An Ellsworth community and economic development nonprofit is seeking community donations after losing a $30,000 federally funded historic preservation grant.
Heart of Ellsworth was awarded the grant in April 2024 by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission with the funding coming from the National Park Service. Additionally, Heart of Ellsworth committed to put up $23,458 of its own money, the group said on Thursday.
The money was to be used for the process of nominating a downtown historic district to the National Register of Historic Places, a 20-month project that was to include “a robust community engagement and education series,” and hiring a consultant to prepare the nomination materials, according to the group.
The national designation would make technical and financial assistance available for owners of contributing buildings to preserve their historic character, Heart of Ellsworth said.
Heart of Ellsworth had already been working on the project for close to a year, but had not used any of the grant money because of a stipulation to spend a required 25 percent match before tapping into the grant. The group said it was about to sign a contract with the historic preservation consultant, whose fees would have been covered by the grant, when it was notified on May 9 that the grant had been terminated.
“It is Heart of Ellsworth’s understanding that because congressionally appropriated funding for FY25 has been frozen, Maine Historic Preservation Commission can not access funds to disburse to the awarded grants,” the group said in a statement.
Prospects in 2026 may not be much better. The Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 discretionary budget request released on May 2 includes a recommended $158 million cut to the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund aimed at taking a step back from local projects.
A note accompanying the recommendation says: “Many historic preservation projects have matching funds from state, local, and private sources, rendering the Historic Preservation Fund highly duplicative. Further, the projects are often of local, rather than national, significance.”
