Grants

Since its founding in 1980, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC has provided funds for creative and intellectually stimulating projects in the District of Columbia. Currently we offer 2 regular grant cycles per year during which we distribute our major and small/planning grants. Additionally we offer local community historic preservation grants under our DC Community Heritage Project. Grant categories and details are listed below.

The 2011 Grant Cycle I Schedule is Now Available

The  Humanities Council 2011 Grant Cycle I is right around the corner, are you ready? For a full list of important Cycle I deadlines please follow this link (Deadlines).

Additionally, the Grants Assistance Workshop schedule is now available. Grants Assistance Workshops are a great opportunity to learn about the work and mission of the Humanities Council, to discover the projects conducted by past grantees, and, most importantly, to acquire the skills necessary to create your own outstanding grant application. To see the full schedule of events and locations, please follow the attached link (Workshop Schedule).

Special Notice Regarding the 2010 Grant Cycle II

2010 has been a busy year for the Humanities Council We have disbursed over $130,000 in funding, and undertaken a number of successful programs including the Washington, DC Big Read, Soul of the City, and Humanitini. As part of our 30th anniversary celebration, we provided grants to 8 outstanding organizations whose projects will come to fruition this Summer. These wonderful organizations will present their finished products at a public event this fall.

We are also taking an inward look at our organization to develop better means of marketing our grant opportunities, and establish a more efficient application and review process. Unfortunately this means we will not offer the second grant cycle for 2010. The next grant cycle offered by the Humanities Council of Washington DC will be Cycle I 2011.

The updated deadlines for our 2011 grants cycles can be found here (Link to Deadlines). Thank-you for your continued support of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, and we look forward to reviewing a large group of proposals in January.

If you represent a prospective grantee organization, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC strongly advises you to carefully review the grant guidelines BEFORE APPLYING to ensure that your project qualifies. We also highly recommend attending one of our grant workshops.

Examples of project types that we have previously funded include: documentary films, oral histories, walking tours, exhibits, lectures, conferences, festivals, and children's programs.

Our grants are made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the DC Office of Historic Preservation, and generous private donations.

Small Grants (up to $1500)

Offered for Cycles I and II

Major Grants ($1501-$5000)

Requires Preliminary Application (See Application Materials)

Offered for Cycles I and II

DC Community Heritage Project Grants (up to $2000)

One cycle per year

For more information email Joel Makonnen, Director of Grants at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it