LHHC Awards $30,000 to Mini-Grant Applicants in 2023!

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor awarded $30,000 to seven organizations within the six-county region represented by the LHHC in southwestern and southcentral Pennsylvania during the 2023 Mini-Grant round! The LHHC received over $115,000 in funding requests from 16 organizations and municipalities from five of the six counties it serves. The LHHC is thrilled to provide this financial support to our heritage partners. Mini-Grant funding aids in the completion of conservation, education, and preservation projects across the region. 

The Mini-Grant Program—funded by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources—assists heritage-related sites, organizations, and municipalities within the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor to develop new and innovative programs, partnerships, exhibits, tours, and other initiatives.

2023-2024 Mini-Grants Awardees:

• Westmoreland-Fayette Historical Society, $6,000, supports the West Overton wayside interpretive signage project to include ten interpretive panels at the West Overton Village and Museums. 
• Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art - Ligonier, $4,000, supports a rainwater- based efficient watering system that enhances the sculpture garden’s resilience and reduces water consumption.
• Fort Loudon Historical Society, $8,500 for installation of ten interpretive wayside panel exhibits at the Fort Loudon site.
• Adams County Arts Council, $3,000, supports Arts Oasis on Lincoln Square, an outdoor arts initiative in Downtown Gettysburg.
• Westmoreland Performing Arts, $2,500, supports the stage adaptation of the popular children’s book Go Discover Westmoreland to be performed free of charge at local elementary schools.
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, $3,500, supports a sinkhole watershed restoration project in Unity Township at the intersection of Fred Rogers Drive (Old Route 30) and State Route 30 East. 
• Westmoreland Cultural Trust, $2,500, supports the exterior marble repair & masonry cleaning at the Palace Theater in Greensburg. 

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor is supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Funding for the Mini- Grant program is provided via DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program and administered by the LHHC Mini-Grant Committee.

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor occasionally offers Mini Grant Opportunity for nonprofits and municipalities located within the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor in Westmoreland, Somerset, Bedford, Franklin, Fulton, and Adams counties.

These opportunities require a 50/50 cash match and are designed for smaller projects for eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and municipalities. Nonprofit organizations must also be registered with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations and possess a current BCO#. Projects considered for the 2023 grant cycle must have applied to one of three themes: Education; Conservation; or Preservation. A maximum of $10,000 is awarded to any one mini grant project.

The 2023 round of mini-grant funding was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program and the Heritage Areas Program under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. Mini-grants may not be used as a match for other DCNR-funded projects.

Our most recent awardees include: The Westmoreland Cultural Trust, The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, and the Greensburg Art Club, and the Latrobe Community Revitalization Program in Westmoreland County; the Fulton County Historical Society in Fulton County; and the Totem Pole Playhouse and Franklin County Historical Society-Kittochtinny in Franklin County.

Check back in here for future funding opportunities!