Grants Available to Help SC Communities, Entities Celebrate American Revolution History

SC American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission (SC250) grants are now available to support public programs, scholarly research, and historic tourism projects related to the American Revolution.

It is the goal of the SC250 Commission that each county and community rediscovers their unique American Revolution historical significance.

The Commission also wants to give voice to previously disenfranchised groups; discovering the stories of SC’s African Americans, Native Americans, women and children who were essential to the birthing of a new nation.

Visit https://www.southcarolina250.com/sc250grants/ for funding availability details.

With hundreds of American Revolution people, places, and events needing to be recognized (over 400 battles and skirmishes alone in SC), SC250 is dedicated to the locating, marking, and interpreting of as many locations as possible in the upcoming years.

SC250 Commission wishes to allocate to as many communities around the state as possible. Call 803-898-3392 or email hhawkins@southcarolina250.com to discuss your project before you apply to make sure you have everything you need in your application.

Applications must be made through the Discover SC Web Grants program. The website www.southcarolina250.com/sc250grants/ includes amount of funding available for each of the grants listed below, application deadlines, if match or cost shares are required, and grant distribution schedules.

The following entities are eligible for applying for the grants: official County 250 Committees, local governments, tribes, museums, historical societies, visitor centers, chambers of commerce, universities/colleges, non-profit organizations, SC Council of Governments, and regional tourism commissions. Other SC organizations and individuals are only eligible for Research and Publication grants. Contact SC250 for clarification or exemption requests.

SC250 grants available now include:

County 250 Organizing Grants – in an effort to insure that all counties across SC have Sestercentennial programming highlighting their unique role in the American Revolution, the SC250 Commission will be issuing a grant to each county to aid in the formation of their own County 250 Committee and kick start their efforts.

Local Museum Style Panel Grants – to aid in connecting each community to their local SC American Revolution history, SC250 will be issuing grants for the creation of museum style panel displays, with the hope of customizing the panels to the local American Revolution history.

Local Activities Grants – These grants are intended to provide seed money for local Revolutionary War activities. This could include public art, performances, living history, presentations, or more. SC250 encourages communities to be creative and make their celebration unique to their community.

County Asset Assessment & Historic Tourism Plan – SC250 wants to help the County 250 Committees plan the best way to utilize and showcase their assets. This 50/50 matching grant would pay up to $10,000 towards paying an expert to do an analysis of the American Revolution assets in the county, their condition, and a plan for monetizing these assets for ongoing Historic Tourism. The goal is to put these assets in place to have an impact long after the sundown of the Commission. The assets should still be telling our American Revolution story in SC and driving tourism for our communities long after the anniversary years.

Research Grants – SC250 sees this anniversary as an excellent opportunity to advance research in SC’s role in the American Revolution. There may be opportunities with academic, government, and commercial publishers for well-researched and written pamphlets and monographs, commercial and scholarly articles, and books associated with South Carolina’s 250th Anniversary. In addition to scholarly treatises there is a need for well-written and accurate consumer editions on many topics. Hopefully, some of these foundational research projects will be adopted for academic theses, dissertations, and other publications by independent scholars and authors. Anticipated end result can be a digital asset as long as research standards are met.

Publication Grants – To ensure that research and educational materials are available into the future, SC250 will be aiding in publication of SC American Revolution materials, both digitally and in print.

Education Grants – One of SC250’s goals is to help educate South Carolinians and visitors of all ages about the important role SC played in the birthing of our new nation. This starts with an emphasis on the many ways to share this info with our K-12 students.

Signage & Marker Grants – Whether interpretive signs at local parks or official state historic markers, there are a lot of locations that need signs about their American Revolution significance. SC250 also encourages marking 18th-century roads. The same road to the grocery store may be an old Cherokee trail or road to a British fort. We live among history and signs help us remember.

SC American Revolution Site Grants: Planning, Acquisition, Development, Renovation – SC250 believes that not only will new battlefield site developments, pull offs, and interpretation projects enhance cultural tourism during the anniversary, but also that these projects will have an impact into the future of their communities.