Available Funding

Regional Grants

Regional Grants should be used to create digital collections that include cultural heritage materials from three or more institutions, families, or archival repositories but related to one theme, community or historical event. Projects should focus on digitization and metadata creation that enables findability for materials that are not physically held in one location. These grants are funded up to $100,000 for up to two years of work. Project should include training and community engagement that ensure representative communities and stakeholders are included in the digitization and description process.

Regional Grants are held by one organizing Host Institution and must be managed by someone with previous experience completing a previous MEAP grant. Potential Regional Grant applicants must connect with the MEAP staff to discuss their application before submission.

Project Grants

Project Grants can be used to digitize archival content or curate already-digital assets. Grant funded projects should address the full lifecycle of digitization, including imaging, content description (metadata creation) and digital asset delivery. These grants are funded up to $70,000 for up to two years of work.

Projects should be well organized before digitization begins. If you require substantial time to evaluate and survey the archival material, you should consider applying for a Planning Grant.

Planning Grants

Planning Grants can be used to evaluate or inventory collections for future digitization. Successful projects create survey reports or item level inventories that document collections and prepare them for digitization. These grants are funded up to $20,000 for up to one year of work.

Emergency Grants

Emergency Grants are available outside the regular funding cycle for up to $10,000 and 6 months of work. You must be invited to apply for an emergency grant. To inquire, email meap@library.ucla.edu with information about the endangered collection and why there is an urgent need for digitization.

All digital objects created through MEAP projects will be published online by the UCLA Library.