DNCR FY2024 ‘Moose Plate’ grant round opens, supports cultural conservation projects

Organizations and municipalities seeking funding for projects that support the restoration, preservation and / or conservation of publicly owned items significant to New Hampshire’s cultural heritage are invited to submit letters of intent to grant programs administered through the N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

DNCR’s State Council on the Arts, Division of Historical Resources and State Library oversee three separate “Moose Plate” grant programs that support cultural conservation. Each program has specific parameters and all require that the property or items to be conserved or preserved are publicly owned. Applicants may only apply to one DNCR Moose Plate grant program in a given year but may seek funding in successive years.

The first step in the application process, a letter of intent, serves to identify if a project is eligible for funding. Letters must provide a brief description of the project and confirm that the resource is publicly owned.

Letters of intent for the fiscal year 2025 grant round must be submitted by May 3. Applicants will be notified if their project fits a DNCR division’s program criteria within one week of their letter of intent being received; they may then choose to submit a full application by June 21. 

In fiscal year 2022, a total of $295,922 was awarded across the three grant programs.

More information about each division’s specific grant program requirements is available at dncr.nh.gov/about-us/moose-plate-program. 

Each year, the DNCR receives a percentage of funds raised from the sales of Conservation and Heritage License Plates, best known as “Moose Plates.” In addition to its three cultural conservation grant programs, the DNCR also uses funds to support its Division of Forests and Lands’ Natural Heritage Bureau and its Division of Parks and Recreation’s Historic Sites Bureau.

For more information about the Moose Plate Program, including how to purchase a Moose Plate, visit mooseplate.com. 

The N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ five divisions are dedicated to protecting, promoting and managing a wide variety of New Hampshire's natural, recreational and cultural resources. Together, these resources help define our state and are major drivers of our economy and high quality of life. For more information, visit dncr.nh.gov.

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