The Commonwealth History Fund

The Commonwealth History Fund

Presented by Dominion Energy

The Commonwealth History Fund was established by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture to support and encourage meaningful history education and preservation projects throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Made possible by generous funding from Dominion Energy and others, the Fund is designed to provide grants of approximately $400,000 per year and nearly $2,000,000 overall in its first five years of operation.

Eligible Projects include but are not limited to:

  • Restoration, rehabilitation, and other related building and construction projects
  • Preservation projects
  • Research and documentation
  • Publications and exhibitions
  • Acquisition of property, land, and objects
  • Conservation
  • Landscape or infrastructure improvements

 

Special Consideration:

As part of VMHC's America 250th Initiative, grant applications related to the commemoration of the United States semiquincentennial will be given special consideration during the 2025 and 2026 grant cycles. Guiding principles for this initiative include:

  • This is about lasting, world-changing ideas rather than a war alone
  • This is about an American journey and not a single point in time
  • This is a moment for all Americans, so everyone needs to see themselves in this story and this commemoration

 

Eligible Applicants

Eligible grantees include Virginia non-profit, tax exempt organizations (501)(c)(3), state and federally recognized American Indian tribes, and local government agencies. Political/partisan organizations or projects for religious purposes are not eligible.


Application Information/Timeframe

Applications for the next grant cycle will be accepted from September 1-30, 2025. Awards will be announced in early 2026.


Grant Guidelines and Application: 

SAMPLE Guidelines   |   SAMPLE Application   |   Budget Template


Contact Information

Questions? Please email HistoryFund@VirginiaHistory.org.

 

Commonwealth History Fund 2025 Awardees

In its fourth year, the VMHC through the Commonwealth History Fund provided grants to eleven projects totaling $501,500. The impressive projects chosen are from across the Commonwealth, include organizations of all sizes, and span a great deal of historical topics and time periods. This brings the total awards granted by the Commonwealth History Fund to date to 48 awardees with over $1.7M awarded. 
Watch the Awardee Announcement video 

Read the Virginia History & Culture article

 

Past Recipients