General Requirements
All projects must include data of a genealogical nature and must concern primarily persons who resided in Georgia prior to 1851. The Foundation will fund projects that include records through 1920, but may consider funding projects that are later than this date if it enables the researcher to include an intact set of records. The value of having a single reference on a particular subject takes precedence over a specific cut-off year.
The final result of the project should be a publication and a copy of the project in final form should be placed with the Georgia Archives as a permanent record.
Grants
Grants are for the publication of genealogically significant Georgia records, public or private, that document those who resided in Georgia prior to 1851. Preferential consideration is given to pre-1851 Georgia colonial, state, county, and city records. Records produced after 1851 will still qualify for a grant as long as they contain information about those who lived in the state prior to 1851.
To be considered for a grant, a project should result in either a print or electronic publication of a discrete group of original or microfilmed Georgia records, whether abstracted, extracted, transcribed, or scanned. Records may be either public, such as county and state records, or private, such as church minutes and cemetery records.
Grant Applicants
An individual, a group of individuals, or a reputable organization may apply for a grant.
- Individuals are limited to two grants per calendar year. This limit may be waived on a grant by grant basis by a unanimous vote of the Trustees.
- Genealogical Societies and organizations are not limited to a specific number of grants per calendar year.
Types of Grants
- Publication Grant, also referred to as a Full Grant is intended to defray a significant portion of the cost of publishing in print or electronic format. It is not intended to cover the entire project cost.
- Recipients of full grants are allowed to copyright the publication and to receive profits from it.
- The Recipient must acknowledge the use of the grant from the R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation in the publication.
- The Foundation will purchase copies of the publication for distribution to approved libraries and will provide the recipient with mailing labels, mailers, and copies of a letter to be included with the mailing. The recipient will be reimbursed for shipping and mailing costs.
- Book Purchase Grant: An author may request that the Foundation purchase copies of his or her recently published, hard-bound, privately funded book for distribution to the Foundation’s list of approved libraries.
- Books must meet the Foundation’s guidelines for publications.
- Author should send one copy of the publication with a cover letter and promotional materials to the R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
- If approved, The Foundation will provide the recipient with mailing labels, mailers, and copies of a letter to be included with the mailing. The recipient will be reimbursed for shipping and mailing costs.
- Other Project Requests. The Foundation will consider any grant request that is consistent with its mission of making genealogically significant records of early Georgians (i.e. those who lived in Georgia prior to 1851) available to the public. These types of requests may include, but are not limited to:
- Organizations requesting funding for an intern to process original records for digitization.
- Those who have published a book in e-format and wish to convert it to a hard bound volume for distribution to libraries.
Ineligible Projects
The Foundation does not provide grants for the following types of projects:
- Travel costs
- Records that apply only to a specific family or surname.
- Church and county histories. However, records, such as minute books of churches and official county records are eligible and encouraged.
- Historical books about towns, buildings, furniture, and various art forms
- Publication of census records
- Family histories and Journals