Grant Details

The Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF) grants program provides funds to help local governments establish records management programs or develop new program components. The LGRMIF, created in 1989, is derived from fees collected by county clerks and the New York City Register for the recording of selected documents and for the assignment by county clerks of index numbers for certain court cases.

Eligible project categories include: 

• Disaster Management - Disaster Management supports projects to develop, test, and implement disaster and business recovery plans and systems to protect local government archival and vital records. Projects under this category must address both hardcopy and electronic records systems.
• Inactive Records - Inactive Records supports projects to plan, develop, or improve the management of records during the inactive phase of their life cycle. Inactive records are records that are used infrequently but must be retained because their retention periods have not yet expired. This category also includes projects for governments to conduct records inventories and surveys to determine what records they have, identify obsolete records, improve how they organize and control records, and, generally, chart a course for the future of their records management programs. Inventory and Planning projects frequently focus on a backlog of inactive records, although they may also include active records.
• Historical Records - Historical Records supports projects to asses and improve access to archival records worthy of permanent preservation and special care. Funds cannot be used to care for published materials, which include newspapers (including clippings), books, magazines, and published maps.
  • This category also supports projects that propose to use local government records as teaching tools in the community and in the classroom. Educational Uses projects promote the management of local government records and increase public awareness of the educational and historical value of these records.
• Files Management - Files management supports the systematic control of active files, preferably beginning at the point when the files are created. Active files can be paper, electronic, or micrographic. If files are managed well when they are active, managing them as inactive files will be easier.
• Document Conversion and Access - Document Conversion and Access supports projects to convert records to another format through the use of microfilming or imaging, or a combination of these. This category now also includes GIS and records system implementation projects that establish or enhance the management of records. 

In 2023, funding is available in three types of programs: 

1. Individual Grants - Individual grants involve a single local government, a single volunteer fire company, or a single voluntary ambulance service.
2. Shared Services Grants - Shared Services Grants involve two or more local governments working together, with one government acting as the lead.
3. Disaster Recovery Grants: - Assist local governments after a disaster involving records occurs.
4. NYC Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) Grants - The departments of New York City apply through the standard application process for up to $1,000,000 annually. As part of this allowance, DORIS, which directly administers LGRMIF grants to New York City departments, is also eligible for a grant of up to $200,000 to support the administration of these grants and may also apply for a grant to address its own archives and records management issues.

NOTE: The purpose of LGRMIF grants is not to support local government records management programs indefinitely. Local governments are expected to assume primary responsibility for ongoing support of their programs by providing the resources to manage their records on a continuing basis.