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 two types of 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.

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. In 2018 we will award four grants of $5,000 to groups or organizations through a competitive process, and projects require a funding match. We are accepting letters of intent through June 8, with full applications due July 20. View the Washington Stories Fund guidelines here.

Apply for a grant or access an existing application

What is considered a public humanities project?

The humanities are the ideas, questions, and disciplines that help us document and interpret the world around us—and the “public humanities” bring these to the general public through wide-ranging programs and activities. Eligible programs help our communities understand complex social issues through disciplines such as history, literature, and philosophy. 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 communities. Examples might be a community forum on a timely topic, or a panel discussion with the general public about some aspect of a community’s heritage.

Note: While Humanities Washington does fund humanities projects which interpret art, or use art or artistic performance to begin or enhance a conversation, we do not fund projects focused on the creative and/or performing arts.

What we do and do not fund

Humanities Washington does not fund the following:

• Projects focused solely on the creation of art. Humanities Washington does fund humanities projects that interpret art, or use art or artistic performance to begin or enhance a conversation
• Expenses incurred before funds are awarded
• Multi-year awards (for Opportunity Grants), though organizations may apply annually for funding for the same project
• Film and video documentary projects
• Research (except for radio documentaries/podcasts and websites)
• Development of humanities resource materials
• Book publications or CDs
• Academic or professional conferences, and travel to professional meetings
• Fellowships, scholarships, or prizes
• Courses which offer academic credit, or which provide professional development or skills-based training
• “How To” workshops and training programs
• Construction, preservation, or renovation projects
• Purchase of equipment
• Management and cataloguing of museum or archival holdings
• Museum, historical society, or library acquisitions
• Programs not open to the public (with the exception of school programs)
• Lobbying and fundraising activities
• Food, beverages, and entertainment for staff
• Overseas travel

Examples of allowable expenses include salaries and consultant fees, project-related travel and per diem, printing and publicity costs, equipment and facilities rental, and office supplies.

For more information, please call (206) 682-1770 ext. 107, or email Kristin Sullivan at kristin@humanities.org.

Click here for a list of the grants awarded in 2017. For more information, please call (206) 682-1770.

Apply for a grant or access an existing application