image of ship, canoe, lighthouseThe Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) is pleased to announce the California Maritime Heritage Grants Program, which uses funds provided by the National Park Service (NPS) for the stewardship and preservation of historical and archaeological resources associated with the maritime history of California.

The primary goal of this grant program is to assist with and promote the active preservation and use of California's irreplaceable maritime heritage properties. The primary objectives of this grant program are to: 1) Assist in the preservation of resources related to California’s maritime heritage that are historically under-represented and/or are of statewide or national importance; and 2) Provide increased opportunities for the general public to visit and learn about historic properties related to maritime history.

The California Office of Historic Preservation is the program administrator for the California Maritime Heritage Grants Program, awarding funds as grants to individual projects. This marks a change from the way the grants were awarded in the past when project applications were made directly to the National Park Service. The OHP will administer grants in accordance with the National Park Service’s National Maritime Heritage Grants website (see https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1220/maritime-heritage-grants.htm) and Notices of Funding Opportunity for the grant programs (see https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/340209 for preservation grants and https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/340210 for education grants).

2024-2025 Maritime Heritage Grants

Application Deadline: 5:00pm Tuesday, November 12, 2024

(NOTE: An earlier version of this page referenced "Wednesday, November 12" as the application deadline--the day of the week has been corrected here.)

To apply for a Maritime Heritage grant, download the following Guidelines and forms:

Maritime Heritage Grant Guidelines (revised 9/23/24) 
Read through the guidelines carefully! Additional information is required beyond that asked for in the forms listed below. Failure to submit properly completed forms and all required information may result in a non-award decision. Use the individual forms linked below for your application; do not use the forms embedded in the Guidelines document.

Grant Application Checklist

Grant Application Cover Form

Project Description Worksheet

Budget Justification Worksheet

Budget Information - Construction Programs Form (if applicable)
Click here for Form Instructions - Construction Programs. (note, these instructions reference a 2022 form, but can be used to help understand the 2025 form linked here)

Match Certification Form

Certification of Project Conformance Form

Sample Resolution

Note: Some of these forms require Javascript to be enabled. Please be aware that some networks do not allow you to enable Javascript and to do so you may need to save and open these forms to/from a local computer or work with your network administrator to mark or add them as trusted content.

Questions and concerns may be directed to maritimegrants.ohp@parks.ca.gov or 916-445-7000.