IH: INcommon Grant

The IH: INcommon Grant, offered by Indiana Humanities, supports tax-exempt organizations in developing public programs that explore critical issues related to race and ethnicity. With a focus on history and contemporary debates around topics such as immigration and institutional racism, the grant encourages diverse projects throughout Indiana. However, due to recent funding cuts from the National Endowment for the Humanities, many grants will be paused in 2025, with exceptions for specific programs like the Historic Preservation Education Grant.

Update: Indiana Humanities is pausing most of our grants programs. Indiana Humanities recently received notice from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) terminating congressionally approved funding that provides annual support to our organization and allows us to serve Hoosiers in all 92 counties.
The termination of our NEH support means that we must pause most of our grants in 2025. Through a generous partnership with Indiana Landmarks, we expect to offer the fall round of our Historic Preservation Education Grant, but the rest of our grants are on hold until further notice.
We do this by providing grants, convening discussions, uplifting humanities scholars, spotlighting humanities organizations and activities, and creating our own programs that help Hoosiers think, read and talk.
INcommon Grants provide tax-exempt organizations with funds to develop and implement public programs that use the humanities to explore subjects related to race and ethnicity. Grant-supported programs may examine a variety of topics, including the longer histories driving contemporary debates around immigration, gentrification, incarceration, policing, institutional racism, the legacies of segregation in housing and education, and more.
Goals
This grant opportunity invites Hoosiers to take a step back and use the humanities to look at the longer histories driving contemporary debates. We welcome diverse projects from across Indiana, addressing different themes and using a variety of public humanities formats, including reading series and civic reflection discussions; public lectures or panels; film screenings and discussions; or the creation of exhibits, web projects, podcasts, walking tours or documentary films.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an INcommon Grant, you must apply on behalf of a tax-exempt organization that’s registered with the Internal Revenue Service; K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, churches and government entities are also eligible. All organizations receiving a grant must provide Indiana Humanities with a Unique Entity Identification (UEI) through the federal government’s System for Award management website, SAM.govRecipients that are unable to provide a UEI will not be eligible for funding.

Ineligibility

Indiana Humanities will not award grants for any of the following purposes:
General operating expenses (i.e., our grants must support the development andimplementation of specific public humanities programs)Activities that promote a particular political, religious or ideological point of viewAdvocacy of a particular program of social or political actionSupport of specific public policies or legislationFood and beverages (unless it’s a key educational component of the program—for example, purchasing food for a program on Hoosier foodways); using grant funds to purchase alcohol is always prohibitedEntertainment (unless it’s a key educational component of the program—for example, hiring musicians for a program on Indiana’s jazz heritage)LobbyingFundraisingEndowment contributionsRegranting of fundsPurchase of land or facilities, construction or renovationProperty or major equipment purchases (in other words, funds should not be used exclusively for equipment purchases; we may consider funding equipment, however, if it’s a portion of the grant request and will support the overall goal of providing public humanities programming)Archival acquisitionsProgramming that falls outside of the humanities, including the creation or performance of art (see further explanation in the Requirements section above)Social servicesPrizes, awards or scholarshipsPublication of booksForeign travelWe do not award programming grants to for-profit organizations or to individuals.We will not award INcommon Grants to individuals, nonregistered entities or for-profit entities. Fiscal sponsorship is not permitted. Also, note that we will not award an organization more than one INcommon Grant per calendar year.