The Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists are pleased to offer grant opportunities in support of important continuing genealogical research projects. These grants are intended to assist with those projects sitting unfinished (or unstarted) on every genealogist’s “back burner” for lack of financial aid to help cover researching and writing time, costs of copies, fees, travel, and other usual expenses associated with genealogical research and publication.

Each grant is for $2,500. Projects are not limited regarding subject, length, or format, but the value of the work to other researchers and institutions will be an important consideration. Examples of possible projects include, but are not limited to, compilation of single or extended family genealogies, transcriptions or translations of original documents, bibliographies, indexes, studies of ethnic groups, geographic locations, migration patterns, legal history, etc., using genealogical resources and methods. Publication is not required, but acknowledgement of the support from the American Society of Genealogists in any distribution of the project results is requisite. Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists are not eligible for these grants.

Submission deadline: All applications for the 2024 grants must be received on or before March 1, 2023: Email to: acwcrane@aol.com, or mail to:

ASG Continuing Grants

c/o Alicia Crane Williams, FASG

4 White Trellis

Plymouth MA 02360

Purpose:

The American Society of Genealogists (ASG) was founded in 1940 to “advance genealogical research standards, encourage publication of scholarly studies, and secure recognition of genealogy as a serious subject of research in historical and social fields of learning.” Because research, compilation, and publication expenses are usually borne by the genealogical researcher, funding is often reliant on the individual’s means. Significant genealogical projects often do not meet the requirements of standard funding sources, such as academic or commercial entities. The American Society of Genealogists’ Continuing Research Study Program contributes financial support to advance important genealogical projects.

Project Scope:

Consideration of projects may include, but is not confined to, the importance of original research to be undertaken, the goal of the project – e.g. compile a genealogy of descendants of an individual or an all-my-ancestor compilation of a single individual; explore a “brick wall”; a treatment of extended families, ethnic groups, geographic locations, migration patterns, legal history, or other important studies for the use of genealogical researchers? Will the transcriptions of difficult archaic or partially illegible records be made available to researchers? Are indexes, catalogs, or bibliographies to be created?

Grants may be made for any size undertaking of any expected duration and are not required to be finished under a single grant. Publication is not a requirement of the grant, but if published or distributed to the public, acknowledgement must be made of the contributions by the American Society of Genealogists.

Project Requirements:

Applicants must complete and submit the Application Form, including a genealogical resume, a comprehensive description of the project and its history (if it has already been started), the importance of the records or subjects being studied, who will most benefit from the project and why, how the ASG Grant is expected to be used in the project, a listing of anticipated actions to be taken under this funding opportunity.

Benchmarks:

The application must include benchmarks to record the progress of the project. These benchmarks are not time sensitive. They should indicate expected development and completion goals for the grant. Benchmarks may include such things as number of pages transcribed, completion of research prior to writing, writing and production of written articles, books, website content, number of index entries made, etc. At least one interim benchmark is recommended, with the final benchmark for completion of the grant.

Adjustments to research schedules and benchmarks are allowed provided the Grant Committee is kept apprised. Recipients are required to send written reports to the Grant Committee of all benchmark achievements or adjustments when requested. Failure to send timely reports on project progress and benchmarks may result in the requirement to return funding, total or partial, to ASG.

Funding:

Each grant is for $2500 and such grants can be sequential, but not overlapping. Funds will be distributed by the ASG Treasurer after applications are approved by the Grant Committee and the Executive Board.

Terms:

Applicants should understand that acceptance of the grant means agreeing to the publicizing of the grant by ASG in social and other media, and that photos and news stories will appear tied to this activity, as well as notices posted on the ASG website.

Application

2024 Continuing Genealogical Research Project Grants

American Society of Genealogists

Phone Number(s): (cell or landline?)

E-mail address:

Website:

Please attach written responses to the following topics: Your genealogical resume.

Project background:

Is this a new project, or is it ongoing? If so, how long have you been working on this project? What does this project mean to you? Who do you think will most benefit from the results of this project?

Project size and duration:

We recommend that each proposal for a grant be for projects estimated for completion within the individual grant funding. Continuing projects may be eligible for further grants in the future. Tell us what work you intend to accomplish under this grant and how long you expect it will take. If this is part of a larger project, tell us what else might be needed. What monetary contribution do you expect to make to the project, yourself. What additional financial support are you receiving, or expect to receive, from individuals or institutions?

Project tasks: What tasks might be involved in the project?

• Research in original records in libraries, repositories, the Internet

• Research in secondary sources in libraries, repositories, the Internet

• Abstraction, transcription, or interpretation of records for this project only

• Abstraction, transcription, or interpretation of a collection of records

• Creating a database, index, or bibliography

• Compiling genealogical or historical text

• Other

Project participants: In addition to yourself, will there be others involved in the project? If so, who?

Project benchmarks and outcome: What goals do you have and how will you measure the progress of your project?

• A compiled genealogy of descendants of a single individual or extended family

• An all-my-ancestor genealogy of an individual

• An article on exploration of a difficult “brick wall,” or discovery of new information

• Transcriptions of difficult, rare, or obscure original documents

• Indexes, catalogs, or bibliographies of source materials

• Database of individuals

• A genealogical study of aggregate groups by ethnicity, religion, origin, settlement, etc.

• Other outcomes

• Expected benchmarks: e.g., number of pages or records transcribed, indexed, or entered

in a database, number of research repositories visited, compilation from research, drafting and writing articles, books, or reports, publishing articles, books, creating website content, other?

Your comments:

Please submit application on or before 1 March 2023 to: acwcrane@aol.com  or mail to:

Alicia Crane Williams, FASG

4 White Trellis

Plymouth MA 02360