Impact & Stories
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NEH supports excellence in research, education, and public engagement with history and culture.
Our grants support advanced research that expands understanding of ourselves and our world. NEH provides teachers with the tools to create rich educational experiences for their students and brings humanities ideas and exploration to the American public.
NEH supports humanities education and engagement in communities throughout all 50 states and six U.S. jurisdictions.
Our partner humanities councils deliver life-long learning and other humanities programming to local communities. NEH investment in cultural and educational organizations supports local jobs in the humanities, cultural tourism, and the creative economy in all areas of the country.
photo by Moana Iose, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
NEH funding creates projects that examine, preserve, and shape our history and culture.
NEH has supported award-winning books such as American Prometheus, inspiration for the film Oppenheimer; the complete papers of twelve U.S. presidents and of figures such as Mark Twain, Martin Luther King Jr., Jane Addams, and Thomas Edison; and technologies allowing researchers to decipher text from ancient scrolls charred by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
Image courtesy of the Eiteljorg Museum.
NEH celebrates leaders and icons in the humanities.
NEH bestows the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities and the National Humanities Medal to honors individuals for their intellectual achievement or groups whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities or engagement with history, literature, and other humanities subjects.
Amy Tan receives National Humanities Medal; photo by Cheriss May
NEH provides relief to humanities organizations following natural disasters and public emergencies.
For more than two decades, the endowment has helped museums, libraries, archives, and historical organizations improve their ability to plan for and respond to disasters.
Image by Adriana Cutler
NEH shares rich stories of human history and culture.
Through our quarterly magazine, NEH spotlights the stories about the people and ideas that shape our world.
NEH creates opportunities for communities that have been historically underserved by the federal government.
Specialized NEH programs support work for and by historically underserved communities. Dedicated initiatives fund projects in the Pacific Islands and in Native and Indigenous communities.
—Photo by Scott Kissell, Miami University. (All images used with permission)
