Free download
The small-library & museum grant checklist
The readiness kit — do these once and you can move the day a window opens, from a state subgrant to a museum grant.
Get the checklist
Enter your email and the checklist unlocks right here — no spam, one list.
- Identify your library's legal structure (municipal, district, or 501(c)(3) association) — it decides which grants you're eligible for
- Find your State Library Administrative Agency and get on its LSTA subgrant notification list
- Read your state's IMLS-approved Five-Year Plan so your proposals map to its priorities
- Register for E-Rate (BEN/SPIN) and claim your Category Two Wi-Fi budget ($30,175 floor you may be leaving unused)
- Form or partner with a Friends of the Library group that has its own 501(c)(3) for private grants and match money
- Register SAM.gov and get a UEI if you'll pursue any federal-direct grant (IMLS competitive, NEH, USDA CF)
- For collections work, get an assessment first — an NEH Preservation Assistance grant or the free AASLH STEPS self-assessment
- Circle the fall deadlines: IMLS Inspire + Museums for America (Nov 13, 2026); Pilcrow (Oct 1, 2026)
- Verify every program on the funder's own current page — check imls.gov this week, and run the Live-or-Dead Check
Most of this you do once and reuse for every application. Enter your email and the checklist unlocks right here — no spam, one list.
Next step
Get matched when we launch
Stalwell is launching soon. Join the waitlist and we'll match your small libraries and museums to funding the day it opens — no spam, one email.