Submission deadline extended for $200,000 matching grant giveaway rescuing ailing WW1 memorials

By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, U.S. World War One Centennial Commission

The 100 Cities / 100 Memorial matching grant challenge has been received with genuine excitement by Veterans Service Organizations, civic groups and many others who have contacted us with great enthusiasm for participating in the program.

Along with the outpouring of interest has come a very consistent concern about the short time available for participants to identify, plan, organize and submit projects for matching grant consideration. The consistent request for more time to ID and prep project submissions makes tremendous sense to the program sponsors, the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

In response the program is happy to announce that it is extending the submission deadline from November 11, 2016, until June 15, 2017 (midnight EDT).

The new schedule is based on participant feedback. In this way, participants will have enough time to search out their local WWI memorials, identify who is responsible for the memorial, get permission from the local controlling authority to do the project, make an assessment and plan for a restoration, then submit their concept and plan for a matching grant consideration.

100 Cities / 100 Memorials will announce the selected matching grants by Veterans Day 2017 (11/11/2017), giving the program selectees one year to complete their restorations before the restoration completion deadline still scheduled on the centennial anniversary of Armistice day 11/11/2018..