Advancing Racial Equity Collection Development Grant

Goals and Timeline

Libraries, schools, universities and nonprofit organizations will be invited to apply to Indiana Humanities for funds to add digital or physical resources featuring diverse perspectives and addressing topics of racial injustice, race-related issues and the Black experience in Indiana and beyond to their circulating collections. 

In 2020 and 2021, Lilly Endowment Inc. approved Indiana Humanities’ requests for funding to create a grant program which addressed the increased demand on libraries for materials on the subject of racial equity following the murder of George Floyd and ensuing protests. The grant program continues today to support Hoosiers’ access to materials that reflect the diversity of Indiana’s communities. 

These grants of up to $1,000 can be used to add digital or physical resources (including books, films or other materials) that address racial injustice, race-related issues and the Black experience through a humanities lens. At the discretion of grantees, materials can be selected from among the 400+ titles on a list curated by librarians with input from humanities scholars. 

Public libraries, including those within prisons, community centers and schools, are encouraged to apply. Other Indiana tax-exempt organizations, such as senior citizens centers or community centers, may apply but must be able to demonstrate in their application how materials will circulate for free in their local communities. These funds may not be used to purchase books or other materials for one-time giveaways but instead should be for multiple users over time. 

Our goal is to help Hoosiers think, read and talk about the diversity of perspectives and experiences in Indiana through fiction, non-fiction, poetry and films that represent the rich tapestry of stories present in our state and nation.  

Applications for Advancing Racial Equity Collection Development grants are now closed. Grantees will be notified of their award by May 3, 2024.