The humanities in our everyday lives: a special “connections” emphasis in program grant awards
The humanities help us make connections in our lives: connections between people, ideas, the past and the present, academic subjects and everyday life.
Humanities Nebraska is encouraging nonprofit organizations to apply for program grants that explore these connections in new ways.
Grant applications that make at least one of the following connections will be prioritized:
- Connecting a traditional humanities subject area (like history, literature, culture, philosophy) with a non-humanities subject area (like environmental science, healthcare, agricultural science, law enforcement). These lists of topics are not exclusive. Please note: we consider pairing the arts with the humanities to be a traditional connection.
- Connecting a traditional humanities organization (like a museum or college/university) with a nontraditional project partner (like a social service organization or community club).
- Connecting audiences with humanities topics in nontraditional ways – specifically, through hands-on, experiential programming.
Examples of funded connections projects include:
- A library scheduled a wheelchair-using rodeo champion to speak to adults with disabilities and rodeo fans, and partnered with the county fairground and social service agencies.
- A nature center partnered with a city parks and recreation department to host a panel discussion with experts in writing, Native American culture, and birds, and then invited participants to talk and write about what they heard.
- A science center scheduled a speaker to talk about Indigenous and Western approaches to science, nature, ethics, and literature.
- A summer youth camp combined oral histories, neighborhood histories, and virtual reality mapping.
- A church organized a series of speakers to prompt discussions linking environment, economics, agriculture, and human values.
- An arts organization organized a hands-on cooking demonstration paired with a facilitated cultural conversation.
Usual grant requirements apply
Please refer to the Grant Application Requirements page for full details on grant requirements, for a link to the online grant application system, and for contact information for Humanities Nebraska grants staff members, who are happy to answer your questions.
While applications exploring the connections theme will be given priority, HN granting will remain competitive and open to other humanities projects.
Humanities Nebraska embraces inclusive grantmaking. We encourage submissions of projects that address the experiences of diverse and underrepresented groups in Nebraska public humanities programming. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
Updated 12/2024
