(a)

1. (1) The Black History Commission of Arkansas awards grants through the Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program to nonprofit or not-for-profit organizations for projects intended to promote the preservation and study Arkansas’s black history, as well as the collection of materials bearing on its history.

2. (2) Grant awards are based on written applications that:

   1. (A) Comply with outlined requirements; and
   2. (B) Meet specified deadlines.

(c) In order to apply for this grant, your group should take the following steps:

1. (1)

   1. (A) Confirm that you are eligible for a grant, as we award grants to groups or organizations formed for nonprofit or not-for-profit purposes.
   2. (B) Organizations do not necessarily have to hold 501(c)3 status to meet eligibility requirements;
2. (2) Grant recipients are limited to one (1) award during any given fiscal year (July 1 – June 30);

3. (3)

   1. (A) Complete all parts of the grant application form.
   2. (B) You must provide the completed application form, budget summary, and a budget justification, as well as a timeline for completing your project.
   3. (C) Incomplete applications will not be considered;

4. (4)

   1. (A) Submit the original grant application form and attachments.
   2. (B) The application must have an original signature of the authorizing official for the applicant organization;

5. (5)

   1. (A) Meet the established deadline for submitting the grant application.
   2. (B) Ten (10) copies of your application must be postmarked by the deadline or delivered to the Arkansas History Commission office by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the deadline.
   3. (C) If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications must be postmarked or delivered by 4:00 p.m. on the following workday;

6. (6)

   1. (A) Grant recipients will receive a grant contract at the time of their award.
   2. (B) Contracts will need to be signed and returned to the Black History Commission of Arkansas before funds are released.
   3. (C) Grant contracts will establish a project completion date, which generally will be one (1) year from the date of the award.
   4. (D) Failure to complete the grant project by the established date may result in the grantee:

(i) Being asked to repay the Black History Commission of Arkansas any unspent funds up to the total amount of the grant award; and

1. (ii) Not being considered for future grant awards;
2. (7) A completed W-9 form must be submitted or on file with the Arkansas History Commission prior to the issuance of any grant funds;

3. (8)

   1. (A) Project-generated materials (or copies, when appropriate) will be placed at the Arkansas History Commission using agency donor forms.
   2. (B) Grant recipients must archive copies of project materials without restrictions at the Arkansas History Commission and Arkansas State Archives.

   3. (C) For example, if research consists of an oral history project:

      1. (i) Signed release forms must be obtained from interviewees at the time of the interview; and
      2. (ii) Copies of release forms must accompany audio or video recordings when submitted to the archives.
   4. (D) A sample release form is provided in the forms section of this packet; and

4. (9) Applicants are advised not to schedule potential grant-funded activities earlier than ninety (90) days from the grant request submission deadline in order to allow sufficient time to:

   1. (A) Publicize your program if a favorable decision is reached; or
   2. (B) Find alternate sources of funding if the request is not approved.