The Center provides opportunities for financial support to faculty who are engaged in individual research that requires the purchase, lease or rental of materials directly relating to their research projects. Examples of such materials would include (but are not limited to) purchase or rental of photographs or photographic slides; the purchase or rental of microfilm, the rental of a microfilm reader; access to relevant proprietary electronic databases, web archives, or internet directories for a specified period of time; photocopies of rare documents, artifacts or monographs owned by museums or libraries.

The number of research materials grants awarded each year is determined by the amount of funds available in that year, and the number and size of requests received. Proposals for funding should include a narrative describing the purpose of the materials and their relevance for the project being undertaken. In addition to the standard application form, a detailed budget should also be submitted.