Preservation & Access Grants

Overview

_NOTE: Grants on Temporary Pause. Our Grants Program will not be accepting applications for the Spring of 2025._

Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities

Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities awards grants to projects that best supports its mission: To connect people with ideas that broaden perspectives, enrich lives and strengthen communities. Our grants humanities programs encourage the movement of knowledge beyond academic settings and support public involvement in conversations important to our communities today and looking into our possible futures.

Our Values

* 
Our ideas of the humanities are grounded in Hawai‘i’s people and places
* Kuleana to our communities’ histories and futures
* 
Courage to dive deeply into important questions and ideas
* Brave and safe space for diverse voices and experiences to actively share and listen
* 
Create connections that strengthen our communities’ resilience and ability to change.

Preservation & Access Grants

These go towards funding projects that mālama our history, and preserve resources that are important to a community, and to make them publicly accessible to researchers, students, and the general public.

What are the humanities?

The humanities help us explore more deeply what it means to be human and what matters to us. We explore our values and histories and philosophies. We challenge each other to pause, listen, and be curious about experiences that are not our own. The humanities help us explore our identities, and build community and connection. They help us remember who we are and where we are going together.

In the academy, the humanities fields of study include, history, philosophy, literary studies, languages and linguistics, film studies, archaeology, ethics, jurisprudence, art criticism and theory, cultural anthropology, sociology, political science, journalism, anthropology, folklore, ethnomusicology, performance studies, and more.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* Grant applications require a sponsoring nonprofit group or public institution based in Hawaiʻi. 
* The sponsor organization must be a project partner and contribute substantively to the project beyond their fiscal responsibility.

* Organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)
* Because our grants are federal in origin, your organization is required to be registered in the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM).
* Your registration, which is renewed annually, must be currently active at the time of your application.
* Your UEI registration must be open for public searches.

* A strong project includes project personnel that can provide professional guidance, rigor, and analysis, and apply archival preservation standards and develop universal access using humanities indexing and cataloguing methods. 
* At least one Librarian/Archivist Leadership name and a letter of commitment explaining their support, role, and commitment is required.
* Any project supported by a HIHumanities grant, must have a duration of one year or less.

Ineligibility

* What kinds of programs are NOT ELIGIBLE for funding?
* Projects characterized by political or religious advocacy or bias (e.g., political campaigning, advocacy events that promote a single point-of-view, lobbying, etc.)
* Direct service providing (e.g., social, psychological legal, or health services, training or counseling programs)
* Fellowships or scholarships
* Academic or professional conferences for a non-public audience
* College courses and seminars
* Building, restoration and preservation capital projects
* Purchase of land or capital equipment
* Operational support and clearinghouse activities
* Fundraisers or events for profit
* Art activities or performances when these are ends in themselves, without examination of their social, historical, or aesthetic context
* Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities does not award grants to individuals, out-of-state, or for profit organizations.