programs. |
| Arts Respond Project | Supports arts projects addressing areas such as economic development, education, natural resources, public safety, and health; relevant to cultural tourism, festivals, folk arts, and exhibitions. |
| Backing Historic Small Restaurants | Partnership supporting critical needs of historic small restaurants amid economic challenges. |
| Battlefield Preservation Fund | Preservation of battlefields, viewsheds, and related historic structures; generally $2,500–$10,000. |
| Certified Local Government Grants | Supports surveys, National Register nominations, preservation plans, ordinances, design guidelines, tourism and education projects, rehabilitation, and travel or training for participating CLGs. |
| Community Development Block Grants | May support rural public infrastructure or revitalization tied to historic properties through HUD and the Texas Department of Agriculture. |
| Conserving Black Modernism Grant Program | Preserves modern architecture designed by Black architects and designers through planning, research, interpretation and capital work. |
| Cultural District Project | Supports high-impact arts programming, festivals, signage, wayfinding, promotion and improvements within Texas Commission on the Arts designated cultural districts. |
| Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors | Supports preservation, restoration and interpretation of historic interiors, including professional services and planning. |
| Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative | Two-year collaboration supporting project management, capacity building, grantmaking, and convenings for descendant and family-led organizations. |
| Downtown Revitalization Program | Funds public infrastructure that eliminates deterioration and fosters economic development in historic Main Street and rural downtown areas. |
| East Texas Communities Foundation — T.J. and LaVerne Plunkett Foundation Grant | Supports arts and culture, education, job training, environment, and other community projects in Cherokee, Gregg, Nacogdoches, Panola, and Rusk counties, with preference for Rusk County. |
| Entergy Micro Grants | Small grants for arts and culture, community improvement and enrichment projects in communities served by Entergy. |
| Great Texas Birding Classic Conservation Grants | Supports habitat restoration, birding infrastructure, interpretive tools, viewing platforms, trails, and other conservation or nature-tourism projects. |
| Hart Family Fund for Small Towns | Seed money for preservation projects in towns with populations of 10,000 or less; generally $2,500–$15,000. |
| HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative | Supports Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plans for historic HBCU campuses and assets; generally $60,000–$150,000. |
| Historic Preservation Tax Credits, Funding and Grants | Federal 20% and Texas 25% tax-credit programs generally targeting income-producing or certain nonprofit-use historic buildings; this is a tax incentive rather than a grant. |
| Humanities Texas Exhibition Grants | Supports the rental of Humanities Texas traveling exhibitions and related public humanities programming at museums, libraries and cultural sites. |
| Humanities Texas Major Grants | Supports exhibitions, public programs, oral history, local history, heritage interpretation, and educational programming. Major grants generally provide up to $20,000. |
| Humanities Texas Mini-Grants | Up to $2,500 with a 1:1 cost share for public humanities programming, including exhibitions; school districts are eligible. Decisions are typically made within 10 business days. |
| Humanities Texas Rural Grants | Supports historical and cultural public programs in Texas counties with 60,000 residents or fewer, including exhibits, festivals, living history and oral history. |
| IMLS Inspire! Grants for Small Museums | Supports collections care, interpretation, digitization, technology, visitor engagement, and organizational capacity at small museums; awards of $5,000–$75,000. |
| IMLS Museum Grants for African American History and Culture | Supports African American museums and related organizations through collections, interpretation, staffing, professional development, and community engagement; awards of $5,000–$500,000. |
| IMLS Museums for America | Supports project-based museum work in collections stewardship, lifelong learning, community engagement, interpretation, and institutional capacity; awards of $5,000–$350,000. |
| J.P. Bryan Preservation Trust | General historic-preservation projects. |
| J.W. Couch Foundation Preservation Grants | Potential support for nonprofit projects preserving historic architecture, cultural heritage, natural resources and community stories. |
| Jack R. Wahlquist Directors Endowment | Support for publications and operations. |
| Jeannie R. Blocker Memorial Fund | Preservation projects in Texas rural areas with populations under 30,000. |
| Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation | Supports historic environments, cultural heritage, and community livability; generally $2,500–$15,000. |
| Joseph Ballard Archeology Fund | Archeological preservation and education. |
| Levitt AMP Music Series Grant | Three-year matching support for nonprofits presenting free outdoor concert series that activate underused public spaces in smaller communities. |
| Levitt BLOC Music Series Grant | Three-year matching support for free outdoor concert series across multiple public spaces, strengthening community identity and cultural participation. |
| Michael C. Duda Preservation Awards | Recognizes and supports significant long-term preservation projects that demonstrate sustained impact in Texas. |
| Moe Family Fund for Statewide and Local Partners | For current dues-paying National Preservation Partners Network members; supports statewide or local partner projects and expanded initiatives. |
| National Endowment for the Arts — Grants for Arts Projects | Supports arts, folk and traditional arts, museums, media, design, cultural festivals, interpretation, and arts-based community-development projects. |
| National Fund for Sacred Places | Matching grants of $50,000–$500,000 for significant capital projects at historic houses of worship, plus training, technical assistance, and planning support. |
| National Trust Emergency/Intervention Funding | Limited emergency assistance for urgent preservation threats affecting significant historic places and preservation organizations. |
| National Trust Preservation Funds | Seed money for local preservation; generally $2,500–$5,000. Eligible applicants include public agencies, 501(c)(3)s, and nonprofits; membership restrictions may apply. |
| National Trust Southwest Intervention Fund | Supports preservation planning, advocacy and emergency intervention for threatened historic places in the Southwest. |
| NEH Public Humanities Projects | Supports exhibitions, interpretive plans, historic-site interpretation, heritage trails, and public humanities programs. Planning awards may reach $75,000 and implementation awards $750,000. |
| NPS Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant | Supports acquisition and permanent protection of eligible Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War battlefield lands. |
| NPS Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant | Supports rural historic properties through competitive subgrants administered by eligible organizations. |
| NPS Underrepresented Communities Grants | Supports surveys, inventories, documentation, and National Register nominations that identify and preserve places associated with communities underrepresented in historic preservation. |
| Order of the Southern Cross Grants | Preservation or restoration of Southern heritage artifacts, structures, and locations, including military and personal artifacts, homes, monuments, cemeteries, battlefields, and signs. |
| Pineywoods Foundation Grants | Regional grants for history, arts, libraries, parks, education and community development in 12 East Texas Pineywoods counties. |
| Preservation Texas Historic Rural Log Building Grant Program | Provides $50,000–$150,000 for stabilization and rehabilitation of qualifying pre-1940 log buildings in rural Texas communities under 50,000. Requires a 25% cash match. |
| Preserving Black Churches Grant | Supports historic Black houses of worship, active or nonactive, through preservation activities and capacity building; generally $50,000–$200,000. |
| Sarah Meadows and Charles E. Seay Preservation Trust | Preservation and promotion of Texas history. |
| Save America's Treasures | Supports nationally significant historic properties and collections. |
| Summerlee Foundation Texas History Program | Supports research, documentation, preservation, oral history, interpretation, publications and other projects that promote Texas history. |
| T.L.L. Temple Foundation Grants | Supports rural East Texas initiatives that expand opportunity and strengthen communities; possible fit for regional capacity building, training, collaboration, and economic-development work. |
| Texas Book Festival Texas Library Grants | Helps Texas public libraries enhance print, e-book and audiobook collections, including materials reflecting local history and culture. |
| Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program | Supports planning and restoration of historic county courthouses, which often serve as major downtown heritage anchors. |
| Texas Historical Architecture Preservation Trust | Preservation of buildings, landmarks, and physical structures. |
| Texas Historical Foundation Annual Grants | Supports preservation, research, education, publications, museums and projects that preserve and promote Texas history. |
| Texas Historical Foundation Quarterly Micro Grants | Small grants for preservation, research, education, collections and public-history projects submitted through a quarterly letter-of-inquiry process. |
| Texas Legal History Preservation Trust | Projects focused on the legal history of the Republic and State of Texas. |
| Texas Parks & Wildlife Local Parks Grants | Competitive matching grants for acquisition and development of public recreation areas and facilities by eligible local governments. |
| Texas Preservation Trust Fund | Matching grants for preservation planning, archeology, historic structures, museums and other significant cultural resources in Texas. |
| Texas Reads Grant Program | Supports public-library reading and literacy programs that may incorporate local history, community stories and cultural themes. |
| Texas Rural African-American Heritage Grants Program | Preservation Texas matching-grant program supporting rehabilitation of rural African American institutional and commercial buildings in towns under 50,000. |
| Texas Rural Communities Grants | Supports sustainable environmental, economic, educational and community-development programs benefiting rural Texas communities. |
| The Meadows Foundation Grants | Statewide Texas foundation funding that may support arts and culture, historic preservation, civic initiatives and environmental projects. |
| The Moody Foundation Grants | Texas-focused philanthropic support that may include significant arts, cultural, educational and community capital projects. |
| Tocker Foundation Automation Grant | Year-round assistance for automation systems and related equipment at eligible rural Texas public libraries. |
| Tocker Foundation General Library Grant | Supports collections, technology, equipment and programs at eligible Texas public libraries serving small rural communities. |
| Tocker Foundation Library Transformation Grant | Supports flexible redesign and improvement of eligible rural library spaces for contemporary community uses. |
| Tocker Foundation Newspaper Digitization Grant | Preserves historic Texas newspapers and makes local-history resources freely accessible through the Portal to Texas History. |
| TPWD Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) | Supports community-based outdoor recreation, conservation education, youth activities, and programs connecting participants with Texas natural and cultural resources; grants up to $100,000. |
| TSLAC Special Projects Grant Program | Supports innovative or collaborative library services, community engagement and programs reaching audiences who face barriers to library use. |
| TSLAC TexTreasures Grant Program | Supports digitization and improved public access to unique or rare Texas library and archival collections, including historical materials. |
| USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program | Provides funding for essential rural community facilities; may fit qualifying museums, cultural centers, visitor facilities, and public community improvements. |
| USDA Rural Business Development Grants | Supports rural business and economic development activities, including technical assistance, planning, feasibility work, and projects that can strengthen tourism-related economies. |
| Walmart Spark Good Local Grants | Small local grants that can help eligible nonprofits support exhibits, heritage programs, volunteer projects and community events. |
Additional Resources
| Resource Name | Description |
| Texas Rural Funders Grants Hub | One of the best sources for current rural Texas grant opportunities across community development, culture, infrastructure, education, and capacity building. |
| Center for Rural Affairs Grant Application Guide | Practical, free guide to developing competitive federal grant applications for rural projects. |
| Texas Rural Nonprofit Network | Offers fundraising resources, coaching, templates, networking, and access to a large grantmaker database. |
| UTA Rural Grant Writing Course | Free grant-writing training that can strengthen applications even when the proposed project is not healthcare-related. |
| Grants.gov | Official federal portal for finding and applying for competitive grants from U.S. government agencies. |