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Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Queen Zenobia Addressing Her Soldiers, 1725/1730, Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Queen Zenobia Addressing Her Soldiers, 1725/1730, Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art

 

The Conservation Grants program supports the professional practice of art conservation, especially as it relates to European works of art from antiquity to the early 19th century. Grants are awarded to projects that create and disseminate specialized knowledge, including archival projects, development and dissemination of scholarly databases, documentation projects, exhibitions and publications focusing on art conservation, scholarly publications, and technical and scientific studies.  Grants are also awarded for activities that permit conservators and conservation scientists to share their expertise with both professional colleagues and a broad audience through international exchanges, professional meetings, conferences, symposia, consultations, the presentation of research, exhibitions that include a prominent focus on materials and techniques, and other professional events.

Conservation Grant Guidelines

Eligibility


Grants are awarded to non-profit institutions that have 501(c)3 status in the United States, which includes supporting foundations of European institutions and foreign institutions that have obtained recognition of exemption from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The project being pursued can be the work of a single individual or a team affiliated with the organization applying for support, but the Foundation does not pay grants directly to individuals.
 
Support for conservation treatments is generally limited to works from the distributed Kress Collection, and is typically coordinated through the Kress Program in Paintings Conservation at the Conservation Center of the New York University Institute of Fine Arts.

These are competitive grants. Please see the Past Grants page and our Annual Reports for past awards and typical levels of funding and review our Grants FAQs for answers to common application questions about project eligibility.
 

Deadlines


Conservation grant applications are reviewed and awarded in each of the Foundation’s three grant cycles. Each grant application begins with the submission of a Letter of Inquiry (LOI). Institutions must submit an LOI by the deadlines below in order to apply for a Conservation Grant in that cycle:
 
Grant Cycle Portal Opens LOI Submission Deadline
Spring February 15 March 1, 5:00pm EST
Fall  August 15 September 1, 5:00pm EST
Winter December 1 December 15, 5:00pm EST

 

How to Apply

Eligible organizations will use the Kress Foundation’s online grantmaking portal to complete their Letter of Inquiry (LOI) and History of Art grant applications. Organizations whose representatives do not already have access to the grantmaking portal must register for access.
 

Registration


Organizational representatives who will create a grant application on behalf of their organization can register for access to the Foundation’s online grantmaking portal (Fluxx) here: https://kressfoundation.fluxx.io.

If an organization is eligible to apply for support from the Foundation, their representatives will receive an email notification with portal login credentials. Once login credentials are granted, representatives will have access to all active LOI and application forms in the portal.


Letter of Inquiry


The first step in the Conservation grant application process is the submission of a Letter of Inquiry (LOI). Organizations submitting an LOI through the portal will be asked to provide:
  • a brief summary of the proposed project
  • the total budget of the project
  • the amount requested from the Foundation

The Kress grantmaking portal will accept LOIs for 15 days at the beginning of the Foundation’s three grant cycles. Institutions must submit an LOI by the deadlines below in order to apply for a Conservation grant in that cycle:
 
Grant Cycle Portal Opens LOI Submission Deadline
Spring February 15 March 1, 5:00pm EST
Fall August 15 September 1, 5:00pm EST
Winter December 1 December 15, 5:00pm EST

For step-by-step instructions on how to use the portal to submit an LOI to the Foundation, please review the LOI Portal Guide.


Grant Application


Organizations invited to apply for a grant from the Kress Foundation will be notified via email within 7 business days of the LOI submission deadline.

Organizations submitting a grant application through the portal will be asked to describe:
  • the project's main goals
  • the project history to date (if applicable)
  • the key activities to be carried out
  • personnel overseeing the project
  • the anticipated outcomes of the project
 
Applicants will also be required to upload the following documents:
  • a detailed project budget in MS Excel
  • the IRS determination letter of 501(c)3 status for the organization that will receive and administer the funds
 
Additional supporting documents, as necessary, may also be uploaded, including:
  • curriculum vitae for principal investigator(s) 
  • conference, workshop, exhibition, or publication schedules
  • images or illustrations
  • letters of support

After a grantee has been invited to submit a full application for a Conservation grant they will have approximately three weeks to do so. Organizations must submit their grant application by the deadlines below in order to be eligible for an award from the Kress Foundation:
 
Grant Cycle Portal Opens Grant Application Deadline
Spring After applicant recieves invitation
via email from Kress
April 1, 5:00pm EST
Fall After applicant recieves invitation
via email from Kress
October 1, 5:00pm EST
Winter After applicant recieves invitation
via email from Kress
January 15, 5:00pm EST

For step-by-step instructions on how to use the portal to submit a grant application to the Foundation, please review the Grant Application Portal Guide.