The Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium announces that applications for funding from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) are available to all qualified applicants. This program specifically funds both capital and non-capital projects for sites that will support heritage cultural activities in the three county region – Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s. The Southern Maryland Heritage Area will be accepting the applications at their office in Hughesville.

The grants are for projects slated to begin in fiscal year 2009 (begins July 1, 2008) and all potential applicants must file an “Intent to Apply” form with the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium, (SMHAC.) This simple one page form, along with a page of information about the grants is both available from the SMHAC office and on the web at www.SouthernMDisFun.com . Click on “Heritage News” and find the link there.

Eligible applicants will include non-profit organizations and government agencies that support the mission of heritage tourism in Southern Maryland. The Non-capital Project Grants awards are for a maximum of $50,000 and the Capital Project Grants are for a maximum of $100,000. Applicants must be able to provide dollar for dollar matching funds for all grants. In order to qualify for a Capital Grant the project must be within one of the Targeted Investment Zones identified in the Consortium’s Management Plan. For an on-line version of the Management Plan, see the website www.SouthernMDisFun.com

The Intent to Apply form is due by end of day on February 1, and is available on the website listed above, or the form can be emailed or sent to any interested party. Please contact Heritage Area Director Roz Racanello by email to receive the forms at: SoMdHeritage@tccsmd.org or call 301-274-4083, for more information. Office hours are Tuesday through Friday, from ten a.m. to three p.m.

The full application forms for the Project Grants are on the web, at www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net under “Forms and Documents” but all potential applicants must work through the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium office. No applications may be filed independently. Completed grant application packages for those who have filed the Intent to Apply will be due to the Heritage Area office in March. The MHAA awards for fiscal year 2009 will be announced during the summer of 2008.

Past recipients of the MHAA Project Grants in the Southern Maryland Heritage Area include: The Old Wallville School, Piney Point Lighthouse Museum and Park in St. Mary’s County, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum, Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum, Charles County and the Town of Port Tobacco, Historic St. Mary’s City, Greenwell Park, the Calvert Marine Museum, the Beach Business Group, the St. Leonard’s Vision Group and the Chesapeake Bay Field Lab.

The mission of the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium (SMHAC) is to enhance the economic activity of Southern Maryland through combining quality heritage tourism and small business development with preservation, cultural and natural resource conservation and education. Contact the Consortium at 301-274-4083, or by email, SoMdHeritage@tccsmd.org.