Restoration of historic sites. Interpretive signage. Educational programs. These and many others are examples of projects funded by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation’s Implementation Grants program. All are efforts that work to preserve, interpret and promote the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War story and each one helps enhance our understanding of the Valley’s contribution to the American experience.

Download the 2009 Grant Application Package (Word)

Grants Overview

The Implementation Grants are intended to assist community-based organizations with projects that they might not otherwise be able to undertake to preserve, interpret, or promote the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War history and sites. Grants are limited to a maximum of $10,000 each, though an organization may submit more than one application for different projects. The Foundation’s grants will pay for a maximum of 80 percent of the project’s cost with the applicant providing at least 20 percent of the cost. The Foundation encourages collaborative proposals from several organizations to further its goal of partnerships for preservation. The deadline to apply for 2009 grants is April 17, 2009.

Goals of the Program

Through the grants program, the Foundation provides funding on a matching basis to partner organizations for projects that help implement the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District Management Plan.

Beginning in 2009, the Foundation’s grants will also focus on projects that implement recommendations contained in the National Historic District’s Interpretive and Marketing Plans, as well as projects that support the goals of the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission.

Click here to download these and other planning documents.

Funding Sources

Funding for the Implementation Grants Program comes from the federal government to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation in its annual appropriation on behalf of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.

The Foundation is especially grateful to our congressional delegation: Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner and Congressmen Frank Wolf and Bob Goodlatte. Their leadership and vision are enabling Valley residents to be even better stewards of this national resource

Past Grants

To date, the Implementation Grants Program has provided more than $650,000 in funds to organizations throughout the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District. These grants have leveraged more than $2.6 million for projects in the District. Past projects funded under the program include:

• 49 Virginia Civil War Trails signs throughout the District.
• Archeological survey and GPS mapping of the Cedar Creek XIX Corps earthworks.
• Revision of a self-guided tour book for the Battle of Cedar Creek.
• Interpretive signage in downtown Harrisonburg.
• Restoration of the battlefield landscape at Kernstown.
• Restoration of the Pritchard House at Kernstown.
• Landowner education programs in Frederick, Clarke, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties.
• Restoration of Turner’s Mill in Rockingham County.
• Site clearance and landscape restoration on the McDowell battlefield.
• Installation of reproduction period fencing in the village of McDowell.
• A pedestrian bridge at the Third Winchester battlefield.
• Restoration, handicap accessibility, and a security system for the Port Republic Museum.
• Interpretive signage in the village of Port Republic.
• Exterior restoration at the Heater House on the Cedar Creek battlefield in Middletown, the Edinburg Mill in Edinburg, the Miller-Kite House in Elkton, and the Plum House in Waynesboro.
• Restoration and computer enhancement of the "Electronic Map" of the Shenandoah Valley at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Historical Society.
• Interpretive signage and a guide book for the Town of Front Royal.
• Feasibility studies for the proposed Civil War orientation and visitor center and county museum in Highland County.
• Preservation of Civil War graffiti at the Old Court House Civil War Museum in Winchester.
• Planning for the "Jed Hotchkiss – Shenandoah Valley Mapmaker" exhibit at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Additional Information

Information about the program and hard copy grant applications can be obtained by contacting the Battlefields Foundation offices at 888-689-4545.