Incentives & Grants
Now available:
Financial Incentives and Opportunities for Historic Preservation and
Archaeology in Virginia (PDF)The following department programs offer a variety of financial assistance for historic preservation. If you are interested in any of the programs, select their titles for more information.
Archaeological Threatened Sites. Archaeological sites are some of Virginia's most fragile resources. The Threatened Sites Program offers emergency funding for archaeological sites endangered by erosion, impending development, or vandalism. The program has saved archaeological remnants at 75-plus sites across Virginia, providing important information about our past that would have been lost.
Certified Local Government Grants. Certified Local Governments are eligible for grants that can be used to survey architectural and archaeological resources, prepare nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, create preservation planning documents and programs, create public education programs, and rehabilitate publicly owned buildings listed on the national register.
Civil War Historic Site Preservation Fund. In 2008 the General Assembly authorized the Department of Historic Resources to award $5-plus million in competitive grants to private non-profit organizations to match federal and other monies for the preservation of any endangered Virginia Civil War historic site listed in the "Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields," which was issued in 1993 by the National Park Service's congressionally endorsed Civil War Sites Advisory Commission.
Easements. By donating historic preservation easements on their properties, owners are eligible for several financial incentives. The value of an easement, determined by an appraiser, can be deducted from federal taxable income, and up to 50% of the value of the easement may be claimed as a credit against state income taxes. Donation of an easement may stabilize or lower property taxes and can lower inheritance taxes. By eliminating the right to develop the property further, owners lower its estate value. Forty percent of the value of the land included in the easement donation may be excluded from a descendant's estate.
Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Interested in rehabilitating a historic building? Property owners who complete a certified rehabilitation of a significant historic building can receive an income tax credit on 25% of their eligible expenses through the Virginia Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program and an additional 20% credit through the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program.
State Grants.
General Assembly grants are available to local governments, nonprofit
historical associations, organizations, and museums for rehabilitation,
maintenance, and operation of sites or facilities, or maintenance of
collections and exhibitions. Here is the
state grants application form.
Survey & Planning Cost Share Program. Through the cost share program, localities can partner with DHR to take stock of their historic resources. By knowing all of what it has, a locality can then make sound decisions about planning development. The department partially funds and fully administers the projects, relieving often over-burdened local planning officials.
State Grants to Nonstate Agencies.
For information on applying to the Governor for nonstate agency funding in the Governor's next budget proposal to the General Assembly, please contact Ann Andrus, (804) 367-2323, ext. 133.Other Preservation Funding
Financial Incentives and Opportunities for Historic Preservation and Archaeology in Virginia: In addition to the financial assistance offered by the department, preservation funding opportunities exist from local, state, and national sources. The Financial Incentives and Opportunities for Historic Preservation and Archaeology in Virginia provides funding options for museums, historic sites, homeowners, neighborhoods, localities, investors, and businesses.Virginia Land Conservation Fund. The Virginia Land Conservation Fund, managed by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, offers grants to cultural projects seeking to preserve a variety of resource types including battlefields, viewsheds, and structures. For more information, contact the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Virginia Main Street Program. Communities can put the traditional assets of downtown, such as unique architecture and locally owned businesses, to work as a catalyst for economic growth and community pride through the Virginia Main Street Program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Since its inception in 1985, thousands of jobs have been created and more than $448 million in private money has been invested in the 21 Main Street communities in Virginia – using old buildings and historic character as an asset to bring people back into older business districts.
Save America's Treasures. The stewards of historic sites can raise awareness about their preservation efforts by becoming official Save America's Treasures projects. Save America's Treasures, a national historic preservation program, has designated many Virginia historic sites as official projects.