African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund’s Preserving Black Churches Project

(January 2024)

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SSAAM has been awarded an $50,000 National Grant, which will partially support will contribute to the success of our "We Shall Not Be Moved - Celebrating the Legacy of Mt. Zion AME Church" project contributing to the broader narrative of African American cultural heritage.

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Made possible by funds from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund’s Preserving Black Churches project courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission

(October 2023)

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SSAAM has been awarded an $74,000 Cultural & Heritage Commission Historic Preservation Grant, which will fund the creation of plans to restore and protect the True Farmstead (Reasoner/True House), a historically African American family farmstead in Skillman, NJ.

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Made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission and NJ Historic Trust.

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The Joyce and Seward Johnson Foundation

(October 2023)

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SSAAM has been awarded an $5,000 Grant, which will support the mission, programming and future development of the only museum in central New Jersey to tell the story of African Americans from the transatlantic slave trade to the present day.

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Made possible by funds from The Joyce and Seward Johnson Foundation.

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Princeton Area Community Foundation

(August 2023)

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SSAAM has been awarded an $50,000 Grant, which will support the mission, programming and future development of the only museum in central New Jersey to tell the story of African Americans from the transatlantic slave trade to the present day.

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Made possible by funds from the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation.

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Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission and New Jersey State Council on the Arts

(February 2023)

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SSAAM has been awarded an $18,000 Local Arts Project Grant, which will partially support our Truehart Sourland Journals children's book project.

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Made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

 

Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission and New Jersey Historical Commission

(February 2023)

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SSAAM has been awarded a $15,000 County Historic Partnership Grant for general operating support.

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Made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey Historical Commission.

 

Mellon Foundation

(December 2022)

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SSAAM has been awarded a $600,000 Mellon Foundation grant for 2023 and 2024. The two-year grant will support organization capacity-building, interpretation of historic sites, and cultural education programming at the only museum in central New Jersey to tell the story of African Americans from the transatlantic slave trade to the present day. With this funding from the Mellon Foundation, we will be able to expand staffing, continue to develop our heritage garden at the True Farmstead (Reasoner/True House), and transform the farmhouse into a vibrant exhibition and education space.

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Thank you, Mellon Foundation, for your support!

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New Jersey Historic Trust Grant

(October 2022)

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Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) and the Sourland Conservancy are pleased to announce that the two organizations’ jointly-owned historic True Farmstead (Reasoner/True House) on Hollow Road in Skillman will receive $75,000 from the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund for the creation of a historic site project plan.

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Thank you to the NJHT and Garden State Preservation trust!

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Somerset County Land Acquisition Grant

(September 2022)

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The True Farmstead (Reasoner/True House) will be Somerset County's first beneficiary of a new Preservation Plan integrating open space, farmland, and historic preservation - the first of its kind in the nation.

 

Thank you, Somerset County, for your generous and ongoing support of SSAAM!

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New Jersey Council for the Humanities Action Grant

(July 2022)

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SSAAM was awarded a $20,000 Action Grant to create the "Truehart Sourland Journals," a series of youth historical fiction books that will provide a unique firsthand account of life through the lens of African American children who grew up in the Sourland Mountain region of central New Jersey.

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This project was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

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New Jersey Historical Commission Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) Grant

(March 2022)

 

SSAAM has been accepted into the NJ Historical Commission's inaugural cohort of DEAI grant recipients, receiving a grant of $20,000 for DEAI consulting services and learning opportunities for the museum and greater community.

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Thank you to the Commission for this support.

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Princeton Area Community Foundation Bunbury Grant

(December 2021)

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SSAAM has been awarded a Bunbury Fund grant in the amount of $150,000 (plus 15% for operating expenses) for organization capacity-building. Some of the capacity-building endeavors this grant will support include consulting services for our capital campaign and technology to support our programs and the work of our staff.

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We are deeply grateful to the Bunbury Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation for this support.

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Somerset County Historic Preservation Program Grant

(March 2021)

 

On Tuesday, March 14, Somerset County Commissioner Melanie Marano presented a ceremonial check in the amount of $20,808 to SSAAM’s Board President, John B. Buck. This check represents our Somerset County Historic Preservation Program Grant award for general operating support.

 

SSAAM is very grateful for this grant award, which is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey Historical Commission.

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Somerset County History Partnership Program Grant

(February 2021)

 

Somerset County awarded SSAAM a County History Partnership Program Grant, in the amount of $20,808, to fund General Operating support for calendar year 2021. This grant award is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey Historical Commission.

 

Somerset County has supported SSAAM from the very beginning of our organization in 2016. We greatly appreciate the County’s generous grant awards, ongoing encouragement, and confidence in our ability to achieve our mission.

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New Jersey Council for the Humanities Covid-19 Response Grant

(2020)

 

SSAAM received a $5,000 COVID-19 Response Grant for general operating support from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities​ This critical funding will help us continue to achieve our mission to tell the story of the unique culture, experiences, and contributions of the African American community of the Sourland Mountain region of central New Jersey.

 

As part of this grant, SSAAM produced virtual tour video of the Mt. Zion AME church on Hollow Rd, created by Jason Buck & Akindu Dassanayake.

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Somerset County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland & Historic Preservation Trust Fund/

Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission Grant

(October 2019)

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SSAAM received the total amount of our request, $326,461, to complete renovations on the historic Mt. Zion AME Church. This grant from the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission will fund architectural and engineering work and additional renovations to roof, porch, windows, HVAC system and electrical work.

 

A recipient of Somerset County’s 2016 Historic Preservation Grant and a 2018 New Jersey Historic Trust/1772 Foundation Grant, SSAAM, in partnership with the Sourland Conservancy, has completed many structural, masonry and siding renovations already at the AME Church. In addition, grant funds were used to fund vision planning, writing of a historic register nomination and some demolition and site work.

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New Jersey Historic Trust & 1772 Grant Foundation Grant

(2018)

 

SSAAM was awarded a grant in the amount of $15,000 for structural, masonry and siding repairs to the historic Mt. Zion AME Church.

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Somerset County Historic Preservation Grant

(2016)

 

The Sourland Conservancy received a 2016 Historic Preservation Grant from Somerset County to create a Preservation and Vision Plan, write a National Register Nomination and begin building and grants work.

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New Jersey Council for the Humanities Grant

(2016)

 

SSAAM received funding from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities to create an educational curriculum and related programming, museum exhibits, and a website for the organization.