Mississippi Humanities Oral History Grants

The Mississippi Humanities Oral History Grants support projects that document the experiences of Mississippians through oral history. Grants of $2,500 or less can be submitted anytime, while larger grants have deadlines in May and September. The Mississippi Humanities Council, a nonprofit organization, emphasizes accessibility and encourages grant recipients to collaborate with public archives for preservation. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and community groups, but individual and for-profit entities are excluded.

NOTE: Oral History Grants of $2,500 or less may be submitted anytime, but at least four weeks before the project begins; deadlines for Oral History Grants between $2501 and $10,000 are May 1 and September 15.
About the Mississippi Humanities Council
The Mississippi Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Council is committed to making its programs accessible to as many Mississippians as possible and expects grant recipients to do the same.
What are the Humanities?
The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:
literature, classics, languages and linguisticshistory and archaeologyphilosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religionhistory, criticism and theory of the artssocial sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches
Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of humanities experts, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society.
With funding from the Mississippi Legislature through an appropriation to the Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Oral History Project has captured the stories of our state since 1999. Groups may apply for grants to support oral history projects that relate to the experiences of Mississippians. All grantees must arrange with a public archive in Mississippi to accept, catalogue and make accessible all recordings collected with a Mississippi Humanities Council oral history grant. If you need assistance identifying a public archive for your project, please contact the Mississippi Humanities Council. Oral history grant applicants are strongly encouraged to develop a plan to use, disseminate or exhibit the interviews once they are completed.

Eligibility

Organizations or groups that apply for grants from MHC must be constituted for nonprofit purposes. It is not necessary that such organizations or groups be incorporated or have tax-exempt status. As per federal rule 2 CFR 25, grant applicants must obtain a DUNS number.Typical organizations eligible for grants include:Private nonprofit organizationsInstitutions of higher educationState, local and federally recognized Indian tribal governmentsCommunity and cultural organizationsEducational and professional groupsMuseumsLibrariesPublic agenciesNon-commercial radio and television stations

Ineligibility

Individuals and for-profit groups are not eligible to apply for MHC grants.MHC will not support the following:programs that have an admission fee or registration chargeprojects primarily intended to promote an organization or its programssalaries of employees associated with the applying organization construction, preservation or renovation of facilities or purchase of equipment over $10,000acquisitions or additions to collectionsalcoholic beveragesfood costs for audiences unless food is central to the programfellowships, scholarships and prizes
travel to professional meetings
individual research projects unless they are directly supporting a public humanities programpublications, or performances or presentations of works of art, unless they are essential in conveying the humanities content of the project to a non-academic audienceprojects that advocate or promote a particular political, ideological, religious or partisan point of viewNo MHC grants funds may be used for political lobbying activities
As required by the Administration’s Executive Orders, MHC awards may not be used for the following purposes:promotion of gender ideology;promotion of discriminatory equity ideology;
support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives or activities; orenvironmental justice initiatives or activities