NHPRC-Mellon Start-Up Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American History | DIGITALEDITIONS 202106

Opportunity Information: Apply for DIGITALEDITIONS 202106

The NHPRC-Mellon Start-Up Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions program is a grant opportunity run by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) at the National Archives and Records Administration, supported by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The program is aimed at expanding who gets to shape and publish scholarly digital editions by investing in projects rooted in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American history and ethnic studies. At its core, the opportunity is trying to widen participation in documentary editing and digital publication, while also pushing the field to rethink what a digital edition can be, whose perspectives it prioritizes, and how it serves both scholarly and public audiences.

A major focus of these Start-Up grants is capacity-building and training, especially for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who are new to historical documentary editing and who may be working in history, area studies, or ethnic studies contexts. The program is not just about creating a product; it is explicitly about strengthening skills, expanding professional pathways, and supporting early-stage planning so that projects are positioned to succeed long-term. It also emphasizes collaboration as a way to address longstanding inequities between institutions by encouraging resource sharing, shared decision-making, and respectful partnerships that do not treat communities as an afterthought. Applicants are expected to build in meaningful ways to get community and user input, and to design projects with engagement in mind from the beginning.

Projects must be led by collaborative teams rather than solo applicants. Teams are expected to include at least two scholar-editors, along with additional roles as needed such as archivists, digital scholars, data curators, and other technical or support staff who can realistically carry out planning and early implementation. The program strongly encourages teams that place BIPOC faculty and staff in key leadership positions, and it specifically encourages collaborations that include staff and partners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges. It also invites participation from Indigenous and Native American tribal scholars and community members and members of Asian American communities. In addition, teams are encouraged to incorporate undergraduate and graduate students and community members in ways that are beneficial and substantive across the project lifecycle, not just symbolic.

The kinds of projects this funding supports are digital edition efforts that work with historical documentation and records. Typical eligible work includes collecting and compiling materials, describing and preserving collections, transcribing and annotating documents, editing and encoding texts, and ultimately publishing materials digitally. The records involved can be traditional manuscript or typewritten documents, but the program also recognizes other formats such as analog audio and born-digital records. Because these are Start-Up grants, the funded activities lean toward planning and early development rather than full-scale production, with funding commonly used for coordination and groundwork that a larger edition would require later.

Examples of eligible costs include travel and related expenses for planning meetings, particularly helpful for partnerships spread across different locations. Funds can also support training for project directors and staff, including participation in NHPRC-supported training through its Institutes for Historical Editing program. Other supported activities include technical planning work like wireframing, prototyping, and user testing or evaluation with intended audiences to clarify needs and priorities before major build-out begins. For projects that require substantial document discovery, the grant can also fund initial surveying of collections, imaging and gathering documents, canvassing, community outreach, and associated travel. One clear restriction is that the program does not fund film or video documentary production, and proposals made up entirely of ineligible activities will not be reviewed. Applicants are directed to NHPRC guidance on what it will and will not fund for the full list of limitations.

In terms of award size and timeline, the grant can run for up to two years, with up to $60,000 per year available. NHPRC anticipated making up to six awards in this category, with total program funding up to $720,000. For the cycle described, Start-Up Grants could begin no earlier than January 1, 2022. Grant recipients must acknowledge NHPRC support in publications, publicity, and other products that come out of the funded work.

Eligibility covers a range of US-based entities, including nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities (public or private), and state or local government agencies. Federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups are also eligible applicants. While cost sharing is not required, applicants may include their own contributions, including direct and indirect expenses, in-kind support, third-party non-federal contributions, or project income. A key budgeting rule is that NHPRC funds cannot be used for indirect costs; if indirect costs are part of the overall budget, they must appear under the applicant’s cost-sharing contribution instead, consistent with federal regulations.

Finally, there are standard federal application requirements that can affect eligibility. Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before applying, keep that registration active through the process, and include a valid DUNS number in the application (as specified in the opportunity materials for that cycle). The source data for this opportunity lists the funding opportunity number as DIGITALEDITIONS 202106, categorizes it as a discretionary humanities/cultural affairs grant (CFDA 89.003), shows a posting date of December 21, 2020, and lists a closing date of June 9, 2021 for that particular application round.

• The National Archives and Records Administration in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NHPRC-Mellon Start-Up Grants for Collaborative Digital Editions in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American History" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 89.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 21, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 09, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $60,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for DIGITALEDITIONS 202106

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