IH: General Operating Grants

IH: General Operating Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Illinois Humanities Council Incorporated
Amount: Up to US $10,000
Last Updated: December 28, 2025

Summary

Illinois Humanities offers General Operating Grants to support organizations dedicated to the humanities across Illinois. These grants empower cultural institutions, museums, and community organizations by providing unrestricted funds to enhance their sustainability and outreach. By fostering public engagement and dialogue, the initiative aims to address civic issues and promote inclusivity within historically under-resourced communities. With grants of up to $10,000, the program reinforces the importance of humanities in creating a just and connected society.

Overview

Illinois Humanities Our Mission Illinois Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that spark conversation, foster reflection, build community, and strengthen civic engagement for everyone in Illinois. Our Vision An Illinois where the humanities are central to making the state more just, creative, and connected. General Operating Grants General Operating Grants support organizations that are firmly rooted in the humanities. From cultural and ethnic organizations to museums, libraries, and consortiums, these organizations broaden possibilities and increase access to the public humanities. These unrestricted funds empower growth and sustainability by providing recipients with more flexibility and freedom to allocate resources wherever they need them most. Definition of the Humanities The humanities are the examination of what it means to be human through the interpretation and discussion of all forms of thought, interest, and expression. We value traditional humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, history, and philosophy. However, our emphasis on the public humanities means that we look at the humanities as more than an academic discipline. For us, the public humanities are a mode of inquiry and conversation that aims to engage, support, or challenge the ideals, beliefs, tensions, and prejudices of the communities in which we live. We believe that important thought can happen outside of the academy–in neighborhood institutions, schools, churches, and at kitchen tables across the country. We are especially interested in instances of the public humanities that promote civic engagement in raising critical issues facing everyday people and conducted with the hope of increasing their thirst for staying engaged. Rather than being defined by rigid disciplinary boundaries, it is the humanistic lens, which emphasizes curiosity, questioning, and dialogue, that matters. Guidelines Grants decisions will be made based on whether organizations have a mission involving the humanities, organizational size, geographical balance, and whether an organization represents a historically disinvested or economically under-resourced community, such as rural or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities. We are committed to serving all geographic areas within the state of Illinois; hence, approximately half of General Operating Grants will be distributed to Cook County-based organizations, and half to organizations located outside of Cook County. Amount Up to $10,000.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Must be a humanities-based organizationMust be a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization or have a fiscal sponsorOrganizations must be Illinois-basedOrganizations must have an annual budget of $250,000 or lessApplicants should submit one grant application per cycle

Ineligibility

We do not fund: Activities that promote a specific political position or ideology Alcoholic beverages Businesses, for-profits Capital projects (i.e., renovation or purchase of buildings or land) Endowment contributions Foreign travel Lobbying Major equipment purchases (though equipment to assist a specific program is admissible) Out-of-state programs that have no specific relevance or thematic connection people in Illinois (though technically a grant recipient or fiscal agent can be located elsewhere in the U.S.) Programming that falls outside of the humanities Social services (though a social services agency may apply for funding of a humanities project)Can not have an open Vision, Action, or General Operating grant