Deadline: 9-Aug-23
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Public Programs is accepting applications for the Public Humanities Projects program.
This program supports projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences through in-person, hybrid, or virtual programming. Projects must engage humanities scholarship to analyze significant themes in disciplines such as history, literature, ethics, and art history.
NEH encourages applications from small and mid-sized organizations. NEH likewise welcomes humanities projects tailored to specific groups, such as families, youth (including K-12 students in informal educational settings), underserved communities, and veterans.
Public Humanities Projects must:
- be grounded in sound humanities scholarship
- analyze the underlying themes and ideas to deepen public understanding of the humanities
- involve humanities scholars from outside the applicant organization and involve them in all phases of the project
- attract a broad public audience or target a particular underserved group
- offer engaging content approached through an appropriate variety of perspectives
- encourage dialogue and the exchange of ideas
Program Categories
- This program supports projects in three categories: Exhibitions6T (permanent, temporary, or traveling); interpretive programs at Historic Places; and Humanities Discussions.
- Exhibitions: The Exhibitions category supports the creation of permanent exhibitions (on view for at least three years), single-site temporary exhibitions (open to the public for a minimum of two months), and traveling exhibitions that will be available to public audiences in at least two venues in the United States (including the originating location).
- Historic Places: The Historic Places category supports long-term interpretive programs for historic sites, houses, neighborhoods, and regions that are intended to be presented to the public for at least three years. Such projects might include living history presentations, guided tours, exhibitions, and public programs.
- Humanities Discussions: The Humanities Discussions category supports series of public programs related to your organization’s humanities focus and resources, such as symposiums, lecture series, reading and discussion programs, analytical discussions of museum collections or theater/musical performances, lifelong learning programs, or other methods of face-to-face audience engagement or informal education. The proposed series must include at least ten in-person, virtual, or hybrid programs and occur over a period of three months to two years.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $2,735,000
- Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
- Period of performance
- The period of performance is up to 24 months for Planning projects and 12 to 48 months for Implementation projects.
- If you apply to the August 2023 deadline, you may request a period of performance start date between May 1, 2024, and November 1, 2024.
- If you apply to the January 2024 deadline, you may request a period of performance start date between September 1, 2024, and March 1, 2025.
Activities
- Awards may support activities such as:
- meetings with humanities scholars and other content advisers, program partners, audience representatives, and consultants (e.g., education and public program specialists; historic site, interpretive, or cultural tourism experts; writers; media producers; or digital designers)
- research including travel to archives, collections, sites, or other resources
- development and production of program or discussion guides, exhibition labels, brochures, digital assets, publications, or other interpretive material
- design of the interpretive formats
- planning and presentation of public programs and related publicity
- evaluation of the project’s impact
- planning and conducting project-specific training for docents, discussion coordinators, or other interpretive leaders
- development, production, and publication of curriculum guides, catalogs, and other materials for teachers and students
- exhibition design and fabrication, crating, and shipping
- conservation treatments of objects, not to exceed 15% of the award
- development and construction of interactive components
- publicity expenses.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types:
- a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
- a state or local government or one of their agencies
- a federally recognized Native American Tribal government
- If your organization is eligible, you may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. If NEH selects your proposal for funding, you will be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible for the award
For more information, visit Grants.gov.