Guidelines

The focus of the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative grants is building energy use, as this constitutes the largest climate impact for most museums and can often be addressed profitably. This will include both efficiency and identifying sources of clean energy.

Eligibility

Awards will support the planning or implementation of capital projects that reduce emissions by improving efficiency in building energy use.

  • The museum / institution must be physically located in the U.S. or its territories.
  • Only institutions with visual arts collections may apply. These museums will have either a full spectrum of visual arts offerings, or specialties in areas of the visual arts. This includes institutions that own ceramics, sculpture, photographs, paintings, drawings, etchings, and art history materials.
  • There are no institutional or budget size limitations or preferences. Museums of all sizes are encouraged to apply.
There are three types of grants: Scoping, Technical Assistance, and Implementation. Applicants submitting a Letter of Interest will need to indicate which type of grant requested. An institution may apply for one or a combination of two types of grants.

Scoping Grants

A Scoping Grant is intended to help you understand your energy efficiency needs and clean energy options by undertaking an assessment with an independent environmental engineer. This work might include professional fees and monitoring or testing for energy and systems audits, recommendations on initial no/low-cost actions, and recommended areas for planning larger interventions to increase efficiency, reduce total consumption, and access renewable sources.

These grants range from $10,000 to $25,000 and have 1 or 2-year timeframes. These grants benefit museums that are getting started in reducing their emissions footprint while reducing their reliance on fossil fuels to heat, cool, and power their buildings.

Technical Assistance Grants

A Technical Assistance Grant will help a museum specify and accurately budget a project for which the initial inquiries are complete. This may include providing designs and specifications, and connections to energy services companies (ESCOs) skilled at both project support and 3rd party financing.

These grants range from $25,000 to $50,000 and have 1 or 2-year timeframes.

Implementation Grants

An Implementation Grant may start you on the path to directly addressing your institution’s climate impact, such as supporting lower cost, higher payback items. It may be the seed money that leads to matches for a larger capital project.

These grants range from $50,000 to $100,000 and may take up to 2 years or more.
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