NC ECHO offers two types of LSTA grants with an emphasis on planning and creating digitization projects. The NC ECHO Digitization Grant is a project grant with a goal of increasing access to and use of North Carolina’s cultural collections through the online environment. These grants require an approved Letter of Intent (LOI) prior to submission of the grant application.

Planning Grants assist institutions in collaborative planning activities or needs assessments prior to application for a project grant.

The NC ECHO Digitization Grant facilitates the creation of digital surrogates of original special collection materials and the online presentation of this digital content as well as the encoding of existing finding aids for archival collections. Collaborative activities between libraries and other types of cultural repositories such as archives, museums, historic sites and historical societies are encouraged.

Access the grant guidelines on the State Library's LSTA Grant information website.

NC ECHO staff is available to answer questions about your Digitization Grant Proposal and even read rough drafts in advance of the application deadline. Please contact us for input on your project idea.

2010-2011 LSTA NC ECHO Digitization Grant Cycle

LSTA NC ECHO Digitization Grants:

Full information on the LSTA NC ECHO Digitization Grant Program is available in the Grant Guidelines (pdf).

• A Letter of Intent is required before applying for a Digitization Grant. Letter of Intent applications (pdf) are due November 17, 2009. Only libraries with approved LOIs may continue with the full grant application.
• Single year or Multi-year (up to 3 years) projects are allowed
• Collaboration between library and non-library institutions is encouraged
• Minimum amount that can be sought is $2,500
• Maximum amount for a single institution annually is $75,000; Maximum amount for a collaborative project annually is $150,000
• 10% match is required only for grants above $10,000

Planning Grants are available for institutions who intend to plan a large-scale or collaborative digitization project. This grant is to assist libraries in carrying out needs assessment and collaborative planning as phase one of an NC ECHO digitization grant. This grant has a maximum award amount of $20,000 for a single library system and $35,000 for a collaborative project involving multiple library systems. Planning Grants do not require a Letter of Intent. Applications are accepted for planning grants twice during the grant cycle; once in February and again at the mid-year cycle in November. The exact dates are announced on the State Library’s LSTA Grant information website in September and December.

Grants awarded for the 2009-2010 grant cycle are announced here:

• NC ECHO Digitization Grants

For Cultural Institutions whose funding needs are beyond the scope of the above described digitization grant program, follow this link for a list of other potential sources of funding.