 Hello, I'm Leslie Kanan with the National Trust Preservation Services and Outreach Department. I'm joined today by my colleague Nikki Van to tell you about an exciting new grant program made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Rescue Plan. This program is focused on providing grants to communities that are often underrepresented in the places and stories that we highlight and preserve and historic preservation. We are further focusing on those underrepresented communities that have been negatively impacted by COVID. The communities we will be working with include but are not limited to Black Americans, Latinx, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, the Indigenous community, the LGBTQA community, women, immigrants and others. Through this program, we will award 60 to 80 grants in one round. The grants will range from $25,000 to $50,000 and will be awarded in the following four categories. Research, planning and implementation of interpretation programs, research and documentation for local, state and federal designations, architectural design and planning to preserve and activate historic places, and training workshops to support interpretation and preservation of historic places. I would note when we are talking about place, we are looking at the broadest definition to go beyond single buildings or sites. I will now turn it over to Nikki Van to discuss more nuts and bolts of the program. Thank you for that overview Leslie. There are a few basic eligibility requirements that all applicants must meet before applying. Eligible applicants include 501C3 nonprofit organizations, accredited colleges or universities, state or local government agencies, or tribal governments and typos. This funding is part of the American Rescue Plan and applicants will be required to demonstrate how their entity was adversely impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, since this funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, applicants will need to either be humanities-based organizations or will need to demonstrate a history of past humanities-based work. Note that historic preservation is considered humanities-based work. Finally, if the potential applicant or their parent organization received funding directly from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Humanities Organization program, they will be considered ineligible for funding through the telling the full history grant program. Leslie provided an overview of the type of projects we are looking to fund through this program. Here are some examples of the actual expenses that can be covered with this grant. As funds are intended to support organizations during the pandemic, supporting existing staff or hiring new staff are allowable expenses. Other expenses can include consulting costs, training costs, design and implementation costs, and material and media costs. The National Trust will rely on an external selection committee for recommendation on final grant use. That committee will consider a number of factors when reading applications, including how the project will engage the community, the strength of the organization, and the feasibility of the project, its timeline and budget. Applications will also be judged against the degree to which they fit into the NEH's a more perfect union project. Additional details on that last bullet can be found on our grant guideline page. Finally, here are the important dates to keep in mind. Most immediate is the application due date, which is Wednesday, December 15, 2021, and 1159 p.m. applicants local time. The other important date to keep in mind is the March 31, 2023 completion date. All projects must be complete by that date, and the timeline you submit with your application must have an end date on or before that deadline. Detailed guidelines for this program can be found at the link shown here. As the grant comes from federal funds, we understand this application will be a little more difficult than some are used to. We have crafted an eligibility quiz, application guidelines, and an FAQ section to be as helpful as we can. And if you still have questions after reviewing these materials, please feel free to reach out to us by email at tellingthefullhistoryatsavingplaces.org. Thank you, and we look forward to reviewing your application.