Resources: VRA Foundation Grant Program
Grants
The VRAF offers the following types of funding opportunities:
- Professional Development Grants: An annual award of $850 to an individual for professional development in the field of visual resources and image management. This grant supports attendance at an educational event of the grantee’s choosing (such as, an association conference, symposium or workshop), or enrollment in relevant research activities in the VRAF Grant Areas of Interest.
- Project Grants for Research and Educational Projects: Grants up to $1,500 awarded to organizations or institutions for programs and projects in the VRAF Grant Areas of Interest. The funds may be used for small, stand-alone projects, pilots or start-up financing for larger projects, or for a component of a larger project.
- Grants Administration: The VRAF also pursues grants from other tax-exempt organizations, corporations and governmental sources to fulfill its mission. Please contact the VRAF Development Officer to discuss proposals for larger projects in the VRAF Grant Areas of Interest.
Grant Guidelines
Areas of Interest
The VRA Foundation’s Areas of Interest include visual information management and education, and the dissemination of and access to images of primarily, but not exclusively, cultural heritage materials. Projects in the following categories may be considered for funding:
Image Metadata
Image Cataloguing
Data Standards
Digital Archives
Digitization Projects (Educational Institutions, Libraries, Museums)
Visual Literacy
Pedagogy and Technology
Intellectual Property Rights
Eligibility
Specifics of eligibility may vary according to the grant offered. Please see the guidelines for each grant program.
Organizations applying for VRA Foundation grants must be based in the United States; have IRS 501c3 non-profit status.
The VRA Foundation does NOT fund:
- Political, labor, religious, or fraternal organizations
- Activities that influence legislation
Application Process
Past Award Winners
2009 Professional Development Award
Natalie Milbrodt, Queen's College Library Studies Program
To attend the 2010 VRA Conference in Atlanta, GA
2010 Professional Development Award
Carrie Salazar, Art Institute of Boston
To attend the 2010 ACRL Conference
2011 Professional Development Awards
Emerging Professional Award:
Amy Bowman, Photographs Archivist, Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin
To attend Gawain Weaver’s “Care and Identification of Photographs” workshop
Established Career Professional Award:
Karen Kessel, Visual Resources Specialist at Sonoma State University
To attend the 2012 VRA Conference and present a workshop on cataloging images of the Art of the Americas
2011 Project Grant I
American Craft Council (Jessica Shaykett, Librarian)
Newsletter Digitization Project
2011 Project Grant II
North Carolina Folklife Institute (Joy Salyers)
Documenting Usage Rights to the North Carolina Folklife Institute Image Archive
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