National Endowment for the Humanities Announces $1.26 Million in "Extending the Reach" Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced 138 grants totaling $1.26 million under the Endowment's Extending the Reach initiative. Extending the Reach is designed to increase the quantity and quality of cultural programs in regions of the United States and at institutions of higher education that have generally been underserved by NEH programs in the past.

The targeted regions are 14 states (Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming) and one U.S. territory (Puerto Rico). The targeted institutions of higher education are historically black, Hispanic-serving, and tribal colleges and universities throughout the nation.

"Through the Extending the Reach initiative, the National Endowment for the Humanities is broadening the impact of federal cultural funding throughout America," NEH Chairman William Ferris said. "The humanities belong to everyone, and Extending the Reach will significantly broaden access to excellent cultural programs for all Americans wherever they live or study."

Under Extending the Reach, NEH seeks applications from schools, humanities organizations, and film and radio producers in the designated states and territory and from the designated colleges and universities.

A detailed list of grants by state is available as an Adobe Acrobat file here.

Totals for projects funded this round are:

• Humanities Scholar-in-Residence Grants for Schools (available for middle and high schools seeking to improve their humanities curricula) (17) $170,000
• Public Program Consultation Grants (available for museums, historical societies, other cultural organizations, public radio and television stations, and independent filmmakers seeking to develop or enhance public humanities programs) (24) $233,328
• Preservation Assistance Grants (available for libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies seeking to improve care of their humanities collections) (73) $290,000
• Faculty Research Awards (available for faculty members at historically black, Hispanic-serving, and tribal colleges and universities nationwide) (24) $576,000

The Extending the Reach initiative was launched last November with the awarding of grants to the state humanities councils in each of the 14 designated states. Each council received $20,000 to develop a humanities project with at least two partner institutions that can serve as a model for collaborative work in the humanities.