The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program is pleased to announce its 2021 Grant Program. There will be $180,000 in grant funds available this year.
In collaboration with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the Network to Freedom is offering competitive grants ranging between $1,000 and $10,000. Funds can be used for preservation and restoration of buildings associated with the Underground Railroad, for interpretation of Underground Railroad history, and for historical research related to Network to Freedom listings. Only Network to Freedom sites, programs, and facilities are eligible to apply. This year, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program is focusing its efforts to highlight ways in which the Underground Railroad was one part of a larger movement for social justice, which continues in the present. For this grant round, preference will be given to projects that highlight the connections between Underground Railroad activism and struggles for access to education, suffrage, and/or public accommodations. As always, preference will also be given to those listings that have not previously received Network to Freedom grants. Projects that contribute non-federal matching funds will also be given preference.