Woodmere filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, and his administration on Tuesday, seeking to reclaim $750,000 in grant money the Trump administration canceled in March.

Woodmere applied for a grant from the IMLS’ Save America’s Treasures program and received the money in autumn 2024.

According to William Valerio, the museum’s director and CEO, the grant money was for the preservation of historic artwork and “specifically focused on conservation, collection, care, digitization, and public access of collections.”

Valerio told the Local, “The goal is to protect American culture and preserve American culture for future generations. … Art needs to be cleaned and repaired over time. Certain parts of the collection require certain kinds of case and storage equipment to store them safely and to make sure they’re preserved for future generations. And so part of the grant was to purchase flat files (storage for artworks).”

In March, Trump targeted IMLS with an executive order, placing their staff on leave and canceling grants, including the money intended for Woodmere.

“I believe in my heart, and with the smallest bones in my body, that we know Woodmere’s collection is one of the great collections of American art, and that preserving it for future generations is in the interest of every citizen of the country,” Valerio said.

As part of the grant agreement, Woodmere was required to raise funds, matching the $750,000 award. They would then be reimbursed for funds spent on contracts and preservation efforts. According to Valerio, around $185,000 had been paid to Woodmere by IMLS before the funds were cut off.

Valerio said, “Two other organizations, the Atwater Kent Museum … and Historic Germantown, also had grants from the Save America’s Treasures program. And while those grants were initially terminated by the administration, those organizations also got letters saying ‘Your grant has been reinstated.’”

He added, “So we thought, ‘Oh, well, maybe that’ll happen with our grant.’ We made a series of inquiries, in polite ways, and having really got nowhere, with nobody really being able to help us or get any answers here, we felt that we had exhausted all nonlitigious avenues.”

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Woodmere is seeking the remaining nearly $565,000 originally awarded in the grant.

While Valerio is grateful for the money that was reimbursed, it only accounts for funds already expended up to the day the contract was terminated, not accounting for contracts that were underway.

“I plan the work that we have to do at Woodmere. I only make plans when I know I have the funds to undertake those activities,” Valerio said. “I’ll build my next year’s budget, knowing that I have a signed contract.”

Prior to this case, Valerio never worried that funds suddenly would be revoked. “There was no question in my mind about that with regard to any government agency that I’ve ever worked with,” Valerio added.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Valerio does not know the timeline for how it will progress.

“We would like this to be resolved in a speedy way,” he said.

Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@chestnuthilllocal.com

This story was updated on Sept. 8, to  simplify the lede