MI Museum Grants

About MI Museums

The MI Museums program is a four-year grant and training initiative designed for museums with an operating budget of $250,000 or less. The program will provide up to $57,000 to each host site in addition to providing expert-led training covering areas such as strategic planning, accessibility, board development, fundraising, and other areas of need identified by the participating organizations. Ten sites will be selected in total and will work together as a cohort throughout the program.

Eligible Applicants

The MI Museums programs is open to nonprofit museums located within the state of Michigan and with an annual operating budget of $250,000 or less. The museum must be open to the public at least five-days a week for a minimum of nine-months each year.

Mi Museums Timeline

• Application Deadline: Thursday, February 5, 2026 
• Grant review will be held in early-March 2026
• Award Notifications will be sent out late-March 2026
• The program will begin in April 2026

Payment Structure

• Year One-2026: Up to $25,000
• Year Two-2027: Up to $15,000
• Year Three-2028: Up to $10,000
• Accessibility Improvements: Up to $7000

How to Apply

You can apply through the Michigan Humanities Online Grant Portal. If you are a first-time applicant to Michigan Humanities you will need to create a new registration. If you have previously applied for a different opportunity you can log into your account and go to “Apply” to find the MI Museums grants.

Contact

If you have questions, please contact Director of Grants, James Nelson, jnelson@mihumanities.org or (517) 372-7770.