Recent Grant Awards
Humanities Nebraska offers grants to nonprofit organizations in support of projects related to the humanities including history, literature, languages, jurisprudence, philosophy, comparative religion, ethics, and the history, theory and criticism of the arts. Applicants must have non-profit status according to the State of Nebraska and the IRS, and must provide proof of 501(c)(3) or other 501(c) status. (State, county, or local government entities, including schools, are exempt from this requirement.)
| Organization | City | Amount | Project |
| African Culture Connection | Omaha | $15,000 | Cultural elements of Authentic African Kingdoms In- and After-School Programming |
| Asian Community and Cultural Center | Lincoln | $1,600 | Camp Culture K-5 youth summer camp |
| AND | $4,624 | Untold Migrant Stories storytelling program for refugee and immigrant youth | |
| Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts | Omaha | $1,000 | Dr. Jacinda Tran lecture “Close to the Clouds: Encountering Digital Diasporas” |
| AND | $7,700 | a speaker series related to art exhibitions | |
| Black Elk Elementary | Omaha | $1,500 | presentations by African Culture Connection |
| Blixt Locally Grown | Lincoln | $1,600 | traveling exhibit for Not Too Far Distant |
| Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art | David City | $1,080 | photography workshop for Butler and Colfax County 4-H students with photographer RJ Kern |
| Bright Lights.Inc | Lincoln | $2,800 | humanities-based youth summer camps |
| Buffalo County Historical Society | Kearney | $2,000 | Humanities talk for opening for NASA Hubble Telescope Exhibit |
| Canopy South | Omaha | $6,680 | an exhibit on South Omaha history |
| Circle Theatre | Omaha | $1,500 | study guides, workshops, and a school performance relating to the book and stage production “Hana’s Suitcase” for grade 6-8 students |
| City of Wilbur | Wilbur | $507 | Presentation on the Children’s Blizzard |
| Civic Nebraska | Lincoln | $5,500 | Kid Governor civics program for youth |
| Clinic with a Heart | Lincoln | $600 | Neighborhood history display at Welcoming Block Party |
| Crane River Theater Company | Kearney | $1,700 | “Page to Stage” public library programs in 20 Nebraska libraries for preschool and elementary school children |
| AND | $3,650 | Student Matinee Series – “Come From Away” | |
| Creighton University | Omaha | $2,000 | immersive prison reentry simulation educational event |
| Dawes County Historical Society for the benefit of “Dawes County USA” | Chadron | $2,778 | post-production of a documentary film about the people and land of a ranching community in northwestern Nebraska |
| El Museo Latino | Omaha | $6,675 | Latino culture lecture series |
| The Durham Museum | Omaha | $8,500 | exhibit “Byron Reed’s Library: In Search of the Signers” for America’s 250th anniversary |
| Friends of the Homestead | Beatrice | $4,350 | Homestead National Historical Park’s America 250 Summer Event Series |
| Friends of the Midwest Theater | Scottsbluff | $981 | talks about Willa Cather |
| Gage County Historical Society | Beatrice | $1,838 | “How We Celebrate” exhibition honoring America 250 |
| Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation | Genoa | $1,200 | 2026 Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation Recognition and Remembrance Day |
| Great Plains Black History Museum | Omaha | $2,000 | |
| Great Plains Theatre Commons | Omaha | $6,000 | 2026 New Play Festival |
| The House of Afros, Capes & Curls | Omaha | $9,400 | Young History Detectives summer history camp |
| Inclusive Communities | Omaha | $10,167 | Conversations for Change Speaker Series 2027 |
| AND | $2,000 | Special Omaha Table Talk: Roots of Peace | |
| Indian Center, Inc. | Lincoln | $950 | humanities discussion elements of a community-centered Indigenous fashion show |
| John G. Neihardt Foundation | Bancroft | $500 | humanities speakers at the annual spring conference at the Neihardt State Historic Site |
| Kearney Area Community Foundation | Kearney | $2,000 | 2026 Kearney Area Storytelling Festival |
| AND | $3,500 | 2027 Kearney Area Storytelling Festival | |
| Lincoln Orchestra Association | Lincoln | $4,000 | Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra 2026-27 Pre-Concert Chats |
| Malcolm X Memorial Foundation | Omaha | $8,975 | “Remembering the Resilience of Rowena Moore” Exhibition and community activities |
| McCook Arts Council | McCook | $1,800 | storytellers at the Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival |
| Meadowlark Hearth Living Environment Foundation | Scottsbluff | $1,329 | an archaeology fair featuring instructor talks, demonstrations and hands-on activities |
| Midland University | Fremont | $2,000 | film screenings and discussions and an interactive garden event |
| National Orphan Train Complex Museum and Research Center | Concordia KS | $4,993 | Four Orphan Train programs in rural Nebraska |
| Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival | Lincoln | $8,300 | artist talks during the 2026 Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival |
| Nebraska Poetry Society | Omaha | $1,200 | 2026 Spring Speaker Series |
| AND | $1,200 | 2026 fall educational events | |
| AND | $1,200 | 2027 Nebraska Poets Reading Series | |
| Nebraska Writers Collective | Omaha | $3,000 | Visiting Writers Program |
| Norfolk Public Junior High | Norfolk | $1,875 | author presentations and workshops for students |
| Opera Omaha | Omaha | $2,000 | Poetry & Music Project 2026-2027 |
| Operation Christmas Card Inc | North Platte | $3,750 | cultural discussion at the North Platte Pow Wow |
| Ponca Tribe of Nebraska | Niobrara | $6,400 | Three screenings of “Imagining the Indian” featuring post-screening panels |
| Salt Creek Song Festival | Ashland | $1,442 | Salt Creek Song Festival with coffee chats |
| Seward County Bridges, Inc. | Seward | $1,800 | authors speaking at the Great Plains Literacy Festival for school-age children |
| Sheldon Art Association | Lincoln | $2,000 | Interactive discussion events linking poetry to artwork |
| Sidney Gold Rush Days Inc | Sidney | $5,600 | Buffalo Soldiers of the American West presentations |
| Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Church | Lincoln | $2,000 | Winter Lecture Series–America First: Then and Now |
| AND | $1,600 | Winter Lecture Series–American Diplomacy from Truman to Trump: Liberal World Order v Power Politics | |
| Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center | Denton | $1,550 | speakers at the 5th annual Return of the Thunderbirds event |
| Stand in for Nebraska | Lincoln | $1,898 | Roots to Rise cultural enrichment summer youth camp |
| Stone Soup Productions | Washington DC | $9,068 | The People’s Recorder Hybrid Discussion Series about the Federal Writers’ Project in Nebraska |
| Tri-Faith Initiative | Omaha | $9,056 | A 9-session Religious Equity Seminar |
| UNK Board of Regents | Kearney | $2,000 | Americans and the Holocaust film screenings and traveling exhibit |
| AND | $4,767 | humanities-based Loper Launch youth summer camps | |
| UNL Board of Regents | Lincoln | $1,998 | Poetry reading and author discussion in conjunction with a quilt exhibit |
| AND | $2,000 | A three-part public humanities conversation series exploring immigration, refugee experiences, cultural identity, and Nebraska history | |
| Willa Cather Foundation | Red Cloud | $9,510 | 71st Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, “Memory, Myth, and Meaning: Cather in Dialogue with America 250” |
| AND | $1,250 | virtual speaking event with historian Richard Norton Smith | |
| World Speaks | Omaha | $1,390 | English-Spanish bilingual exchange event |
