State Historical Fund sponsored Youth Summit participants at the St. Cloud Hotel, Canon City

Preservation & Archaeology

Grants & Incentives

History Colorado provides grants for archaeology and historic preservation projects from two major funds.

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) administers the U.S. Department of Interior's Historic Preservation Fund Program in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Under this program the NPS has specified that at least ten percent (10%) of Colorado's annual program funds be subgranted to Certified Local Governments.

The State Historical Fund is a statewide grants program that was created by the 1990 constitutional amendment allowing limited gaming in the towns of Cripple Creek, Central City, and Black Hawk. The amendment directs that a portion of the gaming tax revenues be used for historic preservation throughout the state.

In addition to these grants federal and state tax laws provide tax incentives for historic preservation projects that follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. These credits allow taxpayers to reduce, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the amount of income tax they owe to the government.