Funds available to Indiana nonprofits in 2017 for humanities-based programs

Indiana nonprofits are encouraged to apply for grants in 2017 for projects that seek to engage the public in the humanities or provide historic preservation education. Through its annual grant programs—Humanities Initiative Grants and Historic Preservation Education Grants—Indiana Humanities funds a variety of programs across the state each year. In 2017, Indiana Humanities will also provide INcommon grants for projects that explore the social, economic, cultural and racial issues that confront Indiana communities as part of a special National Endowment for the Humanities initiative.

Humanities Initiative Grants of up to $2,000 are awarded twice a year to nonprofit organizations for public humanities programs such as town hall meetings, workshops, lectures, exhibits, and reading and discussion programs. Projects must contain a strong focus on the humanities, include humanities scholars in project planning and implementation and be intended for a public or school audience. The 2017 application deadlines are Jan. 30 and July 31.

In 2016, Indiana Humanities awarded nearly $60,000 in Humanities Initiative Grants to 33 nonprofit organizations. Funded projects included an accessibility app for the hearing impaired, a colloquium on the life of Abraham Lincoln, an archaeology experience for students, and many guest lectures and speakers. For a full list of awardees, guidelines and applications, visit www.IndianaHumanities.org/grants.

Historic Preservation Education Grants of up to $2,500 are awarded to nonprofit organizations for educational programs and projects related to historic structures in Indiana. Eligible projects include lectures, workshops, conferences, the production of audiovisual materials and heritage or cultural tourism programs, as well as educational print materials such as walking tour brochures, guides to historic homes, and curriculum units for K-12 classrooms. The grant is sponsored jointly by Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Humanities. There is a mandatory prospectus deadline of Feb. 27 and an application deadline of April 17.

Indiana Humanities and Indiana Landmarks have been partnering on the HPEG opportunity for more than 20 years. In 2016, the grants provided 10 organizations with nearly $18,000 to fund a variety of projects including several walking tours, an educational video for the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, and brochures focused on one-room schoolhouses in Carroll County. For a full list of awardees, guidelines and applications, visit www.IndianaHumanities.org/grants.

INcommon Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded as part of the NEH’s Humanities and the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity Initiative. INcommon grants will support public programs that explore the social, economic, cultural and racial issues that confront Indiana communities. Eligible programs include those that use humanities ideas, readings and scholars to spark in-depth conversation, insight and consideration of others’ points of view. The application deadline is Jan. 20, 2017.

The NEH’s Humanities and the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity in the United States initiative aims to raise vigorous and consequential public discussion of the persistent social, economic, cultural and racial issues that divide our communities. As the NEH notes, the humanities have the capacity to connect the present to the past and to the ways in which our history has shaped our understandings, predilections, and divisions; the humanities offer multiple avenues for the clarification and articulation of both our shared and conflicting values and principles; and the humanities demonstrate the power of stories to help us know ourselves in deeper ways and to reimagine our relationships.

Funding for Indiana Humanities’ grant programs is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, contact George Hanlin at 800.675.8897 or ghanlin@indianahumanities.org.