L to R: The Landing Historic District in Fort Wayne, Allen Co.; Georgetown State Bank, Floyd Co.; a home in the Brady Street Historic District in Attica, Fountain Co.
Grant Programs
Grant programs provide direct assistance to certain types of eligible applicants for important local preservation projects. Because grants represent public funds, they are used to assist projects that have an obvious public benefit. Grants provide a portion of the funding needed to undertake an eligible project and require some amount of local match. These programs require that assisted properties be listed in the National Register of Historic Places to receive federal assistance, or the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures to receive state assistance.
For local governments, colleges and universities, and not-for-profit organizations:
Historic Preservation Fund Grant Program (HPF)
For owners of commercial properties used in for-profit and not-for-profit ventures:
Historic Renovation Grant Program (HRGP)
Tax Credit Programs
Tax credit programs are incentives to encourage private entities to rehabilitate their historic properties. Ordinarily, these properties are used for income-producing purposes; however, certain owner-occupied historic homes may also be eligible. Tax credits do not provide funding to assist with the costs of a rehabilitation project. Instead, they provide an offset of income taxes owed afterward and can be carried forward for a certain number of years until the credits are used up or the claim period runs out.
For owners of commercial properties used in for-profit ventures:
Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit (RITC)
For owners of historic homes used as their principal residence:
Residential Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (RHRTC)
Historic Preservation Fund Grant Priorities Available for Public Comment
Every year the DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology (DHPA) revises the priorities by which the federally-funded Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grant applications are evaluated. The priorities are established within the parameters of the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund Grant Manual and represent the types of projects that the DHPA view as important to its mission to identify, document, investigate, preserve, and interpret cultural resources in Indiana.
The HPF Program Guidelines and the evaluation criteria for Administrative, Architectural & Historical, Archaeology, Acquisition & Development are being provided for public review and comment. Please provide any comments to the DHPA Grants Staff by Monday, April 10, 2023. All public comments must be received in writing. Send comments by e-mail to skennedy@dnr.IN.gov, or by mail to DHPA Grants Staff, 402 W. Washington St., Room W274, Indianapolis, IN 46204. All public comments received will be presented at the meeting of the State Historic Preservation Review Board on April 19, 2023.
Click on the following links to review the HPF grant guidelines and priorities for FY2024:
- HPF Program Guidelines
- Administrative Priorities (required for ALL project categories)
- Architectural & Historical Priorities
- Archaeology Priorities
- Acquisition & Development Priorities (rehabilitation projects)
Please note that the Priorities are only one part of HPF grant applications, and the DHPA is not accepting proposals at this time. Complete packets with application forms and instructions will be available on the DHPA website by August 1, 2023.