Competitive Premier Project Grants ($125,001+)

Apply through the Discover SC Web Grant program making sure to include the following checklist:

• Review eligibility of project and reach out to SC250 staff to review project parameters prior to applying.
• Register with the Discover SC Web Grant program – Please note this program manages all SCPRT and SC250 Grants. Pro Tip: When completing registration make sure to select SC250 – SC American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission under Program Area of Interest.
• Under Funding Opportunities make sure to select the correct grant – Agency: SC American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission Title: SC American Revolution Premier Project Grants
• General Information Form
• Cover Sheet Form
  • Don’t forget to select the grant Type from the drop down list: Museum & Library Style Exhibit Grants, Local Activities Grants; Historic Tourism & Marketing Grants; Research, Publication, Genealogy, & Digitization Grants; Education Grants; Signage & Marker Grants; SC American Revolution Site Grants: Planning, Development, Renovation.
• Grant Narrative including Estimated Timeline & Anticipated Outcomes / Deliverables
• Assurances & Certifications
• Support Materials (*Required)
  • Letter of Support from your local SC County 250 Committee
    • SC250 would like to ensure that your County 250 group is in the loop when you are applying. We get more done together! Click Here for a list of contacts for the local county committees. Don’t see your county contact? Reach out to hhawkins@southcarolina250.com.
    • If you are a County 250 Committee, you can skip this requirement.
    • If you are not located in SC but are working on American Revolution in SC material, upload a document that states such.
  • Contact Spreadsheet Click Here for a Sample Spreadsheet
    • Project Sponsor staff/members who would like to be added to SC250 enewsletter, etc.
    • VIPs to keep in the loop (Local Media, Elected Officials, Volunteers, Donors, etc.)
  • Fiscal Agent Documentation*
    • Fiscal Agent’s W-9 (make sure it is signed)
    • Fiscal Agent’s adopted budget for the current fiscal year
    • Fiscal Agent’s operating financial statement for last fiscal year
      • If the Fiscal Agent has just been established, some documentation to that fact
  • If the applicant or fiscal agent is a Non-Profit, we also need the following documentation:*
    • IRS 501c3 letter or 501c6 letter (not EIN letter but non-profit designation letter)
    • Secretary of State Annual Charity Registration letter (make sure not expired)
    • List of Board members
    • Mission of Non-profit
  • Project Master Plan*
    • Successful Premier Project Grants have included in their support documents a Master Plan that walks through the project in detail including historical overview, executive summary of project, project sponsor mission and vision statements, partnerships, images, execution details, budget, timeline, etc. This packet also makes a great hand out for the Commission meeting presentation.
  • Museum & Library Style Exhibit Grant
    • Memorandum of Understanding with proposed location host if different from grant applicant*
    • Based on how far the planning process has progressed, if available please include description or diagram of wall or other space in the facility dedicated to the exhibit with measurements. Concept sketch-design-drawing and content of proposed exhibit or a narrative of the exhibit’s concept idea.
  • Historic Tourism & Marketing Grants
    • Consultant resume and/or sample works plus agreement with cost (can be contingent on SC250 grant match).
  • Research, Publication, Genealogy, & Digitization Grant
    • Research/Publication – Scholar resume*
    • Research – Scholar sample work*
    • Publication – Sample of potential publication piece.*
    • Digitization – List of items to be digitized / date written.*
  • Education Grant
    • Note: If your project involves a public school proposals must document the support of all appropriate administrative persons and/or groups and the project must have a clear relationship to the American Revolution in SC, whether it is extracurricular or incorporated into the established curriculum. The project should have potential ramifications for more than one kind of audience, though the targeted audience may be students, teachers, parents, or any combination of these.
  • Signage & Marker Grant
    • Any documents describing signage or location.
      • If completed, please include: final verbiage, design of sign, type of sign (historic marker or interpretive sign or directional sign), and location.
      • If determined, information on peer reviewer and/or historian contributing to verbiage.
      • If determined, photos of location, site map of property with County Map #, GIS Shapemap of property, etc.
      • Documentation of land ownership, lease, easement, or memorandum of understanding with landowner.*
      • If these items are not ready, know that they must be submitted to and approved by SC250 prior to ordering. And, these items will be required in the final report.
  • Any documents describing Deliverables (could be copy of play that the Project Sponsor is sponsoring, concept drawings, event publicity plan, etc.)
  • Any other documents that support your request. For example: if planning on using grant funds to pay a consultant, submit resume and/or sample works of consultant if already selected / REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) if not.
  • Applicants are encouraged to submit early and/or contact SC250 to discuss.
• Grant Application Budget
  • Budget Best Practices:
    • Not all budget categories may be compatible with your grant type. Feel free to skip a section. For example: we do not expect to see land acquisition in the County 250 Organizing Grants.
    • If the grant request amount is part of a larger budget, please only include SC250 funding requests in each breakdown section.
    • Make sure to not exceed the total amount available for this grant type in the breakdown SC250 request sections. This up to amount is listed in the Amount section below.
    • The total budget could be larger if you have additional funding from other sources. If there are any additional funds in your total budget, document them in the Cost Share / Matching Funds section.)
    • Does your grant require a match? Checking out the Match or Cost Share Required section below.
    • If your grant does require a match, remember that the percentage is part of the total budget not 20% or 50% of your ask.
    • In-kind match can be documented to show support, however, it cannot be used in the formal match amount.
    • Personnel refers to staffing, while contractual refer to any person you are hiring for a specific task.
    • Personnel (administrative overhead and planning) should represent no more than 20% of the budget request. Limit this when you can.
    • Please limit food in your budget. It is a great opportunity for partnership!
    • Feel free to contact SC250 with questions at hhawkins@southcarolina250.com.
  • Site Grant Eligible Planning Costs
    • Cost of legal advertisement in newspapers for the purposes of procurement or notice of public meetings
    • Consultant fees and charges
    • Printing costs
    • Professional “In-House” labor for the development of plans, not to exceed 20% of total project cost without prior SC250 approval.
    • Upon completion of the planning project, one (1) copy of the final document must be forwarded to SC250 along with required documentation for the final billing.
  • Site Grant Eligible Development Costs
    • Cost of legal advertisement in newspapers for the purposes of procurement or notice of public meetings
    • Architectural/Historical/Engineering/Construction Management fees. The total of which may not exceed 12% of the total project cost without prior SC250 approval.
    • Site improvements including clearing, grading, etc. in preparation for the development of the site or pull-off
    • Signage for the site (both interpretive and directional or safety oriented)
    • Building materials, supplies, and specialty materials for construction of new facilities.
    • Contractual cost for construction affiliated with new structures.
    • Professional “In-House” labor for the construction of new sites not to exceed 20% of total project cost.
  • Site Grant Eligible Renovation Costs
    • Cost of legal advertisement in newspapers for the purposes of procurement or notice of public meetings
    • Architectural/Historical/Engineering/Construction Management fees. The total of which may not exceed 12% of the total project cost without prior SC250 approval.
    • Site improvements including clearing, grading, etc. in preparation for the development of the site or pull-off
    • Signage for the site (both interpretive and directional or safety oriented)
    • Building materials, supplies, and specialty materials for construction of new facilities.
    • Contractual cost for construction affiliated with new structures.
    • Professional “In-House” labor for the construction of new sites not to exceed 20% of total project cost.
  • Signage & Marker Grant Eligible Costs
    • Cost of legal advertisement in newspapers for the purposes of procurement or notice of public meetings
    • Professional “In-House” labor for the development of plans, not to exceed 20% of total project cost without prior SC250 approval
    • Historic Interpretive writing and research fees and peer review of signage verbiage
    • Professional map creation
    • Graphic design of signage
    • Royalty fees for image usage
    • Architectural/Historical/Engineering/Construction Management fees. The total of which may not exceed 12% of the total project cost without prior SC250 approval.
    • Site improvements including clearing, grading, etc. in preparation for the installation of signage
    • Signage production & installation costs for the site (both interpretive and directional or safety oriented)
    • Building materials, supplies, and specialty materials for construction
    • Not Eligible: Please note that permit costs associated with construction are not eligible. Any construction or maintenance equipment and tools are not eligible.

$125,001+

Deadlines: (all @ 3:00 P.M. Eastern)

• 9/26/24 Application
• 12/13/24 Application
• 3/26/25 Application
• 6/26/25 Application

All deadlines are not postmarked dates as all applications must be submitted in the Discover SC Web Grants program. Dates subject to change.

Premier Project applications will be reviewed by the SC250 executive team and a review panel as are the other grants. Those projects fitting the Commission’s grant eligibility parameters and scoring high enough on the panel review will move on to a presentation phase. Applicants will be notified if they are to prepare a presentation for the full Commission or the Executive Committee and the date of that presentation. This is a great time to share your Master Plan for the project.

• 9/26/24 Application = Presentation at Commission Meeting 10/31/24
• 12/13/24 Application = Presentation at Commission Meeting 3/7/25
• 3/26/25 Application = Presentation at Commission Meeting 5/9/25
• 6/26/25 Application = Presentation at Commission Meeting 8/29/25

Award Dates:

• 9/26/24 Application = Estimated Award Date 11/18/24
• 12/13/24 Application = Estimated Award Date 3/17/25
• 3/26/25 Application = Estimated Award Date 5/19/25
• 6/26/25 Application = Estimated Award Date 9/16/25

Application responses can be award/fund, award/partially fund, not award, and requiring more due diligence for a final decision. More due diligence would, of course, delay a final award date if eventually approved. This is especially true with expensive site grants. Pro Tip: plan ahead and leave plenty of time between your application and the project start date.

Applicants are required to demonstrate 25%+ match for major grants. This is 25% of the total budget.
Tip for figuring match: Divide the grant request amount by .75 then multiple that number by .25.
Match can exceed 25%.

Make sure to include details about those matching funds in your grant application budget. It is great to document on grant budgets in-kind match such as volunteer hours, food donated by the local merchants association, etc. This shows great local buy-in! However, please keep in mind that in-kind donations cannot be used for required matching percentage. 

Remember that final reports will require documentation that any required matching funds have been expended (invoices and proof of payment).

Competitive Grants will be distributed with 80% upfront and 20% reimbursed upon approval of completed final report including documentation of deliverables, measurement of success, and receipts/proof of payment showing the full grant amount plus any required match has been spent on the project. With select Site Acquisition Grants, 100% of the funding may be distributed directly to the closing attorney/agent to hold in escrow once certain documents have been submitted. More details available upon grant award.