I’ve only just found out about these grants, so you will have forgive me for the short notice … but still at least I found out before the cut off date, so that’s a bonus.

So during 2021, Ancestry.com is offering a series of grants to support the family history and archival community within Australia and New Zealand, They are offering the following:

  • 2 x Gold Grants up to the value of AUD$100,000
    These are for digitisation services to be awarded within Australia and New Zealand to assist with digitisation within the archival & family history community. Also included is five years of free Ancestry access. The individual grants have a maximum value of AUD$100,000 but can also cover works of any lesser amount up to that total figure. The grant will be for imaging of records only, meaning that the services provided are for scanning of paper or microform collections.
  • 2 x Silver Grants up to the value of AUD$25,000
    These grants will be used for digitisation services within Australia and New Zealand to assist with digitisation within the archival & family history community. Also included is five years of free Ancestry access. The individual grants have a maximum value of $25,000 AUD but can also cover works of any lesser amount up to that total figure. The grant will be for imaging of records only, meaning that the services provided are for scanning of paper or microform collections.
  • 1 x Bronze Grant up to the value of AUD$15,000
    This grant is for digitisation services to be awarded within Australia and New Zealand to assist with digitisation within the archival & family history community. Also included is five years of free Ancestry access. The individual grant has a maximum value of $15,000 AUD but can also cover works of any lesser amount up to that total figure.

It kind of goes without saying that most genealogy and historical societies and community groups need all the help they can get, So to be able to get any of these grants would be a huge boost for any group or society. So take a read below to find the answers to your questions, and keep in mind the date for submission …

The deadline for submissions is Saturday, 31 July 2021
now extended to Friday, 17 September 2021

HOW DO I APPLY?
Please send an email to jreeve@ancestry.com containing information on the collection and/or content you wish to see digitised. The more information the better but as a minimum please include;
– Collection Name
– Date Range
– Record Count / Image Count
– Existing Format (i.e. paper, volumes, microfiche)

IF SUCCESSFUL, DOES ANCESTRY TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE RECORDS?
No. Original record rights will remain with the organisation or entity providing the records. However, it’s important that you do have the necessary rights to share the records being submitted.

WHO WILL OWN THE DIGITAL IMAGES?
You as the provider, has ownership of the digital images.

WILL I GET A COPY OF THE DIGITAL IMAGES CREATED BY ANCESTRY?
You will be provided with a digital preservation copy of all images taken from the original records.

WHAT RECORDS ARE LIKELY TO HELP GET A SUCCESSFUL GRANT?
Ancestry’s focus is Family History. Therefore, records that are relevant to that endeavour are the most appropriate for this program. Ideally rich on details at an individual level – the records would cover a collection of individuals in some aspect and will therefore include information such as, but not limited to;

  • Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Date of Death
  • Location
  • Occupation
  • Relations
  • And so on…

I’M FROM A SMALL HISTORICAL SOCIETY, CAN I APPLY?
Yes, you can apply for any of the grants.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE AUD$15,000 GRANT?
It can be applied just like the other grants, or it can be applied to a philanthropic or important community objective – with the latter being the priority for this grant option. Preferential selection will go towards collections or projects that will assist the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander family history community.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ANCESTRY?
You retain the ownership of the originals and the digital images. Ancestry simply asks that you agree to allow them to publish the images in perpetuity and that you will not share those digital images outside the organisation for a period of 5 years.

GOT MORE QUERIES?
If you have any queries, please email Jason Reeve from Ancestry Australia at jreeve@ancestry.com.