Lincoln Highway Association
Endowment Grants

In the summer of 2005, the Lincoln Highway Association received a very generous anonymous and unrestricted gift of $100,000. An LHA Endowment Committee formed to figure out the best uses of the gift, and it determined that a portion of this gift serve as a “seedling fund” to honor the generous donor of this contribution. This is done by supporting the LHA’s state chapters’ exciting projects along the Lincoln Highway and by encouraging additional contributions to the fund — just as the original LHA’s “seedling miles” provided the impetus for further improvement to the Lincoln Highway.

Grant awards are being made available from the Lincoln Highway Association Endowment Fund for the purpose of furthering the Lincoln Highway cause and for assisting LHA state chapters in their efforts. State chapters are encouraged to develop projects and to seek grant awards to support those projects.

Awards Program

The LHA Board of Directors will determine a dollar amount to be awarded to successful applicants, based on budget recommendations of the LHA Endowment Committee. Awards will be made at the Association’s annual conference each year. The number of awards to be made annually will be at the discretion of the Endowment Committee but will typically be two in number each year. A maximum $5,000 award may be made to any applicant in any one year. Applicants may apply each successive year for multi-year awards, which, if successful, increase the total award for a given project to an amount in excess of the $5,000 annual limit. The Endowment Fund grant program will be administered on an annual “grant round” basis, with each grant round beginning the day following the LHA annual conference and ending at the time during the conference when grants are announced for the next year.

Grant Applications

Applicants do not need to complete any special or mandatory form of application, although an application shall be a typewritten submittal that addresses the relevant Scoring Criteria set forth below. In other words, an applicant should fully explain how its proposed project satisfies any (or all) of the Scoring Criteria. Application submittals shall be limited to five single-spaced pages. As appropriate, attachments will be considered — but the LHA Endowment Committee generally has expressed a preference for concise, rather than lengthy, applications. The deadline to submit grant applications for awards announced at the annual conference is May 1.

Scoring of applications will be by the Endowment Committee. A total of 100 points are possible for each application. Points will be assigned by each committee member reading and scoring applications. An average of total scores as determined by individual scorers will be calculated and awards will be based on the average of those total scores.

Scoring Criteria

  1. Is the subject of the application consistent with the LHA Statement of Purpose? (Statement of Purpose has been restated below to be applicable to grant application) total of 30 points — 5 points for each of the six items listed below
    1. Does the proposed project identify, preserve, interpret, and improve access to the Lincoln Highway and its associated sites?
    2. Does the proposed project pursue appropriate measures to prevent further deterioration, destruction, or alteration of the remaining sections of the Lincoln Highway?
    3. Does the proposed project publicize and seek public awareness of the Lincoln Highway? Does the proposed project anticipate and include a plan for articles and news of activity relevant to the LHA?
    4. Does the proposed project include activities for preserving, promoting, and developing the Lincoln Highway?
    5. Does the proposed project facilitate research about the Lincoln Highway?
    6. Does the proposed project include a plan to work with local communities and businesses to promote the Lincoln Highway as a tourism destination?
  2. Does the proposed project strengthen the relationship between the national LHA and the applicant chapter(s)? 5 points
  3. Does the proposed project have permanence or sustainability — i.e., how long will it last? 5 points
  4. Does the proposed project co-partner with other non-LHA organizations? 5 points
  5. Does the proposed project have community support as evidenced by letters of support accompanying the application? 5 points
  6. What percentage of the chapter(s) members are involved with the proposed project? 5 points
  7. What is the estimated time for completion of the proposed project? 5 points
  8. Does the proposed project encourage the future of the LHA? For example, does it potentially attract additional contributions to the Endowment Fund, potentially attract new or renewal memberships to the state and national LHA, etc.? 10 points
  9. What percentage of the cost of the proposed project will be paid through cash matches? 15 points
  10. What percentage of the cost of the proposed project will be paid through in-kind matches? 15 points

Matches addressed in criteria IX and X must be, in aggregate, equal to at least 25% of the cost of the proposed project.

Point assignments to each of the above criteria are at the discretion of the individuals scoring the applications. Great flexibility must be given to the scorers given the infinite number of possible projects and circumstances surrounding the projects which may come forward. Each project is different and scorers are not bound to a rigid set of scoring rules other than the limits of the point values as set forth.

For example, matching as set forth in criteria IX and X, above, can come from many sources. All matches, no matter the source, are important. However, one applicant chapter may have put forth heroic efforts to acquire matches while another applicant chapter may have found all of its matches from a third party grant requiring little effort. The LHA Endowment Committee scorers will have the flexibility to recognize the quality of the match as well as the quantity of the match.

Submitting Applications

State chapters may submit applications to:

Kay Shelton Kozak, President
493 Bradford Pl
Bolingbrook, IL 60490

Future Considerations

Adjustments to the program may be necessary. The Endowment Committee reserves the right to make such adjustments. Any adjustments will only be made at the start of a new grant round and will not be made effective during a given grant round year.

Questions and comments regarding this program should be addressed to the chair of the Endowment Committee.

LHA Endowment Committee

The LHA Endowment Committee is made up of the following geographically dispersed LHA members:

Kay Shelton Kozak, Chair
DeKalb, IL

Bill Arick
Lawrence, Kansas

Bob Ausberger
Jefferson, Iowa

Jess Petersen
Tooele, Utah

William A. Von Tagen
Boise, Idaho

Last updated: April 12, 2022

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