The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority, which oversees the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), recently approved $13.7 million to fund 11 capital improvement projects for North Carolina state parks, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The Authority approved the investments at its first quarterly meeting in 2023, held virtually on Jan. 9.

The N.C. Division of Historic Sites and Properties, part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, has received a grant of $468,403.60, which will help pay for programming aimed at closing the digital divide for North Carolina residents.

The grant will promote increased availability and accessibility of online content at state historic sites by hiring a part-time digital inclusion coordinator and underwriting broadband subscription costs for visitors at historic sites and properties.

From the Highlands Biological Station to the Museum of Coastal Carolina, Grandfather Mountain to Port Discover, 55 science centers across the state have been awarded $6.3 million in special grants as part of the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program. Funding for these special grants is made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as directed by the 2021 State Budget.

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) has awarded the President James K.

The North Carolina African American Heritage Commission (NCAAHC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $5,000 planning grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR). The planning grant is one of 20 awarded statewide, which will be used for community engagement and to move toward submitting full proposals for a potential inclusive public art installation.

A North Carolina state historic site, one of the earliest places of American Revolutionary War resistance against the British, was recently selected to receive federal preservation grant funding.

Brunswick Town Fort Anderson State Historic Site in Winnabow, N.C., will receive a $500,000 grant through the Semiquincentennial Grant Program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

The program is administered through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). 

The national Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded two separate grants to fund projects at the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site. Both facilities are part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The State Library of North Carolina announces the 2022-2023 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant awardees. This year's federal allotment will be distributed on behalf of North Carolina's libraries through programs and services available under the North Carolina LSTA Five Year Plan. The 37 awards, totaling $2,047,954, go to local library projects that:

     • Strengthen Capacity

     • Expand Access

     • Engage Communities

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund awarded grants in September and December totaling $60.4 million, providing funds for 83 projects that will protect North Carolina’s land and water from the mountains to the coast, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced its first round of recommended awards for the fiscal year 2022, totaling nearly $33.2 million, on Jan. 11. Of that amount, $540,000 was awarded to 28 North Carolina grant recipients from arts organizations, universities, theater companies, discipline-specific festivals, and museums.