Humanities Washington's Grant Programs provide funding for public programs that have as their primary purpose the exploration and sharing of insights gained from the humanities. Humanities Washington is particularly interested in supporting projects that do one or more of the following:

• stimulate discussion and discovery
• encourage participation and actively engage the audience
• explore how and why rather than just telling what
• develop and attract new audiences
• create new humanities content
• promote partnerships between community organizations
• provide free or very low cost programs that are open to the public
• bring humanities programs to underserved areas of the state

Humanities Washington offers two types of grants:

• Quick Grants are available year-round to small or rural organizations for program planning or public presentations. Quick Grants do not require a funding match and organizations can request up to $500.
• Project Grants are awarded twice a year through a competitive grant process for larger projects. Project Grants require a funding match and organizations may request up to $10,000 for a project that serves a statewide audience, or $7,500 for a project that serves a local or regional audience.

Please note that Humanities Washington does not fund projects focused on the creative and/or performing arts. However, Humanities Washington does fund humanities projects which interpret art, or use art or artistic performance to enhance humanities programs.

What are the Humanities and Public Humanities Programs?
The humanities are the stories, ideas, and writings that help us make sense of our lives and enhance our capability to think imaginatively and critically about our world. Whenever you question human values, read a book to a child, view a documentary film, learn the history of another culture or are mesmerized by a story, you are experiencing the humanities. The humanities inspire people from all walks of life to recognize and draw meaning from their connections to the past and to other cultures. They also help us to honor and celebrate the experiences we share with people in our own communities.

Public humanities programs help our communities to better understand complex social issues through the lenses of interpretive humanities disciplines such as history, literature, and philosophy. Programs that encourage thoughtful consideration of issues and provide the historical, social, and philosophical contexts with which to do so are at the core of the public humanities.

Public humanities programs strengthen ties between people, between the past and the present, and between idealism and action. They provide a framework for examining how we think, what we value, and what it means to be human. By participating in these programs, we hone skills of inquiry, analysis, reflection, evaluation, and conversation, enriching both our private lives and our civic communities.

For more information on Humanities Washington grants, please contact Ellen Terry at ellen@humanities.org or 206-682-1770.