National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US

In November 2017, the National Trust for Historic Preservation launched its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a preservation campaign to preserve and protect places that have been overlooked in American history and represent centuries of African American activism, achievement, and resilience. Since launching the program, the Action Fund has raised $45 million and supported more than 150 preservation projects nationally. Through this preservation effort—the largest ever undertaken in support of African American historic sites—we partner with and empower Black and diverse communities to expand the American story.

Women’s history is America’s history. Female thinkers, activists, and trailblazers have shaped us into the nation we are today and continue to lead us forward. Yet only a small fraction of our cultural heritage recognizes women’s ever-present role in history, and far too often women's struggles and achievements have been lost, forgotten, or deliberately obscured.

Through Where Women Made History, we are identifying, honoring, and elevating places across the country where women have changed their communities and the world. Together, we can galvanize support for preserving these places, inspire a new generation of women and girls, and create a future where all people see themselves reflected in a more truthful and inclusive collective history.

Historic places create connections to our heritage that help us understand our past, appreciate our triumphs, and learn from our mistakes. Historic places help define and distinguish our communities by building a strong sense of identity. To ensure that their stories remain a part of our lives today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation protects and promotes historic places, including a diverse collection of 27 sites open to the public. When you visit a historic site, you learn from their stories and help keep history alive.

The Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program (HAHS) is a coalition of 48 museums that were the homes and working studios of American artists. The HAHS program is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the places where art was made. We are a coalition of independent museums that have come together to celebrate and investigate creativity. Every place in the HAHS program was the home and working studio of an American artist. Each of these places is now devoted to understanding and explaining how an artist made their art. In fact, some of our sites represent an artist couple, or an art colony; these places demonstrate complex artistic interchange. We join the dialogue between art and the space where it was created. We do it by ensuring the long-term longevity of buildings and landscapes and objects. And, we do it by making these places open to everyone, and by inviting everyone into the conversation. Come, witness creativity.

PastForward, the annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is one of the most important and impactful investments the National Trust makes in preserving America’s cultural heritage and empowering the people on the front lines of that effort. Attracting nearly 5,000 of the most creative and impactful preservationists—online and in person—every year, PastForward helps to expand the toolbox of policies, approaches, and financial incentives for saving our nation’s cultural heritage.

The National Main Street Center (NMSC), the National Trust’s nonprofit subsidiary, is a national organization working to revitalize older and historic commercial districts. Its primary program, recently branded as Main Street America, has helped revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years, first as a program of the National Trust. It constitutes a network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.

For more than three decades, the federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) has successfully implemented a national policy of preserving our historic resources. It is the most significant investment the federal government makes toward the preservation of our historic buildings. In addition to preserving historic buildings, the HTC revitalizes communities and spurs economic growth—all while returning more to the Treasury than it costs, $1.20 in tax revenue for every dollar invested. It is a critical ingredient for historic preservation building stronger communities.

The National Trust has also supported the enactment of over 35 state historic tax credits and continues to work with partners to increase this number. These credits attract private investment to restore historic properties, many of which would otherwise likely be demolished. And true to their legacy as “laboratories of democracy,” states are innovating with different provisions to tackle complex issues such as ru

The 100,000+ historic houses of worship across America play a crucial role in shaping the character of our communities. They are valuable parts of communities, and many are works of art whose beauty and history make them irreplaceable elements of our national cultural heritage. Yet though the structures are considered icons of stability, today congregations of every faith face challenges in stewarding their historic houses of worship.

To ensure that America’s sacred places continue to serve their communities’ material and spiritual needs, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has joined Partners for Sacred Places and the Lilly Endowment to establish the National Fund for Sacred Places. Through the National Fund, Partners for Sacred Places provides planning grants, technical assistance, and capacity-building support, while the National Trust provides preservation expertise and capital grants up to $250,000 to help congregations restore and preserve historic places of worship.

The National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC), the National Trust’s for-profit subsidiary, enables tax credit equity investments that support sustainable communities nationwide. NTCIC provides tax credit financing for federal and state historic (HTC), new markets (NMTC), solar (ITC), and low-income housing (LIHTC) projects. On an annual basis, NTCIC declares dividends from net profits to support the National Trust. NTCIC is also the parent company of National Trust Tours, which operates study tours (temporarily paused because of the coronavirus pandemic). NTCIC also oversees an affiliate company that serves as a specialized insurance brokerage for owners of historic properties, from private homes to prominent historic landmarks, National Trust Insurance Services.