Every organization has a story worth keeping. But for small, grassroots and nonprofit groups, the cost and complexity of digital preservation can get in the way. That’s the gap Byte4Byte was built to close.
Byte4Byte is Permanent’s grant program for nonprofit organizations. It gives partners 100GB of free storage to help them preserve their own history, with additional intern support available for organizations that need it. Applications are reviewed quarterly, so there’s always an opportunity to join that works for you and your schedule.
What Byte4Byte Offers
Byte4Byte exists because preservation shouldn’t be reserved for organizations with big budgets. Our grantees get:
- 100GB of storage, enough room for photos, documents, oral histories, and more
- Intern support for organizations, a limited amount available each year. This is a separate application, and support is awarded based on financial need and available resources, not offered automatically to every partner
- A community of peer organizations doing similar work across the country
You don’t need archival training to apply. You just need materials worth preserving and a story worth telling.
Five Archives Worth a Visit
Our Byte4Byte partners come from every corner of community life: family history, philanthropy, local government, libraries, and advocacy. Here are five active partners who have put in the work to build out their public archives.
The National Grigsby Preservation Foundation Archive
This archive traces the Grigsby family across more than 400 years of American history, from colonial Virginia to the present. The Foundation also supports DNA testing to help Grigsby descendants, including African American and Native American descendants, find their place in this larger story.
The Philanthropy Southwest Archive
Founded in 1949, Philanthropy Southwest is one of the oldest grantmaker associations in the country. Its archive preserves the history of an organization built on the idea that philanthropy works best when done together.
The Italian American Heritage Foundation Archive
Founded in 1975 as the Italian American Bicentennial Association, this organization has spent decades documenting community life in Santa Clara County. Its digitization project, supported by a local historic grant, preserves photos and records that might otherwise have been lost.
The Derby Neck Library Association Archive
Founded in 1897 with support from industrialist Wilbur Fisk Osborne, and later Andrew Carnegie, the Derby Neck Library in Connecticut has a history as rich as its collection. Its archive holds documents relating to the founders, the library association, and the wider Lower Naugatuck Valley.
The Inside Books Project Archive
Inside Books Project is a books-to-prisons collective based in Austin, Texas. Since 1998, incarcerated patrons have sent the group art, poetry, and letters of thanks. The archive preserves that material alongside records of censorship practices within the Texas prison system, giving voice to people whose stories are often left out of the historical record.
Each of these archives looks different. But they all share something: a community that decided their story mattered enough to preserve.
Is Byte4Byte Right for Your Organization?
If your nonprofit organization has a history worth preserving and the cost of doing it well has been holding you back, Byte4Byte might be a good fit. It’s built for groups without a preservation budget or a dedicated archivist, and it grows alongside your organization as your archive does.
Applications are reviewed quarterly, so there’s no need to wait for a specific date on the calendar. Apply for Byte4Byte, or make a donation to support a current partner’s work.
Welcoming 13 New Organizations
We’re also excited to share that so far in 2026, we’ve accepted 13 new organizations into the Byte4Byte program:
- Investigative Project on Race and Equity
- Institute of Public Scholarship
- The Heritage Gateway Foundation
- Ranger College Library Archive
- Jackson County Historical Society
- BIPOC Foodways Alliance
- Shrewsbury Historical Society
- Scriptorium Press Inc., Arthuriana
- Your Heritage Matters
- Badge Of Pride
- Black in Appalachia
- Oakwood University
- Tor House Bookstore
We’re excited to see the stories they preserve, and we hope you’ll follow along as their archives grow.
