College and University Collection Grant

Introduction College and university fashion, apparel, and theatre programs frequently have costume study collections that receive little or no financial support from their institutions.  These collections are not eligible for the Grants to Support Costume in Small Museums. The College and University Collection Grant consists of a single award of $1500 to assist with the care, maintenance, preservation, and instructional missions of a college or university collection. This grant is currently awarded every other year. The deadline for applications is February 28 of each year. Eligibility The institution must be a degree granting institution The collection seeking support must be devoted to the study, teaching and preservation of dress and textiles. There must be a degree program in apparel/textiles/theatre for the institution to be eligible.  Collections not intended for preservation are not eligible. The institution must legally own the collection; it cannot be a private collection housed in a college/university. There must be institutional support for the collection in the sense that there is a university employee (or employees) who is assigned as a regular part of his/her duties the care and maintenance of the collection. There must be an institutional endorsement of the collection by some type of expression of commitment, for example, exhibition space, insurance, storage, time investment in the care and management of the collection, etc. The collection must consist of dress, textiles, and related objects (published materials, textile production tools/equipment, etc.). To accept the award an institution must become an institutional member of CSA. Criteria for Selection High impact of the project on collection’s well-being and mission Feasibility of the project in terms of budget, time line, and personnel to carry out the project Significance of the collection to the academic unit Grant Schedule Five copies of the Grant Application and relevant documentation must be postmarked by February 28th and mailed to the National Office of the Costume Society of America.  The Grant Committee will review the proposals and will select a short list of candidates.  After clarifying the proposals as needed, the committee will complete a final evaluation and select a recipient.  The Grant Recipient will be announced at the spring national symposium of the Costume Society of America.  Funds for the selected project will become available June 15th.  The project must be completed by June 30th of the following year.  Upon completion of the project the institution must submit a final report to the Grant Committee Chair.  CSA News and/or CSA E-news will publicize the completed grant project to CSA members, and information will be sent to local newspapers to generate additional publicity. Grant Administration The Grant Selection Committee consists of the Chair, who is a voting member, and four Grant Committee members plus one Alternate.  The Chair is appointed by the Vice President for Awards and Honors in consultation with the President.  The Chair and Committee members serve staggered three year terms.  Up to three members may be from the CSA Board of Directors.  To avoid conflict of interest, the Chair and/or a Committee member will be replaced by the Alternate if his/her institution submits a grant application.