In its 34th year, the federal tax credit program approved $3.42 billion in the rehabilitation of historic buildings, created 41,641 new jobs, and created or renovated 13,273 housing units.

Unfortunately, funding for bricks and mortar is often the hardest to find.  But there are a few resources available.

Preservation NC awards one Stedman Incentive Grant annually to a nonprofit organization. Here's a description of the most recent winner: http://www.presnc.org/Preservation-NC-Awards/Stedman-Grant-Lewisville. Applications for 2010 will be available in the spring. Check PreservationNC.org for updates.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation also has a few small grant programs and a helpful resource page: http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/find-funding/nonprofit-public-funding.html

The NC Center for Nonprofits is another good resource for finding grants: www.ncnonprofits.org

The Marion Stedman Covington Foundation also awards grants for rehabilition to federally tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations.  Visit their website for more information:  http://www.mscovingtonfoundation.org/guidelines.php

Federal energy tax credits can help make efficiency upgrades more affordable for owners of older homes too. Learn more about what can qualify.

The rehabilitation of a historic building can be extremely costly, deterring some from embarking on such a project. Historic tax credits have the ability to alleviate much of that cost for qualifying structures. In this session from the 2008 Preservation NC Annual Conference, Tara Sherbert, of Sherbert Consulting in Charlotte, explains the Federal and State tax credits currently available for income-producing historic structures.

The catalytic effect of historic rehabilitation in the state and the multiplied returns to the North Carolina economy has meant over $1.4 billion in revenues, 14,100 jobs and $438 million in additional employee compensation.

The North Carolina “mills bill,” prompted by the closure of many of the state's textile, tobacco and furniture plants , provides terrific incentives for restoring and reusing large vacant industrial, agricultural, and utilities buildings. State tax credits are available for the rehabilitation of income- and non-income-producing historic mill properties.

Industrial Properties Rehabilitation Case Studies (PNC)

Federal and state tax credit programs offer a terrific incentive to taxpayers who rehabilitate historic buildings for their own homes or for income-producing properties.