The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) supports the preservation of American films that represent significant cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance, ensuring they remain accessible for future generations. Through funding and partnership, the NFPF aids archives, libraries, museums, universities, and other public institutions in safeguarding these films, which might otherwise deteriorate and be lost.
The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) is dedicated to helping archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and universities preserve and provide access to American films that risk being lost without public support. The foundation has supported 337 organizations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico since 1998, enabling preserved films to be used in education and shared through screenings, exhibits, DVDs, television broadcasts, and the Internet. Funded by The Library of Congress Sound Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act of 2016 and contributions from the Library of Congress and public-spirited donors, the NFPF offers preservation grants for American orphan films of historic and cultural significance. These include Basic Preservation Grants for most institutions, larger Matching Grants for more extensive projects requiring recipients to match a portion of the total cost, and Avant-Garde Masters Grants in partnership with The Film Foundation, focusing on the preservation of significant examples of America's avant-garde film heritage, supported by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. The Avant-Garde Masters Grants aim to preserve films that are important for the development or understanding of avant-garde cinema in the United States. Projects for films made within the last twenty years are ineligible, emphasizing the preservation of works that have significantly contributed to American experimental film or that can enhance the understanding of avant-garde film history. Funding ranges from $5,000 to $50,000 per project.