RI Humanities

By

Note: This grant program is officially closed.

Grants in Response to the Impact of COVID-19

The Council is offering another round of project grants for up to $2,000 each. Applications are due April 1, 2021 by 5:00 pm EST, and grant-funded projects must conclude by September 15, 2021.

Available project grants: The Council will fund project grants that support individual scholars, film and other media makers, and cultural producers—as well as nonprofit humanities organizations—in the production of accessible projects that connect audiences with the public humanities in the age of social distancing. These projects may document and interpret the experience of the pandemic in Rhode Island, create or extend humanities-learning practices that have been amplified or emerged in response to the pandemic, or encourage audiences to explore topics relevant to social, cultural, and civic life in Rhode Island.

This funding has been provided to the Humanities Council by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the federal CARES Act.

All applications must be submitted using the Council’s online grant portal. The Humanities Council is committed to a short turnaround (approximately four weeks) for the review and approval of grant requests. If you have not previously received a grant from the Council, you will need to follow the steps provided to create an account. Past grantees may login using their existing credentials. See below for more details about eligibility, the review process, and the grant program timeline.

Questions? Contact Julia Renaud, Associate Director, Grants & Strategic Initiatives at juliarenaud@rihumanities.org.

Project Grants – Public Humanities in the Age of Social Distancing

Eligibility:

  • Individual scholars, film and other media makers, and cultural producers.
  • Nonprofit organizations who currently have a 501(c)3 or equivalent tax-exempt status. Fiscal sponsorship is accepted for nonprofit entities that do not have a 501(c)3 status. Nonprofit applicants must be based in Rhode Island.
  • You or your organization is not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from receiving grants from the RI Council for the Humanities.
  • Current Council grantees with an open major, mini, CARES Act general operating support, and/or Why It Matters grant are eligible for these CARES Act project grants. If you currently have a CARES Act project grant open with the Council, you are not eligible.

Exclusions/Restrictions:

  • Educational institutions are not eligible for support, including: public, private, parochial, and/or charter schools and colleges/universities.
  • In accordance with federal mandates, funds cannot support:
    • the promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view;
    • advocacy of a particular program of social or political action;
    • the promotion of specific public policies or legislation;
    • lobbying activities;
    • purchase of land or facilities, construction or renovation;
    • overlapping project costs with any other pending or approved application(s) for federal funding;
    • projects that fall outside of the humanities and empirically-based social science research or policy studies;
    • purchase of food or beverages, archival acquisitions, academic fees or other degree-related expenses, courses, foreign or non-economy travel, book publication costs, fundraising or for-profit activities, capital expenses, eliminating or reducing existent debt or endowment contributions, prizes and awards, the regranting of funds, private and non-ADA accessible events/programs.
  • Matching funds are not required for this grant opportunity.

Review and Award Criteria:

  • Applications will be evaluated in light of:
    • the demand & availability of funding;
    • the project’s clarity, scope, and impact/relevance to exploring how the public humanities can address challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Requests are capped at $2,000.

Timeline:

  • Thursday, April 1, 2021 by 5:00 pm EST: Applications due via online grant portal.
  • Early May 2021: Award decisions announced
  • Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021: All grant-funded projects must be concluded
  • Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021: Required final reports due

 

 

 

Who We Are:
The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities seeds, supports, and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders. As the only dedicated source of funding for public humanities in Rhode Island, we are proud to support museums, libraries, historic sites, schools, preservation and historical societies, community and cultural organizations, individual researchers and documentary filmmakers to bring Rhode Island’s stories to life and to amplify the state’s many diverse voices.

The Humanities Council was established in 1973 as the independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). A private nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, the Council is supported by federal funds from NEH as well as by individuals, corporations, and foundations. We are one of 56 humanities councils in every state and U.S. territory.

Why the Humanities Matter:
Cultural participation through the humanities contributes to greater connection between people, deeper understanding of the past and why it matters, and enhances the quality of the places we live, work, and explore. These factors are essential for civic health, economic development, and a stronger democracy.