The Pratt Museum received an early Christmas present Monday when the National Endowment for the Arts announced it awarded Homer's community museum a $750,000 challenge grant.

The grant comes on top of earlier grants from the Paul Allen Foundation to develop its capital campaign for a proposed expansion and a Museums for America grant to support exhibit planning. Unlike those grants, the NEH funds go directly toward capital improvements.

"We've been turning cartwheels at the Pratt," said Diane Converse, Pratt director and chief executive officer. "This award provides incredible momentum as we embark on the lead gift phase of the largest capital campaign the Pratt has ever undertaken."

To celebrate the grant, the museum holds a reception from noon-1:30 p.m. Jan. 6.

To receive the grant, the Pratt must match the $750,000 3-to-1, or raise $2.250 million in nonfederal dollars. If it meets the challenge, it will raise or receive $3 million total. Support can come from the state, the city of Homer, private donors and foundations.

"The receipt of this highly competitive grant is a vote of confidence in our award-winning museum," Rep. Paul Seaton said. "It will make advocating for the museum expansion project to other potential donors that much easier."

The Pratt has been planning a museum expansion. That expansion will complete phase 2 of its main exhibit, "Kachemak Bay: An Exploration of People and Place." An architect's conceptual plan will be developed next year. The museum scaled back its vision to a more affordable project and is looking at a $7.5-8.5 million expansion.

The NEH grant is to be used to expand, preserve, interpret and share the Pratt humanities collections. The museum expansion will provide for good stewardship of the collection, expand the research and conservation area, complete phase 2 of the exhibit and expand the educational program, including a dedicated classroom for the 4,000 students who visit the Pratt yearly.

"The challenge portion of this grant will be an opportunity to highlight the importance of the Pratt's historical and cultural collections, the objects most widely accessed by the community, researchers and scholars," said Michele Miller, Pratt development director. "The Pratt Museum is ready to meet this challenge."

It's already almost a third there. As part of its initial capital campaign, the Pratt has raised $725,000 in pledges and contributions from private donors, Miller said.

The Pratt was one of 20 out of 113 candidate institutions to receive an NEA challenge grant this year, and only the second Alaska museum after the Anchorage Museum to receive such a grant.

"This vote of confidence in the Pratt from the nation's leading humanities institution underscores the museum's commitment to meaningful community engagement and forward thinking," Converse said.

Seaton praised the Pratt for the NEH award.

"Congratulations to the Pratt staff and board and to the community for their continued support in making the Pratt Museum a world class institution."

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com.