Pennsylvania's historical organizations and museums top the annual Pennsylvania At Risk list released by Preservation Pennsylvania.
 
Annually, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and the Pennsylvania Heritage Area Program provide millions of dollars of support to historical organizations and museums to fund preservation projects, educational programs, publications and operations. However, the drastic cuts in the Fiscal Year 2009-10 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Budget have eliminated the state funding for the Heritage Areas and forced the PHMC to review programs and reduce funding to historical organizations and museums. These reductions in funding have put all Pennsylvania public history programs at risk. Read the full PA At Risk here...

 
With the passage of the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Budget, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Museum Assistance Grant Budget was cut by fifty-three percent from $3,785,000 to $1,779,000. The Museum Assistance Grant allocation supports the majority of the PHMC grant programs including General Operating Support (GOS) for Statewide Organizations, Museums and Historical Organizations, Projects, Conferences, Historical Markers and Technical Assistance.

Due to the limited availability of funding and the urgent need for general operating support for Pennsylvania's museums and historical organizations, the PHMC Commissioners approved a proposal to dedicate the entire Museum Assistance allocation for General Operating Support grants.  As a result, the PHMC will not have the opportunity to fund the other programs, such as the Project Grant Program, in this fiscal year.
 
The PHMC issued GOS grant application instructions to eligible Statewide Organizations, Museums and Official County Historical Societies. The GOS Grant Application is now open on the eGrant website at http://phmc.egrant.org.

 

The deadline for submission of all application materials is Friday, January 8, 2010.  If you have questions regarding the status of GOS grant funding and application process, please contact Scott Doyle at (717) 783-6012 or midoyle@state.pa.us.

 

Pennsylvania's Statewide Conference on Heritage: The 11th Byways to the Past Conference and the 32nd  Preservation Partnerships Conference will be held jointly May 17th to the 20th, 2010 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
 
The Statewide Conference on Heritage is one of the Middle Atlantic region's largest community and heritage preservation gatherings.  The conference is co-sponsored by PennDOT and Preservation Pennsylvania in partnership with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.  The conference week will feature workshops, sessions and speakers from the historic preservation, archaeological, heritage tourism, transportation, legislative, and planning communities, including a number of nationally known speakers and subjects of state, regional and national importance.   Please mark your calendar!