Press Release
March 4, 2021
Contact: Nicole Harvey
Grants Administrator, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-5202
nharvey@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/grants
Okeene Historic Preservation Group Awarded Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Historical Society is proud to announce that the Okeene Historic Preservation Group has been awarded a grant through the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program.
The Okeene Historic Preservation Group has been awarded $14,238 that will fund a project to improve the preservation of the organization's collections. The grant will help pay the salary for a project-specific employee to digitize collections, guide the organization through the American Association for State and Local History's self-guided Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations, and conduct research on collections and archival plans. The funds also will be used to purchase equipment and software to aid in collections care.
"We are very excited about what we get to do with this grant from the Oklahoma Historical Society," said Guy Smith, president of the Okeene Historic Preservation Group. "We have wanted to digitize slides that were given to us by the estate of Dale Reynolds for a long time. With this funding, we can preserve those pictures and share them near and far on a new website."
A total of just over $460,000 in grant funds will be distributed, with projects ranging from collections care and exhibit development to strategic planning and educational programming. "This is only the second year for this grant program. As organizations wrap up their grant projects from last year and as we see the quality of the applications that came in for this grant cycle, it is clear that there is a strong need for this type of grant program," said Nicole Harvey, OHS grants administrator.
The Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program is a grants-in-aid program offered by the Oklahoma Historical Society with a goal of encouraging the collection, preservation and sharing of Oklahoma history at the grassroots level in all parts of the state. Open to tribal and municipal governments and not-for-profit historical organizations located in Oklahoma and registered with the Oklahoma secretary of state, this grants program offers funding ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 for projects focused on collections, exhibits and programming. Applications for this annual program open in the fall and award announcements are made in January. For more information visit www.okhistory.org/grants.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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