Illinois Humanities Council Programming Grants

The IHC's community grants program accepts proposals from nonprofit organizations that have a story to tell about Illinois or who have a way to use the humanities to enrich community life. We also accept proposals from organizations looking for technical assistance or general operating support.

THE IHC
The Illinois Humanities Council is an educational organization dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. Through the programs we create and the organizations we fund, the IHC promotes greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans, regardless of their economic resources, cultural backgrounds, or geographic location. Organized as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1973, the IHC is now a private nonprofit (501 [c] 3) organization that is funded by contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations; by the Illinois General Assembly; and by the NEH.

WHAT WE FUND
The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) funds public humanities programming, media projects that have a humanities connection, as well as providing technical assistance and general support for Illinois nonprofit organizations.  

It is our priority to support programs developed by, for, or aimed at reaching new or historically neglected audiences. We especially invite applications from organizations that serve these communities and strongly encourage other applicants to extend their proposed programs to include such audiences.

GRANT CATEGORIES
The IHC gives community grants in four major categories:

•     Project Grants (Maximum award $5,000)
•     Media Grants (Maximum award $4,000 for development; $5,000 for production)
•     Technical Assistance Grants (Maximum award $2,000; limited to organizations with annual budgets of $250,000 or less)
•     General Support Grants (Maximum award $5,000; limited to nonprofit organizations whose mission directly engages the humanities)

For complete application and eligibility requirements for each type of grant, please consult the Community Grant Application Procedures Manual in the Applications and Forms section of this site.

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS
The Illinois Humanities Council funds nonprofit organizations that are developing programs for Illinois audiences. Because we believe the humanities should belong to everyone, we especially encourage applications from organizations whose public humanities programming or media projects will bring the humanities to new or historically neglected audiences or communities. These include—but are not limited to—residents of rural communities, men and women with little formal education, inner city or other underserved youth (in after school or weekend programs), people who are economically disadvantaged, or the elderly. We will consider supporting other projects on a case-by-case basis. The IHC also strongly encourages all grantees to take action to ensure that people with disabilities as defined by the American with Disabilities Act have access to benefits and services resulting from the grant project.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
All project grant applications must:
1. Be rooted in one or more of the humanities disciplines
2. Integrally feature humanities experts in all phases of the project
3. Be public
4. Be sponsored by a nonprofit organization
5. Comply with federal debarment and nondiscrimination statutes

General support grants are limited to humanities organizations. Technical support grant applications are for organizations with annual budgets of $250,000 or less. For complete details, see the Application Procedures.

FUNDING RESTRICTIONS
The Illinois Humanities Council does NOT fund:
1. Advocacy or social action
2. Projects for fundraising purposes
3. Construction or restoration costs
4. Purchase of permanent equipment
5. Library or museum acquisitions
6. Individuals, research or other endeavors intended primarily for the scholarly community, curriculum development or revisions, or academic courses for credit
7. Performing arts as ends in themselves
8. Projects directed primarily to children or students in formal school settings
9. More than 50% of total project costs
10. Indirect costs of sponsoring organizations
11. Food and beverage costs for audiences or alcoholic beverages
12. Expenses incurred or paid out before an IHC grant award is made

GRANT DEADLINES
There are four grant deadlines each year. All applications must be postmarked by:

•     January 15
•     April 15
•     July 15
•     October 15

Applications for any of the grant categories are welcome at each deadline. Notification of funding decisions will occur approximately 8 weeks after the deadline.

If you plan to apply for a grant, contact a program officer at least one month ahead of the application deadline to discuss your project.

New applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a draft proposal. All draft proposals are due 4 weeks before the grant deadline for which they will be submitted.

GRANT & RESOURCE WORKSHOPS
We host 2 public Community Grant Application and Humanities Resources Workshops in the IHC offices each year. We also hold similar workshops in other parts of the state throughout the year. If your organization would like to sponsor a workshop outside of the Chicago area, please contact an IHC program officer at 312.422.5580 or at ihc@prairie.org.

APPLYING FOR GRANTS
Be sure to read the Community Grant Application Procedures Manual before applying. Community Grant Applications forms can be obtained:

    Through the Application and Forms section of our website
    By emailing an IHC program officer at ihc@prairie.org
    By calling 312.422.5580
    By writing us at Illinois Humanities Council, 17 N. State St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60602.3269

THE HUMANITIES
The humanities are the study of what human beings have thought, felt, and celebrated throughout the centuries and today. They grow out of an interest in the language, literature, thought, and history of humankind. The humanities engage us through stories and ideas and help us make sense of our lives and our world. By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help us decide what is important in our own lives and what we can do to make them better. By connecting us with other people through the examination and discussion of ideas, the humanities point the way to answers about what is right or wrong, or what is true to our history and our heritage.

We can do this by studying Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," or the "Diary of Anne Frank;" in the storytelling of the Illinois river towns; in the murals in Joliet or Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood; among the Hmong needlework in Uptown or the earth mounds near East St. Louis; and even in the old "I Love Lucy" shows.

When people listen, think, and talk with each other about what is important to them, whether it is preserving the environment, understanding the Middle East, or learning about the founding of their community or our nation, the humanities are there enriching our lives.

The humanities emphasize analysis, interpretation, and exchange of ideas rather than the creative expression of the arts or the quantitative explanation of the sciences. These fields of study include, but are not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism, and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.