The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission announced on Friday that it has awarded nearly $4 million in Cultural and Historical Support Grants to 177 museums and official county historical societies from 59 Pennsylvania counties, including several organizations in Northwest Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

In Northwest Philadelphia, the grantees are the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, $15,000; Cliveden of the National Trust Inc. (also known as the Benjamin Chew House, at 6401 Germantown Ave.), $25,000; Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc., 200 W. Tulpehocken St. in West Germantown, $5,000; the Germantown Historical Society, $8,000; Historic Rittenhousetown Inc., $17,000; the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia, in Mt. Airy, $15,000; and the Wyck Association, which oversees the Wyck Historic House and Garden in Germantown, $10,000.

In Montgomery County, the grantees include the Historical Society of Montgomery County, $9,000; and the National Audubon Society Inc., $30,000.

The goal of the Cultural and Historical Support Grant program is to strengthen Pennsylvania’s museum community by supporting the general operations of eligible museums and official county historical societies that are not supported by other state agency funding programs. An eligible museum must have an annual operating budget exceeding $100,000 (excluding capital and in-kind services) and at least one full-time professional staff person (or approved equivalent).

Grants are awarded on a formula based on a percentage of the organization’s annual operating budget with a maximum grant of $50,000 and a minimum grant of $4,000.