Public Humanities Grants, up to $10,000
To create exciting and engaging public programs that bring communities together to explore the humanities and meaningful issues, and connect to each other.
Preservation and Access Grants, up to $10,000
To preserve resources that are important to a community, and to make them publicly accessible to researchers, students, and the general public.
March 5, 2021/5:00 pm HST (Grants portal will re-open on December 28, 2020.)
March 5, 2021/5:00 pm HST (Grants portal will re-open on December 28, 2020.)
The humanities help us explore more deeply what it means to be human and what matters to us. We explore our values and histories and philosophies. We challenge each other to pause, listen, and be curious about experiences that are not our own. The humanities help us explore our identities, and build community and connection. They help us remember who we are and where we are going together.
In the academy, the humanities fields of study include, history, philosophy, literary studies, languages and linguistics, film studies, archaeology, ethics, jurisprudence, art criticism and theory, cultural anthropology, sociology, political science, journalism, anthropology, folklore, ethnomusicology, performance studies, and more.
As the Hawaiʻi affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities, we are proud to uphold their values of research and expertise. A strong public humanities project has leadership who helps to shape, deepen, and evaluate the community program. This could be a scholar or archivist or librarian in a humanities field, or a recognized cultural consultant/practitioner. Having leadership on your project by someone recognized among their peers and community will make your grant application more competitive.
A strong public program benefits from a strong outreach and engagement plan and collaboration with community partners. Working closely with community partners will make your application more competitive.
We think of a humanities method as one that reaches for questions more than answers, and helps us think and wonder and explore together. Here are a few humanities questions that inspire our program work at Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities:
We encourage originality and imagination in your public program plans. Please note that while grant funds can be used as to help create a resource, a good portion of the grant should be used for public programs that broaden perspectives, enrich lives and strengthen communities.
All Public Humanities and Preservation & Access Grants awarded by Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities are federal subawards from the National Endowment of the Humanities. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. We acknowledge and thank the NEH for supporting the important work of caring for culture, history, civic connection, and the unique ways public humanities enrich our lives in Hawai’i.
Grant applications require a sponsoring nonprofit group or public institution based in Hawaiʻi.
A committee of HIHumanities Board members—with expertise in the humanities and diverse connections to multiple islands—discusses and ranks all applications within a review period, and makes a recommendation to the full Board for review and final approval. Full Board meetings are normally held in March, July, and December of every year.
DUNS and CAGE numbers
Grant applicants are required to have a valid DUNS number (Data Universal Numbering System) and to have a currently registered CAGE number with the Federal SAM (System for Award Management). If your institution needs to obtain a free DUNS number, please follow the instructions HERE. To register with SAM and get a CAGE number, follow instructions HERE. IMPORTANT: If you do not already have a CAGE number, it will take 4-8 weeks to receive one. Please incorporate this timeline into your application process. Be sure to check with your executive administrator or finance administrator as your organization may already be registered.
Please note: Even though grants are a type of contract, when registering with SAM, your organization is applying for “financial assistance” rather than registering as a contractor.
For our Public Humanities Grants—Humanities Leader
A strong humanities project should include project personnel that provides guidance, rigor, and analysis, to develop a public program with depth, context, and complexity (i.e., multiple perspectives, connection to larger history, etc.). The Project Director can also be the Humanities Leadership. At least one Humanities Leadership name and a letter of commitment explaining their support, role, and commitment is required.
For our Preservation & Access Grants—Librarian or Archivist Leader
A strong project includes project personnel that can provide professional guidance, rigor, and analysis, and apply archival preservation standards and develop universal access using humanities indexing and cataloguing methods. At least one Librarian or Archivist Leadership name and a letter of commitment explaining their support, role, and commitment is required.
Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities dedicates a staff member to supporting our grantees. To learn more, please contact Director of Grants Stacy Hoshino, at shoshino@hihumanities.org, or by phone at 808-469-4551. If you are interested in a consultation about applying for a grant with us, be sure to contact Stacy Hoshino no later than two weeks before the grant application deadline.