The Delaware Preservation Fund (formally the First State Preservation Fund) was founded as a subsidiary corporation by Preservation Delaware in December of 2000. Seed money for the Delaware Preservation Fund (DPF) was generated through the generosity of the General Assembly of the State of Delaware and the Longwood and Welfare Foundations.

The mission of the Delaware Preservation Fund is to preserve Delaware's architectural heritage through the use of low interest loans, small grants, easements and covenants, and the donation/purchase/resale of historic properties. There are many possible uses of Preservation Fund dollars:

One is to offer loans to purchasers of historic buildings which, due to their current condition, do not qualify for conventional loans, or to offer lower interest rates in order to encourage preservation work.

Repayments and interest on the loans replenish the Preservation Fund. Revolving Funds across the country also accept gifts of real estate. When the Fund receives a gift of an historic building and resells it to a renovator, the income increases the value of the Preservation Fund as well as putting a part of our heritage into the hands of a concerned owner.

The Preservation Fund also is empowered to utilize seed capital for the acquisition of endangered historic buildings with sale of the property to an owner who is dedicated to the building's restoration and maintenance. The proceeds from the sale are returned to the fund to be revolved again on another building. One frequently used technique is to obtain, through gift or purchase, a time-limited option to sell the building. The Preservation Fund will then market the building, often to its own list of interested historic house buffs.

Preservation Funds have been successful in both rural and urban settings, saving farmhouses or other isolated resources as well as rescuing one or two properties on a city block, which then becomes a catalyst for renovations in an entire neighborhood.

The Delaware Preservation Fund has four major components:

• Mini Grants for preservation projects
  
• Low Interest Loans to assist properties that do not qualify for conventional loans or to encourage preservation projects
  
• Donation/Acquisition/Resale Program for receiving optioning or purchasing property for resale
  
• Easements accepted to protect historic properties
  
  The Delaware Preservation Fund has presented solutions to Delaware citizens by providing funding and offering assistance in the protection of their historic resources' Now which of our online programs can be of assistance to you?

• DPF Board of Directors
  
  
• Grant Fund Guidelines and Application
  
  
• Low Interest Loan Guidelines and Application
  
  
• Easement/Donation/Resale Program and Easement Organization Listing

Contact Information

Our mailing address is P.O Box 632, Montchanin, DE 19710
Phone: (302) 832-0300
Fax: (302) 832-0139
Email: dpf@dca.net