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On April 11, the National Park Service, in partnership with Jefferson National Parks Association, began accepting applications for Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative grants for cultural heritage and educational projects in the Delta region, spanning Southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico.  Applications are due May 20.

“Through the Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative grant, NPS supports grantees with up to $25,000 in funding for a broad range of projects related to cultural resource preservation and heritage tourism,” said Timothy S. Good, superintendent, Lincoln Home National Historic Site and chair, Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative, National Park Service. “The LMDI grant has funded building preservation projects, historical marker installations, preservation plans development, archeological site stabilization and heritage festivals.”

“We are pleased to partner with the National Park Service in ensuring that communities throughout the Lower Mississippi Delta region will have an opportunity to preserve and promote the culture and heritage of this vibrant region,” said David A. Grove, president and CEO of JNPA. As the co-administrator of the program, JNPA is responsible for managing the online application process and distributing funding to recipients.

Eligible grant recipients include organizations exempt from federal income tax, such as non-profit organizations, tribal groups, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and state and local governments. Projects must be physically located within the Delta Region as defined by the Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative Program, which includes 219 counties and parishes within Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. For more information about the grant opportunity, including geographic parameters, other criteria and to access the grant application, please visit the program website. Click here.