Employ Youth in Preservation Work at Keweenaw NHP Heritage Sites- KEWE | NPS NOIP18AC00168 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP18AC00168 01

The grant opportunity titled "Employ Youth in Preservation Work at Keweenaw NHP Heritage Sites - KEWE" (Funding Opportunity Number NPS NOIP18AC00168 01) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. It is designed to support an eight-week youth work program connected to Keweenaw National Historical Park, with the central aim of getting young people directly involved in heritage preservation while helping them build lasting connections to the region's nationally significant historic sites, stories, and preservation needs. The program is structured not only as a work experience, but also as a learning and civic engagement pathway meant to develop future advocates for the park and the National Park Service more broadly.

At the core of the project is a focus on place-based preservation work that puts youth in real contact with heritage sites and the people responsible for caring for them. The work is intended to create meaningful inter-generational collaboration, bringing together youth workers, Heritage Site managers, and NPS cultural resource staff. This is positioned as a practical way to transfer knowledge about preservation, stewardship, and local history while also giving youth a sense that these sites are part of their own community and identity. The broader purpose is to encourage long-term community engagement, civic participation, and deeper public understanding of why historic preservation matters.

A key feature of this opportunity is that it specifically targets underserved youth who live in and around Keweenaw National Historical Park. The program emphasizes outreach-oriented work projects, and it builds in a consistent educational component: each week of hands-on work is capped with an educational experience that explores aspects of Keweenaw history along with related environmental issues. This pairing of labor and learning signals that the program is meant to go beyond short-term employment by helping youth interpret what they are seeing and doing, connect it to larger historical and environmental themes, and come away with a stronger understanding of local resources and community challenges.

The grant also includes a public communication and digital interpretation element. Over the course of the eight-week season, participating students work with the park's web coordinator to develop content for Facebook and other relevant social media platforms. That content is expected to incorporate photographs and the students' own impressions and observations, turning their experience into educational outreach that can inform the public about the purpose and value of preservation work. In practice, this means the project is not only preserving and supporting heritage sites through on-the-ground activity, but also expanding public visibility and understanding through youth-created storytelling.

In terms of eligibility and funding details, the opportunity is open to nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The assistance listing is tied to CFDA number 15.931, and the activity categories align with education, employment and training, and environmental work. The anticipated award structure indicates one expected award, with a maximum federal funding ceiling of $120,752. The opportunity was created on March 15, 2019, with an original application closing date of March 25, 2019, indicating a short application window typical of certain targeted cooperative agreements. Overall, the grant is aimed at combining youth employment, cultural resource stewardship, and public education into a single program that strengthens both community ties to Keweenaw heritage sites and the pipeline of future preservation-minded citizens.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education, employment, labor and training, environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Employ Youth in Preservation Work at Keweenaw NHP Heritage Sites- KEWE" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 15, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 25, 2019. (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 $120,752.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for NPS NOIP18AC00168 01

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