Modern Endangered Archives Program
2026-27 Call for Applications
Preliminary Applications due November 16, 2026
MEAP invites applications for its ninth cohort of projects designed to preserve, document, and digitize collections at risk from environmental conditions, political uncertainty, inherently unsustainable media, inappropriate storage, or communal and social change. All materials created with MEAP funding will be published on the open access UCLA Library Digital Collections repository.
Three Grant Opportunities. Planning Grants for organization, survey, and inventory work; Project Grants for digitization and metadata creation; and Regional Grants to create digital collections that include cultural heritage materials from three or more institutions, families, or archival repositories related to one theme, community or historical event.
New AV Grant Opportunity Opening Spring 2027. MEAP will offer new AV Grants starting 2027 for projects focused on audio visual archives. The AV Grants will have a dedicated application, review process, and expert panel. AV Grants provide funding up to $100,000 to address the complex challenges of documenting and digitizing audio visual materials. As a result of this new funding opportunity, proposed projects primarily focused on AV collections will not be considered for the 9th round of MEAP funding and will be held until the new MEAP AV Grant application is open.
What We Fund
The UCLA Library Modern Endangered Archives Program supports the preservation and discovery of at-risk archival collections that invite a more expansive understanding of the world we live in.
MEAP grants fund projects that document, digitize and make accessible cultural heritage materials from the 20th and 21st Centuries. We are committed to supporting projects that reflect community voices, cultural expression, and historical experiences that have been left out of national narratives and archives. Collections must be held and digitization work completed outside North America, UK, and the Europe Union. See full eligibility requirements on our website.
Application
MEAP has a two-round application process. All applicants must submit a Preliminary Application through our online application system available at meap.smapply.io. Eligible applicants will be invited to submit a Detailed Application. All applications must be submitted in English.
Deadline
Preliminary applications are due on Monday, November 16, 2026 (11:59 pm Pacific Time).
Additional details and resources for applicants are available on the How to Apply page at
meap.library.ucla.edu
