North Carolina Humanities Council
An individual recipient Humanities is a Charlotte-based nonprofit and state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Founded in 1972, it supports humanities-based cultural projects that bring people together to explore North Carolina’s stories, histories, and cultures, and to learn from experts and one another.
North Carolina Humanities Council at a glance
In short: North Carolina Humanities Council gave $40K across 2 grants in 2025 (avg $20K), mostly in North Carolina. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $39,991
- -89.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 2
- -90.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $19,996
- +6.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $19,996
- Total assets
- $2,408,582
- +55.3% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- North Carolina (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated November 2026.
How to apply to North Carolina Humanities Council
- How to Apply
-
The 2026 Small Project Grants application is submitted through the organization’s online application system. Applicants are directed to review the grant guidelines and current opportunity details before applying. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Project activities must not begin sooner than eight weeks after the submission deadline.
- Review Cycle
- The 2026 Small Project Grants application opened June 1, 2026, and was due September 10, 2026; that deadline has passed.
- Deadline
- The 2026 Small Project Grants application opened June 1, 2026, and was due September 10, 2026; that deadline has passed.
- Contact
Mailing address: 320 E 9Th Street No 414, Charlotte, NC 28202
Phone: (704) 687-1520
Website: https://nchumanities.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from North Carolina Humanities Council
Who North Carolina Humanities Council funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 2 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was North Carolina Folklife Institute ($20K). Together the top 2 received $40K.
Grant Size Distribution
148 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 148 grants of 148 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
An individual recipient Humanities welcomes projects from across an individual recipient and says its work reaches nearly all 100 counties. In its 2024 grant filings, 95% of grant dollars went to recipients listed in an individual recipient and 5% to recipients listed in Alabama.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 2 itemized grants.
Cities
How North Carolina Humanities Council gives
- Giving fell 70% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $40K (2025) to $1.4M (2021). In 2025 it made 2 grants totaling $40K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina Folklife Institute Durham, NC | This grant supports humanities programs that deepen public understanding of firefighting as a vital public service and culture-rich profession leveraging ethnographic fieldwork conducted by folklorists. | $20,000 |
| Elon University Elon, NC | This grant supports joint programming by students and community partners to explore local histories and stories in Alamance county, nc to encourage cross-cultural dialogues and other educational activities. | $19,991 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $2,408,582 | $1,587,482 | $1,094,325 | $39,991 | 2 | $951 |
| 2024 | $1,550,689 | $1,693,701 | $1,652,475 | $373,949 | 20 | $885 |
| 2023 | $1,342,049 | $1,205,530 | $1,435,696 | $319,194 | 17 | $772 |
| 2022 | $1,342,645 | $1,288,721 | $1,314,134 | $135,391 | 9 | $586 |
| 2021 | $2,197,159 | $2,458,418 | $2,348,424 | $1,428,093 | 100 | $252,565 |
| 2020 | $1,475,344 | $727,654 | $1,609,474 | $728,444 | 63 | $22,686 |
| 2019 | $2,321,817 | $1,317,930 | $957,811 | $65,629 | 4 | $82,376 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
An individual recipient Humanities’ mission is “to connect North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community.” Its stated purpose is to create opportunities for people and communities to explore and reflect on the past, present, and future.
The organization funds public humanities projects in varied disciplines and formats, including lecture and discussion series, exhibitions, presentations, and workshops. Its grant materials describe interest in projects that respond to community interests, encourage dialogue and critical thinking, broaden perspectives, and contextualize historical and current experiences.
Its grantees include a range of organizations. For example, BOOKMARKS describes its work as fostering reading and writing through an annual book festival, school programming, and year-round events. John C. Campbell Folk School says it brings people together for learning and community life, while Neighborhood Data Works describes its mission as using data to support community empowerment and equity.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2024, an individual recipient Humanities reported 20 grants totaling $373,949. Awards ranged from $10,000 to $20,000, with a median award of $20,000. The organization’s 2024 annual report separately states that it awarded over $482,000 in grant funding to nonprofits working on community-generated humanities projects. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 2 grants totaling $39,991.
Notable 2024 grants included $20,000 to Alliance for Heritage Conservation for K–12 an individual recipient history and culture curriculum and educator workshops; $20,000 to Bookmarks for author events at its Festival of Books and Authors; and $20,000 to Neighborhood Data Works for research and community engagement about Durham County property deeds during the redlining era. Other $20,000 awards supported, among other projects, a lecture series at Davidson College, walking tours by The Industrial Commons, and documentation work at Odd Fellows Cemetery by Wake Forest University.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Dr. Mike Wakeford as chair, Brian Kahn as vice chair, and Lorna Ricotta as past chair. Trustees listed include Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams, Margaret D. Bauer, Kerry D. Bird, Nancy Fields, Katrina Brownlee, Jessica Hardin, and Douglas Jackson.
North Carolina Humanities Council is led by Sherry Paula Watkins, Executive Director on every filing since 2019; 1 of 21 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Sherry Paula Watkins
Executive Director
On filings since 2019
35 hrs/week
$110K (2019) → $144K (2025)
Mike Wakeford
Chair
Trustee → Vice Chair, 2022
Vice Chair → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Cecelia Thompson
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Diane Robertson
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jessica Hardin
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kathy White
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Margaret D. Bauer
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tasse A. Little
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
C. Thomas Steele Jr.
Trustee
On filings since 2022
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Douglas Jackson
Trustee
On filings since 2022
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Katrina Brownlee
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kerry D. Bird
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Laura Williams
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Les High
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rebecca Godwin
Trustee
On filings since 2024
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Sara Hahn
Trustee
On filings since 2024
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Beth Stevenson
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Eric Solomon
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jesse Rosen
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Lilla Clark
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Brian Kahn
Vice Chair
Trustee → Vice Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
1.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (30)
- Former: Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Liliana Wendorff (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Lorna Ricotta (2019–2024) — Past Chair
- Former: Rebecca Reyes (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Todd Wright (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Nancy Fields (2020–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Rodney Dawson (2022–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Sergio Fernandez (2023–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Elizabeth A. Carlson (2019–2023) — Trustee
- Former: Rick Thames (2019–2023) — Trustee
- Former: Nancy A. Gutierrez (2019–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Chris Lam (2020–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Christina Chia (2020–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Carol B. Vorhaus (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Ryan Henderson (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Ed Sheary (2020–2021) — Chair Elect
- Former: C. Thomas Steel (2021) — Trustee
- Former: V. Ann Tippitt (2020) — Trustee
- Former: Ann Tippitt (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Edward Sheary (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Lori Allois (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Marian Fragola (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Michael Wakeford (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Michelle Hall (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Misty Odell (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Quentin Johnson (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Raheem Aleem (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Renee Alexander Craft (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Susan McCracken (2019) — Vice Chair
- Former: William Andrews (2019) — Chair
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $144K, to Sherry Paula Watkins (Executive Director).
Frequently asked questions about North Carolina Humanities Council
How much does North Carolina Humanities Council give each year?
North Carolina Humanities Council gave $40K across 2 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $374K across 20 grants.
How large is North Carolina Humanities Council?
North Carolina Humanities Council reported $2.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.6M.
What does North Carolina Humanities Council fund?
An individual recipient Humanities’ mission is “to connect North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community.” See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from North Carolina Humanities Council?
The 2026 Small Project Grants application is submitted through the organization’s online application system. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
Where does North Carolina Humanities Council make grants?
An individual recipient Humanities welcomes projects from across an individual recipient and says its work reaches nearly all 100 counties. In its 2024 grant filings, 95% of grant dollars went to recipients listed in an individual recipient and 5% to recipients listed in Alabama.
What is North Carolina Humanities Council's EIN?
North Carolina Humanities Council's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 56-1153601. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated November 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS September 8, 2026)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 13, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 23, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 8, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS September 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS September 12, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 14, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Other open foundation grants in North Carolina
North Carolina Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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North Carolina Humanities Council down — hundreds of funders to go?