General Overview

overview

Since 2001, LCHIP has proudly worked with community groups across New Hampshire to conserve and preserve New Hampshire's most important natural, cultural and historic resources. LCHIP offers financial assistance grants to the following program areas:

Preservation Planning Grants support the study of eligible historic resources.

Historic Rehabilitation Grants support the restoration or rehabilitation of eligible historic resources.

Natural Resource Acquisition Grants support the permanent protection of ecologically significant lands through acquisition of property or easement interests.

Eligibility

An organization applying for LCHIP funding must be either a municipality or other political subdivision of the state of New Hampshire, or be a publicly supported nonprofit corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue code. Other interested parties may partner or work with an eligible organization or government entity but may not apply directly through LCHIP.

Program-specific eligibility requirements are described in the following guidance documents:

• Preservation Planning Grant Eligibility Self-Assessment Tool
• Historic Rehabilitation Grant Eligibility Self-Assessment Tool
• Natural Resource Grant Eligibility Self-Assessment Tool

Grant round schedule

* Access to the grant portal and the 2023 application materials will be available on May 1, 2023. To view 2022 application materials click “Documents and Forms” in the green menu bar at the top of this page, then select the appropriate grant program. 

1.  2023 LCHIP Applicant Webinar - April 17, 10:00 A.M.

This webinar will orient potential applicants to LCHIP's web-based Grant Management portal and the 2023 application process. After a general session, attendees will move into breakout rooms to discuss the specific grant program they are interested in (Historic rehabilitation and planning, or land conservation).

To register and receive a Zoom link, email kmidolo@lchip.org. Please include “APPLICANT WEBINAR” in the subject line.

2.  Letter of Intent – due May 17, 2023

Prospective applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) through LCHIP’s online grant management portal between May 1 and May 17 2023. To aide prospective applicants in preparing the needed information, a list of the questions is provided here (link coming soon).
LCHIP staff will review the information provided for compliance with LCHIP’s eligibility criteria and respond within five business days of submission.

3.  Full Proposal – due June 21, 2023

All eligible projects will be invited to submit a complete proposal, due on June 17, 2023. Detailed instructions on how to complete the application and additional guidance materials are provided within the portal.

4.  Project and Proposal Evaluation Period – July – October, 2023

A Review Panel comprised of volunteers knowledgeable in various aspects of natural- and historic-resource conservation will review each proposal and visit project sites to gain a better understanding of each project. The Review Panels provide recommendations to the Board of Directors, which is responsible for making the final funding decisions.

Throughout the evaluation period applicants may be asked to submit additional information, and will have opportunities to provide updates to LCHIP.

5.  Notification of Funding Decision – November, 2023

All applicants will be notified of the Board's funding decision in mid-November.

Each organization receiving an LCHIP award is required to enter into a Project Agreement with LCHIP. The Project Agreement summarizes the obligations of the Grant Recipient and LCHIP, and outlines the project’s scope, structure and purpose as understood by LCHIP. To accept an LCHIP Award, an authorized representative of the recipient organization must sign and return the Project Agreement by the established deadline.

If a proposal does not receive funding LCHIP will provide the applicant organization an opportunity to meet with LCHIP staff to discuss the project and proposal. The goal of these meetings is to assist applicants in identifying ways in which the project or proposal could be strengthened in the future. There is no prohibition against resubmitting an improved proposal for the project in future LCHIP grant rounds.