RI Humanities: Major Grants

Overview

_NOTE: Major Grant Deadlines_

* _Register your Intent to Apply: October 1– December 2, 2024_
* _Submit Draft for Staff Review (optional): December 9, 2024_
* _Final Applications Due: January 15, 2025_

Rhode Island Council for the Humanities

The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities Grantmaking Program funds nonprofit organizations and individual researchers to stimulate new research in the humanities, spark thoughtful community exchange, build new audiences for the humanities, innovate new methods in the humanities, and advocate for the importance of the humanities for a lively and engaged democratic public.l.

Major Grants

The Major Grant Program invites nonprofit organizations and schools to apply for funding in support of public projects, documentary films, and civic education initiatives.

Public humanities projects enrich and enliven the life of our state through a variety of formats including: community conversations, talks and lectures, new media technology, museum interpretations and exhibitions, workshops, panel discussions, book or film discussions, oral histories, and radio shows all with a focus on civic engagement and education and cultural equity.

Your project should connect the public with the humanities, at no cost, and be accessible. Programs should be geared toward a broad and diverse general audience and must allow for differing points of view.

Humanities Scholar Requirement

We require that all projects centrally involve humanities scholars to support the representation of knowledge from one or more humanities disciplines.

For independent research projects, the applicant is considered the primary project scholar. In both cases, you are encouraged to connect with additional scholars/experts in the field where appropriate. Humanities scholars may be academic humanists (university faculty, researchers, and graduate students with advanced degrees in one or more of the humanities disciplines); or public humanists (without formal institutional affiliation, but actively engaged in humanities study with a public record of scholarship, e.g., culture bearers – tribal or neighborhood elders, storytellers, or practitioners of traditional cultural forms).

Humanities scholars can play many roles in a project including, but not limited to:

* Consultant or advisor on humanities content to develop and help shape ideas into a humanities project.
* Researcher or writer of critical and interpretive materials, essays, and text for exhibitions; curricular materials; script treatments; catalogues; etc.
* Lecturer, presenter, panelist, or moderator appearing in a film or public program.
* Evaluator upon project completion to assess whether and/or how the project’s educational outcomes were met.

Eligibility

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* Organizations may apply for a grant if:
* You have a current 501(c)3 or equivalent tax-exempt status. (Fiscal sponsorship is accepted.)
* You are in “good standing” with the Council, i.e., you do not have an overdue grant report or a previously defaulted grant.
* You do not currently have an open grant with the Council. If you are a current grantee, we encourage you to reapply after you have satisfactorily closed your open grant. 
* We accept proposals from colleges and universities that demonstrate a commitment to reach an audience beyond the campus community. Such proposals should show strong community collaboration, a well-defined outreach and publicity plan, and stated audience goals. 
* Organizations based outside Rhode Island are eligible to apply, but should be prepared to articulate the impact their project will have in Rhode Island.

Ineligibility

* Items We Do Not Fund 
* Food or beverages
* Academic fees or other degree-related expenses, including academic research
* Fellowships or scholarships
* Courses
* Foreign, non-economy, or extensive domestic travel
* Book publication
* Fundraising or for-profit activities
* Restoration work, construction work, and/or capital costs
* Creation of art or performances in the arts
* Equipment purchases
* Archival acquisitions
* Direct social action or political action, e.g., counseling, legal or medical services, lobbying
* Economic development activities