RI Humanities: Mini Grants

Overview

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.

Mini Grants

The Mini Grant Program invites individual researchers, nonprofit organizations, and schools to apply for funding in support of public humanities projects, documentary film, civic education initiatives, and individual research.

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

_We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's [website]().
_

Application Details

MAJOR and MINI GRANT GUIDELINES
September 2024

WELCOME!
Thank you for getting to know us better.
Rhode Island Humanities is proud of our long history supporting a wide
1. WELCOME (p. 2) range of public humanities projects: documentary films that have gone
on to premiere at Sundance Film Festival, win Emmys, and gain national
2. WHAT WE FUND (p. 3) broadcast on PBS; research projects that have examined everything from
wartime gardening in Rhode Island to how racial integration affected the
3. OUR GRANTMAKING CALENDAR (p. 4) state’s Black baseball leagues; and public projects that have shared stories
of Rhode Island’s diverse communities through oral histories and exhibits to
4. DOCUMENTARY FILM & MEDIA GRANTS (p. 6) name only a few. We look forward to adding your inspiration to our list.
5. ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY (p. 7) Please review this document closely to learn more about
our grant opportunities and application process.
7. OUR GRANTMAKING PARAMETERS (p. 9)
OUR HISTORY
8. OUR BUDGET REQUIREMENTS (p .10)
Rhode Island has an important legacy of promoting the humanities in public
9. GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS (p. 12) life. Our own U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell, recipient of the RI Humanities’s
2006 Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities Award, was one of the
primary sponsors of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities
Act of 1965, which created the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH). Rhode Island Humanities was founded in 1973 as an independent,
nonprofit affiliate of the NEH.
Our founding purpose–which remains largely unchanged today–is to
promote public understanding and appreciation of the tradition of thought
and accomplishment that we call the humanities. Our work is based on the
conviction that history, literature, philosophy, theology, civics, and other
fields of the humanities are central not only to formal education, but to the
daily lives of a free and diverse people. For more information about how we
think about the public humanities, please refer to our Glossary on p. 12.
MISSION STATEMENT
Rhode Island Humanities seeds, supports, and strengthens public history,
cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for
all Rhode Islanders.
2

WHAT WE FUND
RI Humanities funds nonprofit organizations and indi-
viduals to deliver meaningful humanities projects to the
Rhode Island public.
Through our grants program, we aim 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 in a lively democracy. We invite you to
submit applications that help us achieve these goals.
OUR GRANTMAKING PROCESS
Rhode Island Humanities maintains two levels of project grant support
available throughout the year: 1) quarterly mini grants and 2) annual major
grants. The processes and deadlines differ for mini and major grants.
Please closely review the various sections of
this document to learn more about: We accept applications via forms in our online application portal, which can
be reached by visiting our website at rihumanities.org. We cannot accept
applications by mail or e-mail; please take the time to get to know our
• T he details of each step in our online system.
grantmaking process
Our fiscal year runs from November 1st to October 31st and because our
funding comes from a mix of private and public sources, our grants budget
• Our calendar of grantmaking, including changes from year to year.
when award decisions will be announced
We encourage you to speak with us about your project
before submitting your application. Please contact us at
• Our funding guidelines and restrictions grants@rihumanities.org or (401) 273-2250.
Many applicants find this part of the process useful. We can tell you more
• Key terms and concepts
about our funding priorities and give you feedback about what will make
your application effective. We are happy to review drafts of your application
as well!
3

OUR GRANTMAKING CALENDAR
All materials must be submitted to RI Humanities through the online
grants portal by 11:59 p.m. EST* on the day of the established deadline.
Deadlines that fall on weekends or holidays are honored on the next busi-
ness day. Please pay close attention to our grant deadlines. We want your
application to be considered, and in fairness to other applicants, we cannot
make any exceptions to our deadlines.
Please note that applicants cannot submit a major grant Letter of Intent
form and a mini grant application for the same project. Please contact
grants@rihumanities.org with any questions.
Quarterly Mini Grant Cycles and Deadlines (requests up to $2,000):
QUARTERLY MINI GRANT CYCLES
ACTION DATES WHAT THIS MEANS
STEP 1 There is no required Letter of Intent form to Applicants are encouraged to contact staff to discuss
begin the mini grant application process. their project idea and verify eligibility prior to submitting an
application. We are happy to talk to you!
STEP 2 Application drafts submitted to staff (op- At least two weeks before the If you would like feedback on your draft, please save it directly
tional) quarterly deadline in the online portal and email us to request review.
STEP 3 Application deadline 1st of February, May, August, Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. EST.*
and November
STEP 4 Review of applications 6 weeks Board members and community members review applications.
STEP 5 Award decision notifications Middle of the following month Applicants will be notified of award decisions by email.
*Updated as of August 2023. 4

Major Grant Cycle and Deadlines (requests up to $12,000):
MAJOR GRANT CYCLE
ACTION DATES WHAT THIS MEANS
STEP 1 Letter of Intent forms accepted through October 1 – December 1* Submitting a Letter of Intent (LoI) form is required to submit a major
online grants portal grant application. The form is non-binding, and is an opportunity for
staff to check the eligibility of your project and offer feedback.
STEP 2 Staff review of Letter of Intent Forms October 15 - December 15* Staff will respond no later than two weeks from your submission. If your
LoI is accepted, you will gain access to the major grant application.
STEP 3 Application drafts submitted to staff (op- December 8* Staff are happy to offer feedback on application drafts. To receive feed-
tional deadline) back, please submit your LoI by Nov. 8 and your draft by Dec. 8.
STEP 4 Staff offers feedback on December 21 Feedback on drafts is returned through the online grants portal by
application drafts (optional deadline) December 21.
STEP 5 Full application deadline January 15 Full applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. EST*.
STEP 6 Review of applications January 15 – March 15 Board members and community members review applications.
STEP 7 Award decision notifications by March 20 Applicants will be notified of award decisions by email.
*Updated as of August 2023.
Application Review Process:
All complete project grant applications submitted to RI Humanities are Grants staff are happy to share aggregated, anonymized feedback on all
evaluated by a diverse group of reviewers made up of volunteer RI Humani- submitted applications after decisions have been shared with applicants. If
ties Board members and compensated Rhode Island-based public humani- you would like feedback on an application following a decision notification,
ties practitioners. RI Humanities staff takes into account age, gender iden- please contact Grants staff at grants@rihumanities.org.
tity or expression, race/ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, geography,
humanities experience, and other factors when composing reviewer groups.
The identities of grant reviewers are confidential.
When reading an application, reviewers use the Application Review Guide
(available on our website) as a reference for their assessment. For each
application, each reviewer completes and submits to Grants staff the
Feedback Form (available on our website). For major grant cycles, reviewer
groups additionally meet to discuss each application and make collective
funding recommendations. For final funding decisions, staff and Board
members review all feedback and rankings, and reconcile reviewer funding
recommendations if necessary.
5

DOCUMENTARY FILM & MEDIA GRANTS
We generally follow a two- and sometimes three-phase approach to funding
documentary film and media projects. The phases are outlined in the table
below. Film- and mediamakers are encouraged to contact RI Humanities
staff to discuss their project early in its idea phase.
RI Humanities makes documentary film and media grants through our ma-
jor and mini grant programs. Requests to support documentary films have
their own unique application at the major grant level. It is unusual that we
award a production-level grant for a film or media project that we have not
previously supported; please contact staff to discuss.
• Individuals and organizations may apply for a research project mini
grant for research and development of a film or media project.
• Organizations may apply for a development-level major grant (capped
at $5,000).
• Organizations may apply for a production & post-production-level
major grant (capped at $12,000).
HOW TO APPLY FOR A DOCUMENTARY FILM & MEDIA GRANT
PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3
Research (research project mini grants) Script Development Production & Post Production (production-level major grant)
(development-level major grant)
Requests up to $2,000 can be made Requests up to $5,000 may be made Average production awards range from $8-12K.
at quarterly mini grant deadlines. at annual major grant deadline. Requests may be made at annual major grant deadline.
Sample of previous film work is Requires sample footage; Requires sample footage from current work-in-progress
encouraged, but not required footage may be from previous project
Must produce EITHER a written or verbal Must produce a film treatment, trailer, Must produce final cut of film and hold a free public screening in
report of research findings to Grants staff or working script at close of grant. Rhode Island at close of grant.
OR a public presentation of research find-
ings at close of grant period.
6

ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY
Please note that, as of September 2023, eligible individuals and • If you wish to apply for a major grant, you must work with an eligible non
organizations may apply for research mini grants and public project mini profit sponsoring organization. Fiscal sponsorship is accepted.
grants. Only eligible organizations may apply for major grants.
• You do not currently have an open major or mini grant with RI Humanities
as a project director or authorized official. If you are a current grantee, we
encourage you to reapply after you have satisfactorily closed your grant.
Organizations are eligible to apply for a mini or major grant if:
If working with an eligible organizational fiscal sponsor, current grantees
• You have a current 501(c)3 or equivalent tax-exempt status.
may submit a major grant Letter of Intent form while their current grant
Fiscal sponsorship is accepted.
remains open, but must submit their final report prior to submitting a
major grant application. Please contact Grants staff with any questions.
• You are a municipal or state government (including a school or library) or
a state, local, and/or federally recognized Indian tribal government.
• All applicants must have a federal taxpayer identification number.
• You are in “good standing” with RI Humanities, i.e., you do not have an
• An applicant may only submit one application per major or mini grant
overdue grant report or a previously defaulted grant.
deadline.
• You do not currently have an open major or mini grant with RI Humani-
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Requirement
ties. If you are a current grantee, we encourage you to reapply after you
In order to keep track of how federal money is disbursed, the federal
have satisfactorily closed your grant. Current grantees may submit a
government requires all organizational recipients of federal money to
major grant Letter of Intent form while their current grant remains open,
register for a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). As RI Humanities grants
but must submit their final report prior to submitting a major grant ap-
federal money, we require all organizational applicants to obtain a UEI and
plication. Please contact Grants staff with any questions.
submit it as part of their application. Individual applicants are exempt from
this requirement. For instructions on how to obtain a UEI, please visit this
• Organizations acting as fiscal sponsors may have up to two project grants
website: https://bit.ly/UEIrich
open with RI Humanities at once, as long as they are acting as a fiscal
sponsor for at least one of the grants.
Funding Colleges and Universities
Our primary goal is to increase public access to quality humanities pro-
• All applicants must have a federal taxpayer identification number.
gramming. We accept applications from colleges and universities that
• An applicant may only submit one application per major or mini grant demonstrate a commitment to reach an audience beyond the campus com-
deadline. This includes organizations acting as fiscal sponsors on an ap- munity. Such applications should show strong community collaboration, a
plication. well-defined outreach plan, and stated audience goals.
Individuals are eligible to apply for a mini grant if: Out-of-State Applicants
RI Humanities prioritizes funding projects with a clear connection to and
• Your project is not part of an undergraduate or graduate degree-related
impact in Rhode Island. Organizations and individuals based outside Rhode
pursuit, or a research project by faculty at institutions of higher educa-
Island are eligible to apply, but should be prepared to articulate the connec-
tion for the purpose of professional scholarly discourse. Please consult the
tion to and impact of their project in Rhode Island.
Recent Grants page on our website for examples of eligible projects, and
contact Grants staff with any questions.
• You are in “good standing” with RI Humanities, i.e., you do not have an
overdue grant report or a previously defaulted grant.
7

ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY (continued)
Project Director Responsibilities Funding Priority for Previously Unfunded Applicants **
The project director is the person primarily responsible for managing and If an application from an applicant who has not previously received funding
executing the project. On a grant to an individual, this is the role of the in- from RI Humanities and an application from a prior grantee of RI Humani-
dividual grantee. On a grant to an organization, the project director is often ties are tied in funding priority following application review, the application
the point person for the project on staff at the organization. If an organiza- from the previously unfunded applicant will be given funding priority. This
tion is serving as a fiscal sponsor for an individual, the project director will policy has been enacted to encourage diversity and equity in RI Humanities’
be the individual. The project director cannot also serve as the authorized grantmaking.
official.
Resubmission of a Declined Application
Authorized Official Responsibilities
If your application does not receive funding, we strongly encourage you to
For an organizational grant, the authorized official is the person with legal
consult with staff prior to resubmitting an application.
and fiscal responsibility for the grant on behalf of the sponsoring organiza-
tion. In a non-profit, the authorized official may be the executive director,
NEH Restrictions
chair of the board, or president. In academic institutions, this person is
Since Rhode Island Humanities is an independent affiliate of the National
often the director of the grants, business, or sponsored projects office. The
Endowment for the Humanities, we are responsible for ensuring that grant-
project director cannot also serve as the authorized official.
ees are aware of the legal mandates that apply whenever federal funds are
disbursed. For more information, review RI Humanities’s Grant Agreement,
Nonprofit Sponsoring Organization Responsibilities
which is derived from NEH’s General Terms and Conditions for Awards.
In the event of an award to an organization, the nonprofit sponsoring or-
The Grant Agreement is made available upon grant award. If you have ques-
ganization, the grantee of record, is responsible for the project and budget
tions, please contact staff.
described in the grant application. By applying, the sponsor agrees to the RI
Humanities’s Grant Guidelines. It is the sponsor’s responsibility to appro-
priately supervise the project director and ensure the project takes place as
Disclaimer
described, to use RI Humanities funds only as allowed, to acknowledge RI
Please note that any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations ex-
Humanities funding in conjunction with the project, and to submit reports
pressed in any funded project do not necessarily represent those of Rhode
as required. Acceptance of an award also requires the sponsor’s agreement
Island Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
to additional award terms and conditions.
Consecutive Funding Policy **
Permission for Use of Property
An applicant organization may apply for and receive up to two years of
Please note that the RI Humanities’s funding may only be used to support
consecutive major grant funding (the major grant cycle occurs annually).
activities that have permission for use of property.
Following the second year of funding, the eligibility of the applicant orga-
nization will be paused for one year, or one major grant cycle. Following the
period during which eligibility is paused, the applicant organization will be
eligible to apply for major grant funding until they receive two more years
of consecutive funding, at which time the policy will be applied again, and so
on. This policy does not apply to RI Humanities’ mini grant program.
This policy has been enacted to encourage diversity and equity in RI Hu-
** Added/revised as of September 2024.
manities’ grantmaking.
8

OUR GRANTMAKING PARAMETERS
Project Eligibility acquired in many different ways. Humanities scholars may have formal aca-
To be eligible for the RI Humanities mini and major grant programs, a demic training, advanced degrees in the humanities, and/or an affiliation with
project must fit the criteria of one of the types of projects described on p. an academic institution. They may also have developed their expertise through
12 of the Guidelines: a research project, a public project, or a documentary their lived experience and personal/community heritage, including tribal elders,
film and media project. If you are not sure if your project fits the descrip- culture bearers, public humanities practitioners, and/or community historians.
tion of one of these project types, please contact Grants staff at grants@ Depending on their project’s humanities content and methods, applicants
rihumanities.org. should ensure that they have engaged humanities scholars who are culturally
appropriate for the project and have expertise in areas critical to the project.
Please note that, per the guidelines of the National Endowment for the
Humanities, our affiliated federal agency, grant funds from RI Humani- Humanities scholars can play many roles in a project including, but not limited
ties cannot support the “creation of art or performances in the arts” or the to: consultant or advisor; researcher or writer; lecturer, presenter, panelist, or
“promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view; moderator; or evaluator.
advocacy for a particular program of social or political action; support of
specific public policies or legislation; lobbying.” Project Partner
We consider a project partner to be any individual or organization other than
For examples of the rich and diverse array of projects that RI Humanities the grantee that is contributing time and/or resources towards the project’s
has been proud to support through our grantmaking, please review the Re- realization in collaboration with the grantee. Working with
cent Grants page on the RI Humanities website. If you have any questions partners is not required, but can strengthen a project and increase its reach
about these policies, please contact Grants staff at grants@rihumanities. and impact.
org.
Depending on the needs of their project, applicants should ensure that they
Free, Accessibile, and Open to the Public have engaged partners who are culturally appropriate for the project and can
Projects of all formats funded by RI Humanities must produce events make contributions critical to the project’s realization.
and/or products that are free, accessible, and open to the public. A com-
mon exception to this policy is projects for specific K-12 audiences (for Logo Use and Acknowledgment Requirement
example, all 5th-grade students in Providence), which do not need to have Grantees must prominently acknowledge Rhode Island Humanities and the
events and/or products open to the public. Another common exception National Endowment for the Humanities in all promotional materials affiliated
is for documentary film and media grantees, who can choose to conclude with their funded projects, as well as in all grant-funded events and products.
their projects with a report or presentation to Grants staff. Please contact Please note that as of our 50th anniversary year (2023), our organization is
Grants staff with any questions. known as Rhode Island Humanities (rather than Rhode Island Council for the
Humanities or RICH).
Humanities Scholar Requirement
We require that all projects centrally involve humanities scholars to support RI Humanities logos will be provided upon award. If you have any questions
the representation of knowledge from one or more humanities disciplines. about usage, please contact staff.
For research project mini grants, the project director is considered the pri-
mary project scholar. Regardless of the type of project, you are encouraged Project Evaluation Requirement
to connect with additional scholars in the field where appropriate. Evaluation helps us learn how effective projects are in communicating humani-
ties content and realizing success as defined by the grantee. If you would like
Humanities scholars contribute their expertise on humanities content guidance on how to create an evaluation plan, please refer to RI Humanities’s
and methods to projects, and we acknowledge that this expertise can be Evaluation Toolkit on the Grantmaking page of our website.
9

OUR BUDGET REQUIREMENTS
Why We Ask for a Budget have at least $2,000 in your budget from other cash and/or in-kind con-
Your budget tells us what money you need to complete your project, how tributions, and your total budget must be at least $4,000) . Please note:
you will spend the funds, and what kind of support you are receiving. RI any funds of federal origin cannot contribute to your match.
Humanities requires you to submit a full project budget in our provided
Budget Template
template, not just a budget describing how you plan to spend the funds re-
RI Humanities has devised a Budget Template for grant applications that
quested. The line items included in your budget should be well-researched
clearly delineates line items requested and those contributing to the
and organized into appropriate line items. RI Humanities does not fund
cost-share. Applicants must use our Budget Template when submitting an
retroactively, or in other words, does not fund project expenses incurred
application. The Budget Template is available on our website: rihumanities.
before the grant award is made.
org/grants/grantmaking.
Budget To-Dos
Line Items We Do Not Fund *
• P lan how much money is needed to complete your project.
• Creation of art or performances in the arts.
• Categorize your project expenses into line items, e.g., scholar
• Promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point
honoraria, travel, library fees, design, printing, mailing, etc.
of view; advocacy for a particular program of social or political
• Verify that the line items you’d like RI Humanities to fund are action; support of specific public policies or legislation; lobbying.
eligible for funding (see “Line Items We Do Not Fund” section).
• Food or beverages.
• Use the Budget Template, linked on the Granmaking page, to
• Academic fees or other degree-related expenses.
plan and submit your budget.
• Fellowships or scholarships.
• Use the Budget Detail section of the application to provide any
additional information that you would like to share. • Courses, undergraduate or graduate degree-related pursuits, or
a research project for faculty at institutions of higher education
• F inally, make sure all the numbers add up.
for the purpose of professional scholarly discourse.
• Foreign, non-economy, or extensive domestic travel.
Cost-Share Requirement • Book publication.
RI Humanities requires a one-to-one cost-share match for organizational
applicants. This match allows RI Humanities to meet our own match re- • Fundraising or for-profit activities.
quirement for our funding from the National Endowment for the Humani-
• Restoration work, construction work, and/or capital costs.
ties. Individual grant applicants are exempt from this requirement.
• Purchase of A/V or technical equipment/supplies that use more
Matching funds consist of all project expenses not attributed to the grant,
than $10,000 of grant funds.
including both cash and in-kind contributions (donations of goods and
services) made to the project by the applicant and third parties. The total • Archival acquisitions.
match must at least equal the total funds requested from RI Humanities
• Economic development activities.
(for example, if you are requesting $2,000 from RI Humanities, you must
*Other restrictions may apply.
10

OUR BUDGET REQUIREMENTS (continued)
A Note on Budgetary Restrictions and Caps • Indirect Costs (Organizations only):
RI Humanities caps the amount of funding we contribute towards certain
• What are indirect costs?
line items. Keep these caps in mind when preparing your budget.
Indirect costs are costs which are incurred by an organization in the
• H onoraria / Contracted Service: You may ask RI Humanities to execution of its activities that cannot be readily identified with a par-
contribute up to $300 towards honoraria for scholars; the ticular activity. Indirect costs include general overhead costs, such as:
amount depends on the scholar’s level of involvement and bank, payroll processing and audit fees, liability insurance, office equip-
normally ranges from $100 to $300. Projects that engage ment purchases or maintenance not directly related to the project, and
scholars in a much deeper role, similar to having a scholar-in- salaries and benefits of executive or administrative personnel who are
residence, may apply for more than $300. not directly engaged in the project.
In instances where the relationship between the scholar and
• Can I include indirect costs in my budget?
institution is better represented by a contracted service agree- For organizations with a current federal Negotiated Indirect Cost
ment, RI Humanities allows for requests up to $2,000. (Ex- Rate (NICRA): Organizations that have a current federally Negoti-
amples where scholars may be hired for contracted services ated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) may use that established
include: long-term research projects; conducting oral histories; indirect cost rate in their project budget, and may list this indirect cost
and scholar-in-residence agreements.) as either a RI Humanities-funded expense or as part of the cost-share.
A copy of the NICRA should be submitted with applications for fund-
In either case, the sponsoring organization may choose to further
ing. Also note that costs included in the NICRA should not addition-
compensate the scholar using non-RI Humanities funds.
ally be listed as separate expenses in a project budget.
• P ermanent Staffing: Major grant applicants may apply for up to
Organizations without a current federal Negotiated Indirect Cost
$2,000 per permanent staff person to cover expenses related
Rate (NICRA): Organizations that have never had a NICRA (and are
to direct staffing (including salaries and benefits) devoted to the
NOT a state or local government, or Indian Tribe receiving more than
execution of a funded project.
$35 million in direct federal funding) may alternatively use in their
• M ileage: RI Humanities subscribes to the business mileage project budgets a de minimis rate of 15% of Modified Total Direct Cost
reimbursement rate issued by the IRS to calculate the deductible (MTDC) of the request from RI Humanities. Applicants may include
costs of operating a car (also vans, panel or pickup trucks) for this line item either as part of the request to RI Humanities or the
business. The IRS releases a new federal mileage rate at cost-share, or split it between the two categories. Please note that the
least once a year; visit www.irs.gov for more information 15% indirect cost rate is an increase from the previous rate of 10%
about the year’s rate.
Per federal policy, MTDC means all direct salaries and wages, ap-
• T ravel: Domestic, economy fares only. plicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and
up to the first $50,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period
• A ccommodation: RI Humanities’s contribution not to exceed of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes
$150/day. equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs,
tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support
costs and the portion of each subaward in excess of $50,000.
11

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
What are the humanities? What is humanities content? What are Humanities content refers to topics in any of the disciplines and practices
humanities methods? within the humanities.
The humanities are a collection of disciplines and practices focused on Humanities methods include, but are not limited to, research on humani-
human thought, history and culture. According to the founding legislation ties content, close reading, documentation, investigation, interpretation, critical
of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the federal agency affili- analysis, storytelling, contextualization, dialogue, discussion, and debate.
ated with RI Humanities, humanities disciplines and practices include, but
are not limited to: Please note that the humanities are different from “humanitarianism,” or the
promotion of human welfare writ large. The humanities are also distinct from
• Language, both modern and classical; the practice of the fine and performing arts.
• Linguistics;
• Literature; What are the public humanities?
• History;
• Jurisprudence; The public humanities are what happens when people engage together with
• Philosophy; humanities content and methods outside of professional scholarly discourse.
• Archaeology; Historical and cultural museums, cultural heritage societies, historical sites,
• Comparative religion; libraries, and historical and preservation societies are all examples of public
• Ethics; humanities organizations, and schools, colleges, and universities also participate
• The history, criticism and theory of the arts; in public humanities work. However, the public humanities can, and often do,
• Those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and happen outside of organizations, led by community practitioners.
employ humanistic methods;
• And the study and application of the humanities to the human envi-
Public humanities projects can take many forms–an exhibition
ronment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage,
documenting the history of a neighborhood, a cultural heritage festival
traditions, and history, and to the relevance of the humanities to the
celebrating an ethnic community, a panel discussion on the historical context
current conditions of national life.
of a piece of theater, a documentary film examining a regional culture, a digi-
tal video series educating voters on the legislative process, and so on. Please
There are disciplines and practices in the humanities beyond this list, explore the descriptions of grant-funded projects on our Recent Grants page to
including civic education and cultural heritage. If you are not sure whether get a sense of the tremendous creativity and diversity within public humanities
a discipline or practice falls under the humanities, please contact us at projects.
grants@rihumanities.org.
In the context of your grantmaking program, what is a research project,
As described by the National Humanities Center, “Humanities research and what is a public project?
adds to our knowledge of the world, as scholars investigate differences
between cultures and communities around the world and across time, RI Humanities is proud to support research projects at the mini grant level
consider the ways art is made and received, or unveil the undercurrents that
that explore humanities content using humanities methods. We prioritize fund-
have shaped history. Humanities education encourages students to think
ing projects that have a clear connection to and impact in Rhode Island. Both
creatively and critically, to reason, and ask questions.”
individuals and organizations can apply for research project funding at the mini
grant level (continued on next page).
12

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS (continued)
Given our mission to support community-centered work, our grant funds Public projects typically are focused on the creation of public-facing
do not support undergraduate or graduate degree-related pursuits or a re- outputs (an event series, exhibition, podcast, walking tour, festival, website,
search project for faculty at institutions of higher education for the purpose and so forth). The significant majority of time and expenses within public
of professional scholarly discourse. projects are typically allocated to the development and implementation of
these public-facing outputs.
Research projects are typically driven by one, or several, key research
questions that the grantee seeks to investigate. Sometimes research is What kind of documentary film and media projects you support?
conducted as a phase of a larger project, such as a documentary film, and
sometimes, the research is the entire project. The majority of time and RI Humanities is proud to support documentary film and media
expenses within research projects are typically allocated to the research projects that explore humanities content using humanities methods. We
component of the grant activities. prioritize funding projects that have a clear connection to and impact in
Rhode Island.
By the project’s end, the grantee has come to some key findings related to
their research questions. For research projects not related to documentary As described on p. 6 of the Guidelines, we offer three phases of funding
film and media projects the grantee must then share their findings with for documentary film and media projects. If an individual or organizational
the public through their chosen format (lecture, panel discussion, exhibi- applicant seeks support for the research phase of the project, they should
tion, website, etc.). For research projects related to documentary film and apply for a research mini grant. If an organization seeks support for the
media, since often the ultimate public-facing presentation of the findings script development or production/post-production phases of the project,
is the final cut of the film/media project, to conclude the research grant, they should apply for a documentary film and media major grant at the
grantees are required to either produce a written (1,000-1,500 word) or appropriate level. Please note that only organizations may apply for major
verbal (15-20 minute) report of research findings to Grants staff, or share grants, and fiscal sponsorship is accepted.
their findings with the public through their chosen format. Any public pre-
sentations must be free and open to the public, and outside of venues for
professional scholarly discourse such as academic conferences, symposia,
etc.
RI Humanities is also proud to support public projects that explore hu-
manities content using humanities methods. We prioritize funding projects
that have a clear connection to and impact in Rhode Island. Both individu-
als and organizations can apply for public project funding at the mini grant
level; only organizations can apply for public project funding at the major
grant level.
These public projects can take many forms, but what they have in com-
mon is 1) their focus on humanities content and methods, and 2) their
engagement with communities as co-creators, collaborators, partners,
participants, and audience members.
13

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS (continued)
What is civic health?
The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) describes civic health as
“the way communities are organized to define and address public problems.”
As stated in the 2022 Rhode Island Civic Health Index, co-produced by RI
Humanities, “Civic health reflects the strength and resiliency of our commu-
nities.” Civic health can be assessed by evaluating five categories:
• Community well-being, or the material and social conditions that indi-
viduals face daily;
• Social connection, or the informal, interpersonal connections among
individuals;
• Public participation, or individuals’ voluntary contributions of time and
resources to public life;
• Collective understanding, or how individuals understand local issues and
factual information about their communities and governments;
• Engagement with government, or how individuals of different citizenship
statuses interact with and participate in local, tribal, state, and federal
governments.
Our 2022 report, Culture Is Key: Strengthening Rhode Island’s Civic Health
through Cultural Participation, identifies the many ways that the work of
Rhode Island’s cultural sector contributes to Rhode Island’s civic health,
including by bridging differences and facilitating social bonding; illuminat-
ing diversity of community identity and experiences; and supporting cultural
resilience and continuity.
Images thanks to RI Humanities grantees and Cat Laine.
14