Grants are one of the best ways available to obtain funding and resources for your GIS project, and can be used to obtain software, hardware and training, as well as pay for salaries and consulting services.
We currently track project and software grants available from Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Government of Canada, Esri, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Stanley Smith Horticultural Foundation.
When applying for a grant to fund your GIS project, be sure to consider the sustainability of your project and how you will continue to maintain your GIS once the grant period has expired.
Cartezan is here when you need us to help you with project planning, grant writing, equipment purchasing, fund matching, and more.
Benefit: Up to $2,500 USD
Eligibility: BGCI Member Institutions
Application Deadline: May 2023
BGCI’s Global Botanic Garden Fund aims to drive plant conservation, especially in smaller gardens. The Fund aims to disburse 15-20 grants per year. Each grant will be a minimum of USD 1,000 and maximum of USD 2,500.
The Global Botanic Garden Fund is open to BGCI Member Institutions only. Preference will be given to small botanic gardens in developing countries and biodiversity hotspots. Botanic gardens may submit more than one application per grant cycle, but they must be for different projects. Botanic gardens that are not members may apply, but a membership fee must be paid prior to the application deadline.
Benefit: Up to $300,000 CND
Eligibility: Canada nonprofit museums and indigenous governments
Application Deadline: TBA 2023
The Museums Assistance Program (MAP) supports heritage institutions and workers in the preservation and presentation of heritage collections. The program fosters the preservation of Indigenous culture and facilitates access to heritage collections for all Canadians. It also promotes professional knowledge, skills and practices related to key museum functions.
The MAP provides funding to Canadian museums and related institutions through several components, and each has its own eligibility criteria.
- Digital Access to Heritage
- Recovery Fund for Heritage Organizations
- Access to Heritage
- Exhibition Circulation Fund
- Indigenous Heritage
- Collections Management
- Canada-France Agreement
Benefit: Discounted GIS software
Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations
Application Deadline: Ongoing
The Esri Nonprofit Organization Program provides special, low-cost pricing for GIS software and resources to help you advance your mission, achieve measurable impact, engage with communities, and advocate for your cause.
Benefit: Discounted GIS software
Eligibility: Conservation organizations
Application Deadline: Ongoing
For more than three decades, the Esri Conservation Program has provided GIS technology and training assistance to conservation professionals around the globe.
Benefit: Up to $50,000 USD
Eligibility: United States small museums
Application Deadline: November 15, 2023
IMLS Inspire! Grants for Small Museums is a special initiative of the Museums for America program. It is designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, policy development and institutional planning, technology enhancements, professional development, community outreach, audience development, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation. Inspire! has three project categories:
- Lifelong Learning
- Institutional Capacity
- Collections Stewardship and Access
Benefit: Up to $250,000 USD
Eligibility: United States museums
Application Deadline: November 15, 2023
The IMLS Museums for America Program supports museums of all sizes and disciplines to undertake projects that strengthen their ability to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, professional development, community debate and dialogue, audience-focused studies, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation. Museums for America has three project categories:
- Lifelong Learning
- Community Engagement
- Collections Stewardship and Access
Benefit: Up to $750,000 USD
Eligibility: United States museums
Application Deadline: November 15, 2023
IMLS National Leadership Grants for Museums support projects that address critical needs of the museum field and that have the potential to advance practice in the profession to strengthen museum services for the American public.
Benefit: Up to $350,000 USD
Eligibility: United States museums, libraries and archives.
Application Deadline: June 15, 2023
The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program (DHAG) supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects, leading to work that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities.
Benefit: Up to $750,000 USD
Eligibility: United States government, private higher education, and nonprofits
Application Deadline: TBA 2023
NPS Save America’s Treasures grants from the Historic Preservation Fund provide preservation and/or conservation assistance to nationally significant historic properties and collections. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and require a dollar-for-dollar, non-Federal match, which can be cash or documented in-kind. The grant program is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Benefit: Up to $25,000 USD
Eligibility: North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Australia, and New Zealand botanical gardens, arboreta, and universities
Application Deadline: June 15, 2023
The Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust’s grantmaking supports education and research in the art and science of ornamental horticulture, to foster human interest in shaping, nurturing, and appreciating nature’s beauty.
Funding is provided for projects in North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Australia, and New Zealand. Each year, the Trust awards approximately 50 grants, ranging from a few thousand dollars up to $25,000, to botanical gardens, arboreta, universities, and other charitable organizations strongly-aligned with its funding interests.