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.)

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Grant Recipient City Amount Description
African Culture Connection Omaha $9,850 Help expand in-school and after-school residency programs for the 2019-2020 school year
Albion Area Arts Council Albion $1,999 to help fund two lecture demonstrations by global multi-instrumentalist Todd Green. On May, 5, he will present at Boone Central High School and Elementary School. His programs focus on 25 string, flute, and percussion instruments from the Middle East, Central Asia, Far East and South America, relating them geographically, historically and culturally to each other and to Western musical instruments.
Asian Community and Cultural Center Lincoln $2,000 Support of the continuation of Stories of US program for 2019-2020

and $1,000 Support of the Camp Culture project

and $1,600 Help provide support for the “Untold Migrant Stories” digital storytelling program involving immigrant and refugee students from Lincoln High School
Bemis Center for Contemporary Art Omaha $7,000 Support educational series of lectures, discussions and workshops
Bethany Lutheran Elkhorn $1,250 African culture through traditional dance
Board of Regents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln $1,070 Teacher workshops pairing components of Yazidi culture and themes of migration

and $800 Help fund the 13th annual Poetry of Place Celebration, which encourages teachers and students throughout the state to study and write poetry about Nebraska

and $1,700 Staged reading of “Elizabeth I: To Speak or Use Silence” during Women’s Week festivities

and $1,700 2019 Great Plains Conference presentation “Wakanyéja: A Conference on American Indian Behavioral Health”

and $1,875 Documentary Screening

and $9,698 Help fund production of a short film on the repatriation of native lands called “Return of the Pawnees”

and $7,750 Help support the Climate Change and Culture in Great Plains conference

and $5,800 Help fund a panel discussion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program

and $800 to help fund their 14th annual Poetry of Place Celebration, which encourages teachers and students throughout the state to study and write poetry about Nebraska.
Board of Regents, University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha $3,500 Art of Samuel Bak exhibit

and $850 Latinx exhibit and workshop

and $2,900 Building Walls and tearing walls down
Board of Regents, University of Nebraska Kearney Kearney $2,000 UNK@theWorld film series and talk-back sessions

and $7,000 Personal Achievement Workshop Summer Camp

and $2,000 Help fund a panel discussion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program

and $2,000 000 to print a portable banner, featuring subjects of the Coming to the Plains Project, for a traveling exhibit of Latinx oral histories of immigrants to Central Nebraska.
Bright Lights, Inc. Lincoln $1,700 Help fund teacher salaries for summer humanities classes
Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Company Omaha $1,700 Presentation of “Sirens’ Song: The Women of James Joyce”
Crane River Theater Company Kearney $1,850 Help fund two matinee performances and talkback sessions designed for high school students and teachers
Douglas County Historical Society Omaha $1,925 “Straight Out of Omaha” exhibition of acclaimed people, places, businesses and inventions
El Museo Latino Omaha $3,000 Traditional Textiles: Huipiles lecture series

and $6,675 Educational series of lectures, discussions, and workshops
Elkhorn Valley Historical Society Norfolk $2,000 “Young at Art” traveling national exhibit

and $1,437 “Dakota Daughters,” a living history performance about three cultures followed by open discussion
Ethiopian Community Association in Omaha Omaha $850 Help fund a one-day festival and conference on Conflict Mediation, Family Health and Cultural Musical Talent show competition
Faith Coalition of Lancaster County Lincoln $2,000 Forgiveness Project banners portraying stories of radical forgiveness and reconciliation
Flatwater Shakespeare Company Lincoln $5,000 Little But Fierce youth education workshops
Fort Atkinson Foundation Ft Calhoun $1,400 Help support two bicentennial events at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park
Fort Kearny Preservation Restoration Development Board Kearney $1,245 “Are We There Yet?” featuring homesteading stories and music
Friends of the Homestead Beatrice $1,500 Annual Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival

and $3,000 Traditionas of Homesteaders 2019

and $1,700 Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival
Great Plains Black History Museum Omaha $650 Sponsor the African American History Challenge with student review sessions and competition event

and $1,655 George Smith and Will Brown lynching/Hate exhibit
History Nebraska Lincoln $840 Help fund a series of programming that illustrate the history of African Americans in Nebraska for Black History Month

and $1,500 Exhibition “Crafting Culture: Women and the Business of Textiles in Nebraska”

and $2,800 Support screening and discussion of short films from the “Unladylike” film series
Inclusive Communities Omaha $1,850 Help fund 7 facilitated and structured informal gatherings to engage in conversations about diversity and inclusion
International Quilt Study Center and Museum Lincoln $1,847 to help support lectures by Annalee Levin on the history of embroidery in Lincoln.
John G. Neihardt Bancroft $2,405 39th Annual Spring Conference
Kaneko Omaha $5,000 Literary program for writers, workshop and reading sessions
Kearney Area Community Foundation Kearney $7,515 Kearney Area Storytelling Festival
Lied Center for Performing Arts Lincoln $2,000 Help sponsor a conversation that will illuminate the origins of hip hop, its revolutionary character, its growth in popularity, and how it became a global phenomenon

and $1,500 to help support The Future We See: Town Hall which is scheduled for February 26th, 2020 at the Lied Center in Lincoln.
Lincoln Orchestra Association Lincoln $6,000 Lincoln Crossroads workshops and performances

and $1,750 Pre-concert chats
Lux Center for the Arts Lincoln $1,800 Day of the Dead Celebration
Lydia Foundation for Social Engagement Sprague $2,000 Marijuana Legalization Conversation
Malaika Foundation Central City $5,000 Global education for Nebraska schools presentations
Metropolitan Community College Omaha $2,000 Lawrence Ross will present a lecture to discuss his travels using the Green Book and about this little known part of US History

and $1,850 Sponsor a play that reflects on North Omaha’s history, infused with the policies and Omaha city procedures which resulted in the displacement of families, businesses and tight-knit neighborhoods

and $8,000 Great Plains Theatre Conference 2019

and $2,000 for a February 12 program for Black History Month to be held at MCC’s South Omaha Campus ITC Building.
National Orphan Train complex Concordia, KS $5,000 Riders on the Orphan Train presentations in O’Neill, Sioux City, Norfolk and Central City
Nebraska Folklife Network, Inc. Lincoln $7,000 Help fund 40 oral history/folklife interviews with Nebraska culture bearers in Southeastern Nebraska
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Kearney $1,500 Help fund the Fort Kearny Outdoor Expo-Heritage Encampment
Nebraska National Guard Museum Seward $1,800 Support funding to bring Chautauqua-style speakers Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to commemoration activities
Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, Inc. Omaha $8,000 Help fund the 14th annual Shakespeare On Tour for middle and high school students throughout Nebraska

and $1,250 Help fund the 2019 pre-show Scholars Forums and Post-Show Discussions for the 33rd annual Shakespeare on the Green
Nebraska StoryArts Ashland $1,700 Help fund participation of four professional storytellers at the 18th annual Moonshell Storytelling Festival
Nebraska Writers Collective Omaha $1,250 Help fund “A Day in the Life,” play that shares stories of homelessness

and $8,960 Great Plains Touring Artist Series
NET Foundation Lincoln $10,000 Fund a series of civics interstitials
Omaha Area Youth Orchestra Omaha $1,998 Help host a conference on women in classical music and a panel discussion on gender equality in music
Omaha Public Library Foundation Omaha $2,000 Help fund participation of eight authors as part of the new Omaha Lit Festival
Omaha Symphony Association Omaha $1,355 Featured talk by Ann Hobson Pilot sharing her story as an African-American woman and her career as a professional musician for more than 50 years
One For All Musical Theater Omaha $1,735 Help fund a series of weekly classes leading up to a youth production of a musical based on the Old Testament Book of Esther
Opera Omaha Omaha $1,282 Support the 2019 Poetry & Music Project

and $1,750 to help fund an exhibit and opera concert highlighting poems written and submitted by Nebraska students, grades 4-12.
Plainsman Museum Aurora $10,000 Smithsonian Starter Skit Pilot Program
Platte Valley Literacy Association Columbus $2,000 Help support materials for citizenship classes
Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival Seward $8,000 Help fund participation of children’s book authors and illustrators
Rabble Mill Lincoln $1,700 Between Coasts Forum
Scotts Bluff County Tourism Gering $2,000 Scotts Bluff Celtic Gathering
Sheridan County Historical Society Hay Springs $2,000 “History of the Mirage Flats Irrigation District of Sheridan County” presentation
Sidney Gold Rush Days, Inc., Sidney $1,420 Annual festival emphasizing 1870s history
Social Action Committee of Unitarian Church Lincoln $2,857 Winter Lecture Series
Strategic Air & Space Museum Ashland $2,000 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Space exhibit
Valentine Community Schools Valentine $1,300 Summer learning and extension program
Verse, Inc. Omaha $1,475 Presentation of “Why Shouldn’t I? The Story of Willie Esther Williams”
Vesper Concert Series Omaha $1,436 for school visits by composer and social advocate Joel Thompson on March 10 in anticipation of a March 11 performance at UNO’s Community Engagement Center.
Vision Maker Media Lincoln $2,000 Vision Maker Film Festival
Washington County Historical Association Fort Calhoun $6,000 Media presentation of an exhibit of the pioneering history of Washington County
Willa Cather Foundation Red Cloud $6,700 Willa Cather Conference 2019