CSA Small Museum

A CSA Small Museum Collection Care Grant is intended to make a dramatic, beneficial impact on the receiving institution’s costume collection. Institutions must:

• Be a small museum, historical society, historic house or sites, or other similar institution;
• Have a collection of tangible costume objects;
• Have a very limited budget ($300,000 or less) and staff (5 or fewer) to support the costume collection who perform multiple responsibilities;
• Utilize volunteers to perform key staff functions;
• Be a non-profit organization as recognized under IRS Section 501;
• Be regularly open to the public for a minimum of forty days a year;
• Propose a project relating to maintaining the costume and textile collection;
• To accept a grant, an institution must be or become a Library (formerly Institutional) or Museum and Association Member of the Costume Society of America or have an active staff member who is an Individual CSA Member.
• An institution is not eligible to receive a grant more than once in three years.

Note:  Budget size and access to other financial resources will be taken into account when selecting grant recipients, with strong preference given to institutions with very limited budget and resources.  If the applying institution has previously completed a Conservation Assessment Program, please describe the findings.

A complete application should be uploaded as one (1) pdf document under 100MB using this online form (available summer of 2025) and include the following information in listed order:

• A cover page including applicant's contact information.
• Project Proposal (1000 words) including:

a. Brief description of the proposed project; include specific information about the costume objects to which it pertains;

b. Statement of impact, detailing why the institution needs this grant and how the project meets the collection’s most pressing needs;

c. Description of the institution, including institutional history, the institutional mission, the institution’s annual budget, and a list of the paid and unpaid staff (reported as full-time equivalents, i.e. half-time, quarter-time, etc.);

d. Description of the institutional holdings, especially the size and scope of the costume and textile collection and its relationship to the institutional mission;

e. Overview of what, if anything, has been done with the costume collection in terms ocataloguing, care and storage, research, interpretation, exhibition, and publication to date;

f. Timeline and how the work will be accomplished;

g. Roster of the people who work with the collection.  If museum staff are involved, name the staff person, describing the staff member’s qualifications and experience. Consultants/project directors should have training in the care of fiber-based objects;

h. If the project involves a consultant or specialist, name the person, describing the individual’s qualifications and experience.  Attach a letter of intent from that person agreeing to work for the compensation outlined in the budget and within the time frame of the project. To find a qualified conservator, please visit https://www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/find-a-conservator.

• An electronic copy of your institution’s most recent IRS Form 990/990- EZ. 
• Budget and narrative:  Include an estimate of supplies, personnel, materials needed. *Note*:  For a list of archival supplies and suppliers, please consult the Archival Supplies List.
• 3 to 5 images of your proposed project’s goals. 

Each criterion is rated on a scale from 1 - 10 (from lowest to highest).

1. The impact of the project on the collection’s well-being
2. The impact of the project on the collection’s mission
3. The feasibility of the project in terms of budget, time line, and personnel to carry out the project
4. The significance of the applicant’s collection to the public and academic researcher
5. the level of commitment demonstrated by the applicant’s institution towards the collection
6. The financial need of the collection/level of  importance to the preservation of the objects

The application deadline is October 15, 2025.  Grant recipients will be notified by January 15, 2026 and announced at the CSA National Symposium.  Grant funds will be available by the date of the Annual Meeting.  Funded projects must be completed by June 30, 2027.

Recipient must publicly acknowledge CSA in all lectures, publications, publicity pertaining to the award.

Upon completion of their project, each institution must submit a brief report of activities (1 page) with before and after images detailing the use of funds to the grant committee chair. Completed projects will be publicized in CSA's e-News.