The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced the release of a comprehensive evaluation of the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC) program over the past fifteen years. The IMLS grant program began in 2006, and over the past fifteen years, has invested around $22.5 million in 110 organizations across 31 states. AAHC grants support activities that build the institutional capacity and promote the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums. The full report is available on the IMLS website, and a one-page summary fact sheet is included with this email.
The Institute for Museum and Library Services’ African American History and Culture (AAHC) grant program provides targeted capacity-building support for African American museums.
The AAHC grant program was created by an act of Congress in 2003 (20 USC 80r-5), the same act that created the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC.
Since issuing its first grants in 2006, the AAHC program has supported a range of activities to advance professional development, build organizational capacity, and increase public access to collections. In 2020, the Urban Institute conducted the first retrospective evaluation of the AAHC program. The facts and figures presented here provide a snapshot of the program and impact findings from the evaluation.