Applications Open Now for 2025-26 Museum Capital Maintenance and Improvements Grants

Nashville, Tenn. – July 2, 2025 – The Tennessee State Museum will grant out $5 million to Tennessee museums and historic sites for capital maintenance and improvement projects, the result of an appropriation the Tennessee General Assembly included for improvements to Tennessee museums in the 2025-26 Appropriations Act. Museums must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or affiliated with a governmental entity. Grant applications are open now.

This appropriation is separate from any other funding provided by the State of Tennessee to a museum and must be used for the capital maintenance and improvements as described in the grant application. Grants will be reviewed until funding is exhausted. 

The 2025-26 Capital Improvement and Maintenance Grant has a minimum amount of $5,000 and a maximum amount of $100,000. Submission deadline is August 25, 2025. Funding decisions will be announced on October 14, 2025. All projects must be completed by June 30, 2026. 

“As we enter our third year facilitating this grant funding, we again look forward to working with museums and historic sites throughout the state to preserve the history, art, and culture of Tennessee,” said Ashley Howell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum. “We are thankful to the Tennessee General Assembly, which by its continued support for this program, underscores the value that our local, regional, and state institutions bring to our communities.”

In the two previous fiscal years that the Museum has facilitated the grant program, it has made awards to 152 museums in 68 counties across the state. This includes seven institutions in Greene, Cocke, Washington, Hamblen and Sullivan Counties that were awarded a Capital Maintenance and Improvements Grant specifically for Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief in February of 2025.

To learn more about the grant and process, including reporting requirements, and apply for a grant, please visit TNMuseum.org/grants.

About Tennessee State Museum

Celebrating its 88th Anniversary in 2025, the Tennessee State Museum, located on the corner of Rosa L Parks Blvd. and Jefferson Street at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, is home to 13,000 years of Tennessee art and history. Through six permanent exhibitions titled Natural History, First Peoples, Forging a Nation, The Civil War and Reconstruction, Change and
Challenge and Tennessee Transforms, the Museum takes visitors on a journey – through artifacts, films, interactive displays, events and educational and digital programing – from the state’s geological beginnings to the present day. Additional temporary exhibitions explore significant periods and individuals in history, along with art and cultural movements. The Museum is free and open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. For more information on exhibitions and events, please visit TNMuseum.org.

Contact:
Joe Pagetta / Dir. Communications
Tennessee State Museum
joseph.pagetta@tn.gov
(615) 741-5134
TNMuseum.org