Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will provide $1.5 million to support 48 projects (including 38 new projects) by archives, libraries, and documentary heritage institutions throughout Canada. The recipients of this third cycle of LAC’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) were announced last Friday in Montreal at the annual meeting of the Association des archivistes du Québec.
Despite only one genealogical society receiving funding, family historians may benefit from many of the projects receiving financial assistance. Fourteen organizations receiving funding are historical or heritage societies and another 14 are archival centres.
Among the projects being supported are digitizing photos and making private collections more accessible.
Only one project to digitize a newspaper received funding. The Appartenance Mauricie Société d’histoire régional in Shawinigan, Quebec will receive $66,881 to digitize the Le Nouvelliste daily newspaper.
Tweedsmuirs
The Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) received $100,000, the largest amount this year, which is part of a three-year-commitment that began in 2016. The FWIO has been preserving, digitizing, and making accessible its many Tweedsmuir Community History Collections (commonly called Tweedsmuirs) and record books found across Ontario. The first phase, which ended March 31, 2016, provided a searchable website featuring items already digitized, and the digitization of further documents. The DHCP funding of $100,000 per year over three years will help FWIO digitize additional Tweedsmuir collections and other records books which will be added to its virtual archives.
Irene Robillard, digitizing coordinator, FWIO, said, “At the end of this three-year project, about 250,000 more pages will be added to the virtual archives. While the original documents remain locally across Ontario, the digitized documents are together in one location, allowing researchers across Canada and the world to access the Tweedsmuirs and other historical documents and information to learn about our rich communities, conduct family research and discover the wonderful work that has been created by WI members.”
One genealogical society
The only genealogical organization to receive funding was the Société d’histoire et de généalogie du Plateau Mont-Royal, a historical and genealogical society in Montreal. They plan to make their private archival collections more accessible.
The full list of recipients, projects, and funding is on the LAC website.
Next round of funding
The next funding cycle for the DHCP will be launched in fall 2017.
Genealogical societies interested in applying for funding in the next round can pick up tips on how to do so in my blog post, 21 ways to increase your non-profit’s chances of receiving a grant.
