General Terms and Conditions for American Rescue Plan State Humanities Councils Awards

1. Grantmaking programs to eligible entities, through subawards, for humanities programming and general operating support. 80 to 100 percent of this total award must be allocated to the grantmaking program;
2. Management and administrative costs (M&A), not to exceed 10 percent of this total award, to cover costs associated with issuing and administering ARP subawards, including the hiring of temporary staff; and
3. Council-conducted humanities programs helping prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the coronavirus. 10 percent of this total award is allocated for council programming; however, this amount may increase through rebudgeting of M&A costs, not to exceed 20 percent of the total award.

1. M&A costs are limited to 10 percent of the total award. Additional funds must not be rebudgeted into this category. Councils may rebudget M&A funds into:
   1. council conducted humanities programs consistent with the purpose of the ARP or
   2. the grantmaking program.
2. Council-conducted humanities programs may increase up to 20 percent of the total award from funding allocated for M&A costs. Funds may not be rebudgeted from the grantmaking program into this category. Councils may rebudget council-conducted humanities program funding into the grantmaking program.
3. Grantmaking program allocation may increase up to 100 percent of the award from rebudgeting from either the M&A costs or council-conducted humanities programming categories. Councils must not rebudget funds from the grantmaking program into other direct cost categories.

M&A costs are for activities directly related to the management and administration of the ARP subaward grantmaking program, such as financial management and monitoring. They must be based on actual expenses or known contractual costs. M&A costs are not general operational costs. They are the necessary costs incurred in direct support of, or as a consequence of, the management of the grantmaking program and should be allocated across the entire lifecycle of the award.

Salaries treated as M&A costs may be charged as direct costs in accordance with 2 CFR §200.413(c).

Councils must keep supporting documentation to demonstrate that the amount charged to the grant reflects the actual time any individual worked on the program.

1. Councils must maximize competition by holding an open competition for subawards.
2. Councils must provide a period of public availability of at least 30 days for each competition.
3. Councils must publicize the availability of the NEH funded program, award amounts, and application procedures clearly and effectively, so that all potential applicants can learn of the opportunity. Publicity materials should include an explicit reference to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Consult Acknowledgment and Publicity Requirements for NEH Awards and Publicizing Your Project for guidance.
4. Councils may limit subrecipient eligibility based on the specific design of their program (e.g., geography, institution type). Councils must limit eligibility to U.S. nonprofit organizations (as reported to the IRS and with an existing EIN), accredited public and 501(c)(3) institutions of higher education (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001), state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Non-public organizations or groups that apply to the councils for funding must be constituted for nonprofit purposes, and donations to them must be deductible under Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 170(c)).  It is not necessary that such organizations or groups be incorporated or have tax-exempt status. Individuals, foreign, and for-profit entities are not eligible as subrecipients.
5. Per 2 CFR 25, all subrecipient organizations must obtain a unique entity identifier (currently a D-U-N-S® number) as a universal identifier prior to receiving federal financial assistance. Councils must not make a subaward to an organization that has not provided their unique entity identifier.
6. Councils must not require an administrative or application fee.
7. Councils must ensure applicants address how they have been adversely impacted by the pandemic in their applications, consistent with the purposes of the American Rescue Plan.
8. Subawards should support, amongst other activities:
   1. Humanities programming.
   2. General operating costs of humanities focused organizations.
   3. Strategic planning and capacity building efforts related to preparing, responding to, and recovering from the coronavirus. (Note: General capacity building efforts must be funded by SO awards).
   4. Technical/consultant needs related to a digital transition or in support of preservation and access programs (equipment costs cannot exceed 20% of a subaward).
   5. Expansion, due to the effects of the coronavirus, of outdoor and virtual humanities programming and activities, from traditional environments to those that are more accessible.
   6. Equity assessments and planning related to coronavirus and the economic crisis.
9. Subrecipients whose mission falls outside of the humanities and the humanistic social sciences (including the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; and quantitative social science research or policy studies) are not eligible to receive funding for general operating costs under this program.
10. In keeping with Congress' intent in enacting the ARP, which was to immediately mitigate the impact of the coronavirus at the state and jurisdictional level, all subawards must be issued no later than December 31, 2021.
11. The period of performance for subawards must end no later than December 31, 2022.
12. Per 2 CFR §200.331, councils must monitor the activities of subrecipients as necessary to ensure that the subaward is used for authorized purposes, in compliance with federal statutes, program legislative requirements, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the subaward; and that subaward performance goals are achieved.  Councils must ensure that subrecipients track, appropriately use, and report program income generated by the subaward.

1. Councils must give equal consideration to all eligible applicants; they may not restrict eligibility or give preference to members of a certain organization, consortium, or network.
2. Councils must not accept applications from individuals who are their own officers and employees until at least one year has elapsed since the person’s last service in such a position.
3. Councils must ensure that:
   1. all applicants are eligible
   2. organizations have a unique entity identifier (currently a D-U-N-S® number)
   3. applicants have not been suspended or debarred
   4. applicants are not delinquent on federal debt
4. Councils must have documented procedures to govern the role of the review committee and selection standards.
5. Members of the Councils’ board of trustees and advisors must recuse themselves from serving on any panel in which their organization or parent or subsidiary organization has submitted an application.
6. Councils must ensure the fair and informed selection of subrecipients by relying on the recommendations of a review committee. Councils may only make subawards with NEH funds to eligible applicants recommended by this selection committee, pending the availability of funding.
7. Councils must avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest in the composition of the selection committee and its deliberations.
8. Councils have flexibility to develop evaluation criteria based on their specific programmatic needs. Merit and other evaluation criteria should depend on the nature of the funding opportunity; however, all activity must be consistent with the purpose of the American Rescue Plan. Councils must establish evaluation criteria and make them publicly available at the time of the open competition.

1. unallowable expenses as defined in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles;
2. overlapping project costs with any other pending or approved application(s) for federal funding and/or approved federal awards;
3. management and administration costs in excess of 10 percent of the total award;
4. travel for ARP subrecipient monitoring without NEH prior approval, or in excess of 0.05 percent of the total award;
5. travel unrelated to ARP subrecipient monitoring;
6. subawards to organizations that have not obtained and provided to the recipient a unique entity identifier;
7. fellowship programs;
8. subawards directly to individuals or consultants;
9. pre-award costs incurred before March 15, 2021;
10. cancellation costs;
11. equipment;
12. construction, purchase of real property, major alteration and renovation;
13. environmental sustainability;
14. collections acquisition;
15. promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view;
16. advocacy of a particular program of social or political action;
17. support of specific public policies or legislation;
18. lobbying; and
19. programs and subawards that fall outside of the humanities and the humanistic social sciences (including the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; and quantitative social science research or policy studies).

1. unallowable expenses as defined in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles;
2. overlapping project costs with any other pending or approved application(s) for federal funding and/or approved federal awards;
3. funds for activities supported by other non-NEH federal funds;
4. competitive regranting;
5. cancellation costs;
6. pre-award costs prior to March 15, 2021;
7. equipment costs in excess of 20 percent of total project costs;
8. travel (both foreign and domestic);
9. construction, purchase of real property, major alteration and renovation;
10. environmental sustainability;
11. collections acquisition;
12. the preservation, organization, or description of materials that are not regularly accessible for research, education, or public programming;
13. promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view;
14. advocacy of a particular program of social or political action;
15. support of specific public policies or legislation;
16. lobbying; and
17. projects that fall outside of the humanities and the humanistic social sciences (including the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; and quantitative social science research or policy studies).