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2025 – 2026 LSTA Community Impact Grants

Grantor:
CA State Library
Portal ID:
86477
Status:
Forecasted
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The California State Library’s LSTA Community Impact grants opportunity helps California’s libraries respond effectively to local needs and align services with local community aspirations; support experimentation and research and development in California’s libraries; and provide training and support in grant writing and grant management for the California library community.

Description:

We invite libraries and other eligible organizations to apply for funding to support local and collaborative projects that address community needs and align with community aspirations. Projects should be guided by the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Projects should align with goal one of the State Library’s current LSTA Five Year Plan.

We are especially interested in projects from library jurisdictions and branches of library jurisdictions that have not received LSTA funding in the last five years, and collaborative projects that represent a variety of regions, library sizes, and populations. However, we welcome applications from all California library jurisdictions, library consortia, and library-focused on-profit organizations, and on any topic and serving any group.

Agencies applying for a local competitive grant and requesting $75,000 or above, and agencies applying for a collaborative competitive grant must plan to work with a project partner (in addition to the collaborative applicant group) and must have at least one project partner in place before an application is submitted.

Types of Grant Opportunities

Two types of grant opportunities are available:

Local Competitive Grants support projects that focus on one library jurisdiction and can include projects focusing on one branch in one library jurisdiction.

Collaborative Competitive Grants support projects that are implemented by three or more library jurisdictions.

More information about this opportunity can be found on the California State Library's LSTA Community Impact Grants opportunity webpage. 

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Individual
  • Nonprofit

The local grant opportunity is open to California libraries.

The collaborative grant opportunity is open to California libraries, library consortia, and library-focused non-profit organizations. Non-profits not directly related to a California public library are not eligible to apply for funding.

Libraries may apply for both opportunities. 

Please see application instructions for additional eligibility information.

Eligible Geographies:

Grant opportunity is limited to California.

Matching Funding Requirement:

Applicants are expected to contribute a local match to the grant funds in the form of a cash match and/or in-kind contributions. A match is expected, but no minimum amount is required.

Important Dates

The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
May 2026
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
FY 2025-2026
Anticipated Open Date
January 2025

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$500,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$10,000 – $250,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • Federal

Funding Source Notes:

Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants are federally funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and are awarded by the State Library to eligible California libraries, library consortia, and library-focused non-profit organization.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advance(s)

Funding Method Notes:

A typical payment schedule is 45% upon execution of the agreement and the State Library’s receipt of the awardee’s claim form; 45% upon the State Library’s receipt of the first quarter report; and 10% upon receipt of final reporting forms and any unexpended funds.

Project funds may take from 6 to 8 weeks to arrive following the State Library’s receipt and approval of a complete claim form.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
LSTA Coordinator, 1-916-603-6710, lstagrants@library.ca.gov

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