The Kentucky Preservation Fund
The Kentucky Preservation Fund was established by Mr. and Mrs. Barry Bingham, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Owsley Brown, II, and Mrs. Linda Bruckheimer to celebrate the 2004 National Preservation Conference in Louisville and provide funding for preservation projects in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The program is a partnership with Preservation Kentucky, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Kentucky Heritage Council.
Typical uses for grants from the fund include community revitalization efforts, feasibility studies for endangered buildings and sites, architectural planning, landscape research and planning, development of heritage education programs, emergency stabilization, and co-sponsorships of workshops and conferences.
The Kentucky Preservation Fund uses the National Trust Preservation Fund application form and eligibility requirements. The National Trust is the fiscal agent of the funds and they are administered in partnership with Preservation Kentucky and the Kentucky Heritage Council.
Applicants must be an IRS designated 501(c)(3) public charity, church or governmental agency. Individuals and private building owners do not qualify for these grants. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1 and October 1. Generally grants from the Kentucky Preservation Fund range from $500 to $5,000 and must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar cash basis.
Apply for a Kentucky Preservation Fund Grant Online Here >
For more information, contact Preservation Kentucky
Edith S. Bingham Education Fund
The Edith S. Bingham Education Fund was established in 1999 by Mrs. Edith Bingham, a leading preservationist, generous philanthropist and Preservation Kentucky Advisory Board member who has supported historic preservation education for many years, and was instrumental in the development of Kentucky’s first Historic Preservation Graduate Program.
Mrs. Bingham created this Fund to help individuals further their education. It is intended for students pursuing a degree in Historic Preservation at the University of Kentucky to help cover expenses directly related to their degree studies. Grants may cover tuition and other expenses, such as books and classroom materials.
Preservation Kentucky is the fiscal agent for The Edith S. Bingham Education Fund and we manage the fund and administer the grants.
Applicants must demonstrate enrollment in a University of Kentucky Historic Preservation degree or certificate program. For more information and to receive a copy of the grant application, contact Preservation Kentucky at 502-871-4570 or email grants[at]preservationkentucky.org.
The Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer Preservation Fund
The Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer Preservation Fund for Kentucky supports the preservation of historic buildings, communities and landscapes specifically for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer Preservation Fund is unique and differs from the Kentucky Fund because it provides grants for the restoration, rehabilitation, stabilization, and preservation of designated historic sites and structures, including bricks-and-mortar construction and work to preserve archaeological sites.
These bricks-and-mortar grants range from $2,500 to $10,000, and approximately $13,000 in funds will be available for grants each year.
Applicants must be an IRS designated 501(c)(3) public charity, church or governmental agency. Individuals and private building owners do not qualify for these grants. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and October 1.
The National Trust is the fiscal agent for the Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer Preservation Fund and it is administered in partnership with Preservation Kentucky and the Kentucky Heritage Council.
Apply for a Bruckheimer Preservation Grant Online Here >
For more information, contact Preservation Kentucky
The Cecil Dulin Wallace Preservation Fund for Mercer and Boyle Counties
The Cecil Dulin Wallace Preservation Fund for Mercer and Boyle Counties was established with the proceeds from the sale of the Cambus Kenneth Farm and bequeathed by Mrs. Wallace as part of the National Trust’s Gifts of Heritage Program. These grants are restricted for use in Mercer and Boyle Counties in Kentucky.
Applicants must be an IRS designated 501(c)(3) public charity, church or governmental agency. Individuals and private building owners do not qualify for these grants. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1 and October 1. Like the Kentucky Preservation Fund, grants from the Cecil Dulin Wallce Fund range from $500 to $5,000 and must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar cash basis. The National Trust’s general grants application is used for this fund, so applicants will need to note on their application that they are submitting it for the Cecil Dulin Wallace Fund in Kentucky.
Apply for a Cecil Dunn Wallace Preservation Fund Grant Online Here >
For more information, contact Preservation Kentucky
National Grants
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sponsors several granting opportunities non-specific to Kentucky, such as the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation and the Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund. For more information, please visit their website here.
Historic Preservation Tax Credits
While there are limited grant opportunities in Kentucky for historic preservation specifically, there are tax incentives to help both home and commercial building owners with state and federal historic preservation tax credits.
Preservation Kentucky led the charge in 2005 to establish a State Historic Preservation Tax Credit, which incentivizes the rehabilitation of historic commercial and residential buildings. Since being signed into law as a provision of the Governor’s JOBS for Kentucky Tax Modernization Bill, Kentucky’s state Historic Preservation Tax Credit has resulted in 1,091 buildings rehabilitated throughout the Commonwealth and $663 million of private funds invested in historic buildings, leveraged through $49 million in credits.
The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit was established in 1976 and is administered by the National Park Service and Internal Revenue Service in partnership with State Historic Preservation Offices. Kentucky’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is the > Kentucky Heritage Council.
Kentucky’s state Historic Preservation Tax Credit differs from the Federal credit because it provides a tax credit for owner-occupied homes. The State credit offers homeowners, businesses, nonprofits and local governments returns between 20-to-30 percent of their certified rehabilitation expenses on properties.
Both Federal and State Historic Preservation Tax Credits require properties to be listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places or as a contributing resource in a National Register District. Properties not currently listed in the National Register must go through the application process, which is administered by KY’s SHPO Office, the Kentucky Heritage Council, in partnership with the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. For information on NR criteria, eligibility and the application process, visit the KY Heritage Council’s website here > National Register of Historic Places
Federal and State Historic Preservation Tax Credits may be bundled, offering up to a combined 40 percent credit for property owners. For details on how the Federal and Kentucky credits work and how to apply, visit the Kentucky Heritage Council’s website here > Rehabilitation Tax Credit Programs.
Other state programs and grant opportunities include:
- Kentucky Department of Local Government Grants
- Kentucky Certified Main Street Program Grants
- Kentucky Arts Council Grants
- Kentucky Historical Society’s Oral History Commission Grants
- Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Tourism Development Incentive Program
- Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Museums and Destination Marketing Organizations Coronavirus Relief Fund Grant
- Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Nonprofit Matching Funds Program
- Kentucky Travel and Tourism Grants
- Kentucky Tourism Incentives
- Kentucky Department of Agriculture Grants
- Southwest Kentucky Economic Development Community Block Grants
- Kentucky Community Development Block Grants