New round of Virginia BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund opens

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) announced on Thursday that the third round of the Virginia Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Historic Preservation Fund for the 2026 fiscal year is open and accepting preapplications.

DHR announced on Thursday, Feb. 12, that the Virginia BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund had opened and is accepting preapplications.

The Virginia BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund was established under Virginia law.

The department said the program intends to support Virginia's historically underserved and underrepresented communities through protecting cultural and historical sites.

PREVIOUS: $1.1 million in grants going towards preserving BIPOC history in Central Virginia

The fund will provide grants to acquire, protect and rehabilitate historic and archaeological sites of significance associated with Black and Indigenous communities, and People of Color and Virginia.

DHR said eligible applicants for the BIPOC Fund include nonprofit organizations that are registered as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code, Virginia localities, and state or federally-recognized Indian tribes in Virginia.

The department said all applicants must be the owner of the project property or be able to submit a signed letter of support from the property owner and a copy of the recorded deed.

Funding is restricted to the following uses, according to DHR: rehabilitation and/or stabilization of real property (fixed property, principally land and buildings), purchase of a fee simple or protective interest in real property, and/or data recovery, such as archaeological excavation.

All eligible project applicants must request at least $50,000 in grant funding but no more than $1 million, DHR said. Applicants can apply for more than one project across application rounds, but grant awards per applicant cannot exceed $1 million in total.

DHR said project properties must be listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and/or the National Register of Historic Places, designated as a National Historic Landmark, or determined eligible for such listing by the department.

There is a two-step application process that applicants can complete in the WebGrants grant management portal, starting with a brief preapplication to determine whether the project meets the minimum eligibility requirements.

Preapplications will be accepted until May 1, 2026, at 5 p.m. The projects that advance will have until July 2, 2026, to submit a full application.

For more information, visit DHR's website.