Funding for student activities in historic preservation in the form of scholarships is offered by many federal agencies. The National Park Service has thousands of opportunities available to students, either placing them at national parks or helping them to find work through other agencies and organizations. Some of these jobs involve scholarships. The NPS also has a Cultural Resources Diversity Program that offers many different scholarship opportunities for minority graduate and undergraduate students. The National Trust for Historic Preservation also lists numerous scholarships.
A paid internship offers a student a chance to earn a stipend at the same time that he is working in a program of educational interest to him. A student can also add an internship to her resume, which will be an added attraction to future employers. Internships can be found at all levels of historic preservation -- national, state and local. At the national level, see the Cultural Resources Diversity Program at NPS. It has a list of student internships available at other organizations. PreserveNet has a list of paid preservation internships on its website (see Resources), mostly located on the east coast of the United States. Check with your state's department of historic preservation to find internships available at the state level.
The Cultural Resources Diversity Program lists a number of fellowships offered to undergraduate and graduate students. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a list of fellowships and scholarships available in many different areas of the government, and some of these are in the area of historical preservation. The Library of Congress offers fellowships, as does the Smithsonian Institute. Ask your college professors about fellowships as they may be aware of these opportunities.
Each state has a State Historic Preservation Office, which you can find through the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers webpage (see Resources). Many counties and cities also have historic preservation councils or advisory boards. Some local governments have been recognized as strong on historic preservation and are denoted as a Certified Local Government. CLGs act to locate local landmarks and enforce preservation ordinances. Grants and funding are available through CLGs as well.