For the ninth year, the Four Rivers mini-grant program has been made possible through financial support from Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis, and the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Four Rivers' mini-grants assist local heritage-related non-profit organizations in developing new heritage- and preservation-related programs, activities, products, and events.

Matching mini-grants of up to $2,500 are available to nonprofit heritage-related sites and organizations, as well as municipalities within the heritage area's borders, to develop new educational activities, public programs, and heritage projects that incorporate regional historic, cultural, and natural resources. Projects should reflect heritage area interpretive themes as stated in our approved Management Plan and should also foster regional partnerships and enhance heritage tourism.

The deadline for applications for the FY2012 mini-grant program has now passed, and grantees have been selected. For informational purposes, you may still download the FY2012 guidelines and application for the mini-grant program below (note: the guidelines and application are combined into one file). If you are interested in applying for a Four Rivers mini-grant for the FY2013 round, please contact the heritage area staff at 410-222-1805.

Download the FY2012 Guidelines and Application (PDF version)

For FY2012 Grant Awardees - Download the Final Report Form for closing your mini-grant

For FY2011 Grant Awardees - Download the Final Report Form for closing your mini-grant

FY 2012 Mini Grants awarded to:

• Annapolis Community Foundation, in partnership with Historic Annapolis, to install an exhibit on Annapolis history through hand-sewn tapestries and community quilting events.
• Banneker-Douglass Museum and Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation for Threads of Change: Rosenwald Schools in Anne Arundel County, a program in partnership with Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society and Bates Legacy Center, in which students will conduct oral history interviews.
• The Chesapeake Bay Foundation to replace outdated signage at the Historic Skipjack Stanley Norman in the Annapolis Harbor.
• Downtown Annapolis Partnership (Main Streets Annapolis Partnership) for the research, design, and printing of an "economic incentives" brochure and a directional/informational map for Annapolis Main Streets Boundary Area.
• Friends of the Maryland State Archives for a brochure accompaniment to "The enemy all round us: Annapolis in the War of 1812," an upcoming exhibit at the Maryland State House.
• Historic Annapolis for Threads of Time: 45th Anniversary of the Desegregation of Bates High School, a partnership with Anne Arundel County Public Schools, to develop a school program producing a story quilt and public exhibition about this historic event.
• St. Anne's School of Annapolis for a school program in which third-grade students will study African-American culture through a field trip to Bates Legacy Center, conducting oral history interviews, and holding a quilt workshop.
• Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corporation and Anne Arundel County War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission for Anne Arundel County's Star Spangled Banner Bicentennial Map.
• Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation and the Lost Towns Project for Sewing through Time: The Archaeology of Textiles and Sewing, research development, and installation of an exhibit to be housed at the Historic Annapolis Museum.
• Galesville Heritage Society for The Story of Stores: How Small Businesses Helped Build Community in Galesville, MD, a new museum exhibit and oral history recordings.
• London Town Foundation, Inc. for Our Common Threads: Connecting the Heritage of Forgotten Voices at London Town, a program in partnership with Anne Arundel County Public Schools to develop a school program examining the Almshouse period of London Town's history.

A complete list of the mini-grants awarded by Four Rivers in past years follows.

FY 2011 Mini Grants:

• Charles Carroll House of Annapolis, Inc. for a complete redesign and publication of their website.
• Maryland Hall for Creative Arts for Paint Annapolis 2011, a three-day event inviting artists to Annapolis to paint Plein Air for three days, followed by a five-week exhibit at Maryland Hall.
• Londontown Foundation and Historic London Town and Gardens for a poster partner program with two Title 1 elementary schools. Students will create interpretive posters with the help of Historic London Town staff.
• City of Annapolis and the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau for an archaeological display of artifacts discovered during an excavation in the Visitors' Center parking garden.
• Historic Annapolis Foundation for The Genteelest Town in North America: Craftsmen of Annapolis's Golden Age, an exhibit featuring a variety of decorative arts from the 18th century, to be installed at 99 Main and posted on the internet.
• Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation, Inc. for a National Register nomination of Batchelor's Choice Plantation and Servant's Quarters, an 18th-century historic resource in southern Anne Arundel County.
• Banneker-Douglass Museum & Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation for Music to Our Ears: The African-American Experience and Carr's and Sparrow's Beaches, Phase 2, an oral-history program conducted by Southern High students, culminating in an exhibit at the Museum.
• Annapolis Maritime Museum for an orientation video to be shown in the Museum's Bay Room and on their website.
• Friends of the Maryland State Archives for Maryland's Art Collection: A Treasure of Painting, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts, a 36-page interpretive booklet on the state-owned art collection.

FY 2010 Mini Grants:

• The Historic Annapolis Foundation for a new exhibit and living history interpreter celebrating the life and legacy of Maryland's renowned 18th-century printer and publisher, Anne Catharine Green. The exhibit will be located in HistoryQuest in downtown Annapolis.
• The Anne Arundel County Bar Foundation, Inc. for a research project on the Crossroads of the Community exhibit, currently housed at the Anne Arundel County Courthouse. Reference materials resulting from this project will be available at the exhibit and online.
• The City of Annapolis, Annapolis and Anne Arundel Conference and Visitors Bureau, and Downtown Annapolis Partnership, for the installation of a new sign marking the entrance to the Visitor's Center and West Street at the boundary of the Annapolis Historic District.
• Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center and Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society, for the development and operation of a docent program for the Legacy Center and its exhibits.
• Historic London Town and Gardens, in collaboration with Anne Arundel County Schools, for an educational outreach program for local fourth-grade students to learn about transatlantic trade during the 18th century. Student work from this program will be permanently displayed at London Town and will be available for viewing online.
• Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation, in collaboration with the Sands House, for an archaeological investigation at the Sands House and a public program presenting their results.
• The Shady Side Rural Heritage Society for a color brochure offering ecological tips and detailing the bio-retention undertaking that will be completed on the grounds of the Captain Salem Avery Museum in Spring 2010.
• The Annapolis Chamber Players and the Charles Carroll House for a series of chamber music concerts, featuring music from the 18th and 19th centuries.
• The Annapolis Maritime Museum for its first brochure detailing the maritime experience offered by the expanded museum, including information on the Oysters on the Half-Shell exhibit opening March 2010.
• The City of Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission for a reprinting of its informative booklet, Building in the Fourth Century, the Annapolis Historic District Design Manual.

FY 2009 Mini Grants:

• Annapolis Maritime Museum will use Four Rivers funding to support its exhibit entitled "Over The Bridge," illustrating Eastport's unique community and its relationship to the waterways that surround it through photography and historic artifacts.
• Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation, in partnership with The Lost Towns Archaeology Project, will redesign and upgrade the Lost Towns website with cutting-edge technology, including a "Virtual Archaeology" section, keeping visitors informed of current and past projects.
• Charles Carroll House will conduct a lecture series entitled, "Charles Carroll – Out of Place in the 21st Century?", in conjunction with an essay contest for local students.
• Friends of the Maryland State Archives will use Four Rivers funding to design and print an interpretive brochure for visitors to the Maryland State House in Annapolis illuminating the building's historical and architectural significance.
• Historic Annapolis Foundation, in partnership with the Banneker-Douglass Museum and the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center, will hold a day-long Black History Month seminar featuring local historians and musical performances.
• Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation will produce a photographic tribute booklet on the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial for visitors to the Annapolis area.
• St. John's College is planning a multimedia initiative, online exhibit, and forum to be held at the Banneker-Douglass Museum on the desegregation of the school entitled "The Magnificent Seven", and featuring recorded interviews, photographs, and archival material.
• The United States Lighthouse Society will develop an interpretive plan for exhibits at the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, and at the Annapolis Maritime Museum about the lighthouse, a National Historic Landmark.

FY 2008 Mini Grants:

• The Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation/Lost Towns Project, in cooperation with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, will use Four Rivers funding to develop a kayak tour entitled "Paddle Through History: A Cultural and Natural History Tour of the Rhode River".
• The Annapolis Maritime Museum, in cooperation with the Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation/Lost Towns Project, will also develop a kayak tour designed for visitors to explore the Back Creek shoreline.
• Galesville Heritage Society will create a new color brochure that highlights the many additions to the museum grounds and new items recently added to the museum collection.
• Historic Annapolis Foundation will update their "Architecture in Annapolis" brochure for heritage tourists and residents alike, that describes each of the styles and periods featured in the HAF Historic Marker Program.
• The London Town Foundation will revise and update their website ( www.historiclondontown.org) to encourage visitation to the site and highlight some of Historic London Town and Gardens' major improvements over the last few years.
• Annapolis Maritime Museum and the Chesapeake 20 Association, for the development of educational materials, a website, and historic documentation for the Chesapeake 20.
• Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation for development of a virtual historic ship reconstruction and related educational materials at Historic London Town & Gardens.
• Banneker Douglass Museum and Banneker Douglass Foundation for a technology-based cell phone audio tour of the exhibition "Annapolis: Centuries of Community", featuring five historic sites and archeology displays around the City of Annapolis.
• The Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation for "I Dig Galesville Roots", a multi-generational African-American history and genealogy project with the Galesville Community Center Organization.

FY 2007 Mini Grants:

• Annapolis Maritime Museum, for an oral history project involving workers at McNasby's Oyster House, a component of a large, interactive exhibit under development.
• Charles Carroll House of Annapolis, for a development and printing of a new self-guided tour brochure.
• City of Annapolis, for a walking tour brochure on five archaeological exhibits in preparation for Annapolis 300, and for archaeological monitoring of excavation work related to the restoration of the Southgate Memorial Fountain.
• Frederick Douglass Summer Home, for development of a photo exhibit, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, on life in Highland Beach.
• Shady Side Rural Heritage Society, for a new brochure on the Captain Salem Avery House.
• Deale Area Historical society for exhibit preparation.
• West/Rhode Riverkeeper for development of a professional outreach brochure.

FY 2006 Mini Grants:

• Annapolis Friends Meeting, for informational and educational materials related to the regional history of Quakerism on its 350th anniversary.
• Anne Arundel County Bar Foundation, for research on a public exhibit, "Courthouse on the Circle: Annapolis and the Law", to be developed and installed in the Museum Room at the Courthouse.
• Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation, in conjunction with the Deale Area Historical Society, for an archaeological investigation and public program on the 17th-century Herring Creek house of Samuel Chew.
• City of Annapolis, for an interpretive sign template for Annapolis 300 historic markers, with one interpretive sign for Carr's Beach.
• Galesville Community Center Organization, for development of a website reflecting the heritage of Galesville's Rosenwald School.
• Galesville Heritage Society, for development of outside exhibit panels, in conjunction with a larger project funded by the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network.
• Kneseth Israel Congregation, for historical research and presentation on "The Jewish Experience in Anne Arundel County, Then and Now, 1906-2006".
• Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation, for an oral history and community education program, "African-American History and Culture of the Parole Community".
• Shady Side Rural Heritage Society, with partners Historic London Town & Gardens, Galesville Heritage Museum, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, for a series of collaborative public programs, "Fall Heritage Days in South County".
• Shady Side Rural Heritage Society Activities, for Civil War Weekend May 6-7, 2006, on the grounds of the Captain Salem Avery House in Shady Side.

FY 2005 Mini Grants:

• Annapolis Maritime Museum, for a traveling exhibit of the draketail workboat "Peg Wallace" at the summer's heritage-related events in South County.
• Chesapeake Children's Museum, for an updated version of the award-winning My Annapolis Adventure: Passport to Discovery children's booklet.
• Friends of Discovery Village, for repair and outfitting of former oysterboat "Miss Edith" for educational tours from Parrish Creek in Shady Side.
• Historic Annapolis Foundation, for an exhibit on health, hygiene, and food in the 18th-century William Paca House.
• Historic London Town Foundation, for an audio tour and brochure on its growing heritage site.
• Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation, for a resource inventory of local Civil War people, sites, and events for use in educational and heritage tourism programs and products.
• Shady Side Rural Heritage Society, with partners Annapolis Maritime Museum and Discovery Village, for development of an online version of the award-winning Seasons of a Chesapeake Bay Waterman: An Activity Guide for Teachers.
• U.S. Lighthouse Society, for architectural design work on Thomas Point Shoal Light, in preparation for public visitation.

FY 2004 Mini Grants:

• Annapolis Maritime Museum, for an updated, expanded audio walking tour of historic Eastport.
• Anne Arundel County Trust, for Preservation, Inc., in support of an archaeological field laboratory and workshop and interpretive signage on the "lost town" of Herrington at Herrington Harbour North.
• Chesapeake Children's Museum, for "Passport to Discovery", children's activity booklets.
• Galesville Heritage Society, for "Heritage Tour," a walking tour brochure of Galesville.
• Historic London Town & Gardens, for a "time-lapse" video of the reconstruction of the Lord Mayor's Tenement.
• St. John's College, for a walking tour brochure of its historic campus.
• Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, for a visitor's orientation kiosk.
• Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, for informational materials.