Program Overview

Communities around Washington have important stories to tell and issues to discuss. Humanities Washington’s grants program provides the financial resources for people to come together to talk, discuss, debate, feel, think, and tell stories through the lens of the humanities. We support existing efforts as well as new opportunities for grassroots projects conceived and implemented locally.

Humanities Washington’s grants program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Humanities Washington offers three types of grants:

CARES Act Humanities Relief grants: These grants will support Washington State nonprofit cultural organizations that provide humanities programming, and that are facing financial hardship due to the coronavirus. The grants are funded by the CARES Act via the National Endowment for the Humanities. The deadline for CARES Act Humanities Relief grants was May 30.

Learn more about CARES Act Humanities Relief grants.

Opportunity grants: Available to small or rural organizations for public humanities presentations. Opportunity grants do not require a funding match, and organizations may request up to $1,000. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, and until all funds are distributed. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Opportunity grants have been suspended in 2020 in order to divert funds to our CARES Act Humanities Relief grants.

Learn more about Opportunity Grants.

Washington Stories Fund grants: Awarded once per year to projects that highlight and share the little-known stories of a person or group whose contributions add to the cultural richness and health of Washington State. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Washington Stories Fund grants have been suspended in 2020 in order to divert funds to our CARES Act Humanities Relief grants.

Learn more about Washington Stores Fund Grants.

Apply for a grant or access an existing application here.

Learn how to log-in to our grant application system here. 

For more information, please contact our grants mailbox at grants@humanities.org.