(a) Multipurpose government or nonprofit organizations which own and operate two or more museums that meet the definition of a museum as ‘‘an organized and permanent nonprofit institution, essentially educational or aesthetic in purpose, with a professional staff, which owns and utilizes tangible objects, cares for them and exhibits them to the public on some regular schedule’’, and which meet the following eligibility criteria, may apply for Special Project Support and Technical Assistance Grants that benefit the museums under their management. For purposes of the grant program, these will be considered to be collaborative grants. To qualify the organization shall:

1. (1) Be located in this Commonwealth.
2. (2) Have tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service or be an entity of government.
3. (3) Have been incorporated and in existence for at least 2 years prior to the submission of the grant application.
4. (4) Have at least one full-time paid staff member whose primary responsibility is to oversee the operations of the multipurpose organization.
5. (5) Be registered with the Pennsylvania Commission on Charitable Organizations, if required.

(c) Individual museums within multipurpose organizations may also apply for grants if they function as a discrete unit within the parent organization. For purposes of funding, a museum which is part of a larger organization will be deemed eligible if the following conditions are met:

1. (1) The museum has at least one full-time professional staff member, or the equivalent, paid or unpaid, whose responsibilities are solely for the museum’s services, operations and administration.
2. (2) The museum has administrative autonomy for its operations.
3. (3) The museum has a fully segregated and itemized operating budget within that of the parent organization.
4. (4) The museum is able to separately and distinctly fulfill eligibility and application requirements as defined in this chapter.