FY2025 ABPP - Battlefield Interpretation Grant | P25AS00477

Opportunity Information: Apply for P25AS00477

The FY2025 ABPP Battlefield Interpretation Grant is a competitive National Park Service funding opportunity run through the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) to help communities modernize how they interpret and teach the history of major U.S. conflicts. The focus is on Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefields and related sites, with an emphasis on making these places more engaging and meaningful for today’s audiences. The program is rooted in the idea that battlefields are public history landscapes that can build understanding and empathy, especially when interpretation is updated to reflect how people learn, travel, and access information now.

A defining feature of this grant is its push to use technology as a tool for interpretation, not as an add-on. ABPP is looking for projects that clearly explain who the intended audience is and how the proposed technology improves the visitor experience for that audience. Examples of the kinds of tools the program is trying to encourage include mobile apps, video and multimedia storytelling, digitally enhanced interpretive signage, augmented reality, and other technology-supported methods that help visitors better understand what happened on the ground and why it matters. The opportunity also explicitly encourages applicants to think about what narratives may need to be “modernized” (for example, incorporating broader perspectives or addressing missing voices) and what audiences are not currently being reached, then design interpretation strategies that connect with those groups.

The program offers two funding tracks depending on where a project is in its lifecycle. Scoping Grants support early-stage planning and development work, such as historical research, content creation, consultations, audience research, exploring technology options, and producing technical proposals. The recommended federal share for Scoping Grants is $20,000 to $50,000, with a typical performance period of 1 to 2 years. Implementation Grants support projects that are ready to build and launch, meaning the applicant has already done the interdisciplinary planning and can provide draft content and design plans. The recommended federal share for Implementation Grants is $50,000 to $200,000, with a typical performance period of 2 to 3 years. An applicant does not have to receive a Scoping Grant before applying for an Implementation Grant, but an Implementation proposal must demonstrate that the necessary groundwork has already been completed so the project is realistic and ready to execute.

Eligibility is broad and geared toward public and community-based stewardship. Applicants may include state, county, and city/township governments; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). A key financial condition is that awards require a dollar-for-dollar non-federal match, meaning recipients must bring in an equal amount of non-federal funding or eligible in-kind support to match the federal share.

Projects must take place at battlefields and associated sites that are eligible under the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program authority cited in 54 U.S.C. 308103(b). Practically, that means the site needs to be among those identified in the major national reports referenced by ABPP, including the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission report and the Reports to Congress covering Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites (linked on the NPS ABPP resources page). Eligible project activities can span both planning and execution work, including stakeholder and expert consultation, evaluation and audience testing, technical scoping and prototyping, fabrication and installation of interpretive elements, production and implementation of digital media, and certain costs tied to compliance responsibilities such as Section 106 identification and evaluation when applicable.

ABPP also signals what strong applications tend to look like in practice. Competitive proposals usually respond directly to the published merit review criteria and back up claims with clear supporting materials such as GIS maps, resumes/CVs, work plans, budgets, summary tables, charts, and other documentation that shows the team can deliver. Another recurring expectation is proactive coordination with people and organizations who have a legal or economic interest in the project area, such as landowners or site stewards. ABPP encourages applicants to build inclusive preservation partnerships that may involve these landowners, descendant communities, Native American Tribes, state or tribal historic preservation offices, and mission-aligned nonprofits, both to strengthen the project and to ensure interpretation reflects more complete and representative stories.

This opportunity is funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which uses revenues from offshore oil and gas leasing to support conservation and community benefits, including historic preservation. ABPP also highlights the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026 and encourages projects that deepen public understanding of the nation’s origins and expand preservation-related engagement in that context. The opportunity is listed as Funding Opportunity Number P25AS00477 (CFDA 15.926), administered by the National Park Service, with an application closing date of 2025-11-25 and an award ceiling of $200,000.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2025 ABPP - Battlefield Interpretation Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.926.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-08-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-11-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

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