13 CAR Part 25 — Small Museum Grant Program

Chapter III

Subchapter B

Subpart 1

13 CAR § 25-101 Introduction {#sec-13-car-25-101 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-101}

13 CAR § 25-101. Introduction.

(a) Since 1975, the Division of Arkansas Heritage has been charged with discovering, strengthening, protecting, and preserving Arkansas’s natural and cultural heritage.

(b) To fulfill its mission, the division coordinates the following natural and cultural heritage resource areas:

(1)(A) Division museums.

(B) Museums research, preserve, present, and interpret historic structures, objects, and natural and cultural assets.

(C) They serve as a partner in education with public and private schools throughout Arkansas.

(D) The division’s four (4) museums are the:

(i) Delta Cultural Center;

(ii) Historic Arkansas Museum;

(iii) Mosaic Templars of America Center for African American Culture and Business Enterprise; and

(iv) Old State House Museum; and

(2)(A) Division resource agencies.

(B)(i) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission identifies, protects, and promotes areas that best exemplify Arkansas’s rich heritage of biological diversity.

(ii) These areas might be:

(a) Habitat for rare or disappearing species; or

(b) Natural communities, such as a:

(1) Tallgrass prairie; or

(2) River and its dependent aquatic system.

(C)(i) The Arkansas Arts Council and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program:

(a) Are conduits for federal and state grant money; and

(b) Provide technical assistance for developing and conserving Arkansas’s cultural resources.

(ii) They preserve and promote Arkansas’s cultural resources including Arkansas’s fine and traditional arts and historic structures, landscapes, and archeological sites.

(D)(i) The Arkansas State Archives collects and preserves the official records and historical materials for the state of Arkansas.

(ii) These include:

(a) State, county, and federal records;

(b) Manuscript materials;

(c) Newspapers;

(d) Military records;

(e) Family histories;

(f) An extensive Arkansas history and genealogy library; and

(g) A collection of Arkansas art and artifacts.

13 CAR § 25-102 Grant program goals {#sec-13-car-25-102 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-102}

13 CAR § 25-102. Grant program goals.

The Division of Arkansas Heritage has set these goals for Small Museum Grants:

(1) Promote education, awareness, and enjoyment of Arkansas history; and

(2) Increase ability of community-based small museums/organizations to research, preserve, present, and conserve Arkansas history.

13 CAR § 25-103 Who may apply {#sec-13-car-25-103 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-103}

13 CAR § 25-103. Who may apply.

The following are the types of museums/organizations that are eligible to apply:

(1) History museums;

(2) Historical societies;

(3) Historic houses and sites; and

(4) Military museums.

13 CAR § 25-104 Evaluation criteria {#sec-13-car-25-104 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-104}

13 CAR § 25-104. Evaluation criteria.

(a) The Small Museum Grant Program is funded by the one-eighth-cent conservation tax, which is a limited source.

(b) Not every applicant can be funded.

(c) The maximum grant award is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).

(d) All, part, or none of the applicant’s request may be awarded.

13 CAR § 25-105 General conditions {#sec-13-car-25-105 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-105}

13 CAR § 25-105. General conditions.

There are five (5) general conditions for eligibility in the Small Museum Grant Program:

(1) The museum must have an annual operating budget of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or less;

(2) The museum must have a staff of at least one (1) person qualified with museum:

(A) Training;

(B) Knowledge; and

(C) Experience;

(3)(A) Staff may be paid or volunteer.

(B) The museum staff must devote time primarily to the care of the museum and its collections; and

(4) The museum must be open to the public at least ninety (90) days per year.

13 CAR § 25-106 Additional requirements {#sec-13-car-25-106 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-106}

13 CAR § 25-106. Additional requirements.

To be considered for a Small Museum Grant, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

(1) Recipient must be located in Arkansas;

(2) Recipient must have tax exempt status (501(c)(3)) with the Internal Revenue Service or be part of a nonprofit organization;

(3) Recipient may receive no state or federal funds for operating costs;

(4)(A) Recipient must have a strong educational component to the museum’s/organization’s programming.

(B) Educational programming should be designed to benefit the general public;

(5) Recipient must have a formally stated and board-approved mission statement and bylaws;

(6) Recipient must use and interpret objects and/or a site for the public presentation of regularly scheduled programs and exhibits;

(7) Recipient must have a formal and appropriate program of documentation, care, and use of the collections and/or objects;

(8) Recipient must carry out the above functions primarily at a physical facility or site;

(9) Recipient must have been operational and open to the public for at least two (2) years; and

(10) Recipient must have a full-time director to whom authority is delegated for day-to-day operations.

13 CAR § 25-107 Eligible activities {#sec-13-car-25-107 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-107}

13 CAR § 25-107. Eligible activities.

(a) Small Museum Grants can be used to underwrite an eligible museum’s general operating expenses.

(b) The following expenses are eligible for inclusion within the grant application:

(1) Conservation materials;

(2) Building and grounds maintenance;

(3) Operating costs for utilities and HVAC;

(4) Equipment purchase (one thousand-dollar limit);

(5) Accessioning of artifact collections;

(6) Research;

(7) Website design and maintenance;

(8) Exhibits;

(9) Interpretation (brochures, educational programming, and exhibits);

(10) Educational programs for kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) students or adults;

(11) Printing, publicity, and marketing;

(12) Postage and telephone;

(13) Travel and transportation:

(A) In-state travel for research and training;

(B) Lodging for museum staff only;

(C) Transportation costs required for research and training must:

(i) Be itemized;

(ii) Be stated in the form of roundtrip miles; and

(iii) Not exceed the state government rate per round-trip mile; and

(D) Meals for paid and nonpaid museum staff; and

(14) Staff training:

(A) Museum practices and standards;

(B) Archival training;

(C) Interpretive training; and

(D) Collections management.

History

• Codification Notes: "HVAC" means heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Authority: Arkansas Code § 13-5-206

13 CAR § 25-108 Ineligible activities {#sec-13-car-25-108 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-108}

13 CAR § 25-108. Ineligible activities.

Small Museum Grants may not be used to fund the following:

(1) Acquisitions of objects for the collections;

(2) Capital improvement projects;

(3) Salaries;

(4) Projects that serve a religious purpose or promote religious principles;

(5) Exhibitions or public programs that are not available to the general public or taking place outside of the State of Arkansas;

(6) Prizes and awards;

(7) Expenses for entertainment;

(8) Any state or federally funded museums; or

(9) Food for special or continuing programs.

13 CAR § 25-109 Application timeline {#sec-13-car-25-109 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-109}

13 CAR § 25-109. Application timeline.

(a) Notice of grant opportunity will be posted on the Division of Arkansas Heritage website at least sixty (60) days before Small Museum Grant submission deadline.

(b) Submission deadline will be announced in the notice of grant opportunity.

(c) Deadline for revisions or additional material will be thirty (30) days after submission deadline.

(d) Grants will be awarded within sixty (60) days of application submission deadline.

(e) Funds will be available fifteen (15) days following the award date.

13 CAR § 25-110 Decision process {#sec-13-car-25-110 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-13-part-25--13 CAR § 25-110}

13 CAR § 25-110. Decision process.

(a) Small Museum Grant applications will be reviewed and evaluated against the goals, evaluation criteria, and eligible activities of the Small Museum Grant Program by a panel of three (3) or more individuals to be appointed by the Director of the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

(b) The panel will include the State Historian or his or her designee.

(c) This panel will make the funding decisions.