What is available for funding?
Funding availability varies; it is best to call the office to find out what is available.

How can a municipality/non-profit apply for funding?
The only way to apply for funding is to complete an Land and Community Heritage (LCH) Register form and put your project on the LCH Register. Submissions are accepted at any time.

Who picks the projects for funding?
We have an 18-member Board of Directors, appointed by the Governor, which includes four Legislators. Two Representatives and two Senators. The Board of Directors selects all projects for funding.

Where are the funds invested and who gets grants?
Funds are invested statewide in working lands such as farms and forests, and in historic buildings for economic revitalization. Only municipalities and non-profits are eligible for grants. Small towns like Lee and large cities like Manchester all have an equal chance.

How long does it take to complete an average project?
Eighteen months is the average time it takes to complete a project from fundraising to closing.

How does the Heritage Investment Program pay for its administration?
We receive $6 from each sale of the conservation license plate (Moose Plate). Our administration is paid for with the license plate funds (60%) and from interest earned on our Trust Fund (40%).

What is the most direct economic benefit to the State?
For every $1 of grant funds invested in a project, the community raises nearly $6 from other private, federal and municipal sources to match it. That far exceeds the required level of match, and strengthens the local economy. And, the historic building revitalization grants alone have generated 606 jobs in NH in the first four years.

How much funding is really needed to have an effective Program?
In 1999 the Land and Community Heritage Commission, recommended a funding level of $12 million per year. We have never come close to that figure, and since 1999 property values have increased by 96% statewide. Demand far exceeds the funding we have had available, and to have a meaningful impact the Program needs at least $12 million per year.

Why can't the funding come from nonprofits and communities?
Eighty percent (80%) of the funding for a project already comes from the community. LCHIP funds only cover on average, twenty percent (20%) of the project cost. The State has an important role to play, by being the lynchpin-funding source that holds a project together and helps ensure it gets done.

Why is this Program a priority at a time of economic challenges?
New studies show that NH has one of the fastest growing populations east of the Mississippi. We cannot wait to make this essential investment in our economy. If we do not act to guaranty the character and values of NH now, the cost and ability to do so later will be unfeasible.

How Can I Learn More?
Call the office at 603-224-4113.