Ask Congress to protect the Historic Preservation Fund, which makes preservation possible in Florida!
We are asking for the immediate release of FY25 Historic Preservation Fund dollars and for there to be continued preservation funding included in the FY26 Budget, a message that it is particularly important for law makers to hear given the President’s proposed budget almost eliminates preservation funding completely.
Here’s what you can do:
Reach out to your members of Congress and ask them to help facilitate the immediate approval of the FY25 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Historic Preservation Fund and subsequent review and approval of applications.
- These funds are urgently needed to ensure the work of SHPOs and THPOs continue to aid in the preservation of our nation’s heritage
- These funding delays will impact communities in Florida!
- Find your members in the U.S. Congress HERE.
Ask your Representatives to sign onto the FY26 House Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter. This bipartisan letter is being circulated by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), and requests $225 million for the HPF – the same amount the Florida Trust advocated for when visiting lawmakers in Washington, D.C. during Advocacy Week in March. The deadline for signatures is Thursday, May 15th.
- Offices can sign-on by reaching out to Clare Pavell at Clare.Pavell@mail.house.gov in Rep. Turner’s office or Mark Zientek at Mark.Zientek@mail.house.gov in Rep. Leger Fernandez’s office.
We will keep you posted on a Senate letter as that becomes available.
Florida Advocacy Action
Ask Your Florida Lawmakers to fund the FY26 Historic Preservation Grants!
The advocacy work we engaged in all Session to fund historic preservation grants, including a record number of meetings held during our Preservation Week in Tallahassee, must continue. The legislature did not pass a budget during the regular session, so lawmakers will return to Tallahassee May 12 to continue work, including passing the budget.
Reach out to your Florida lawmakers and ask them to use the Historic Preservation funding numbers from the Senate’s version of the budget. These are:
- Small Matching Grants: Full funding for $2,422,438
- Special Category Grants: Partial funding for $12,657,230 for the first 34 projects on the ranked list
- Abandoned Cemeteries: $500,000
Here’s how you can find your Florida lawmakers:
Stay tuned for updates on our advocacy efforts throughout the legislative process. Don’t forget to sign up for our advocacy newsletter to receive important briefings during Session!