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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NEH Museums, Libraries, and Cultural Organizations Grants (Funding Opportunity Number 20150114 GE)

1. What is this NEH grant opportunity?

This opportunity is offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through its Division of Public Programs. It supports public humanities projects that help broad audiences engage with significant humanities works and ideas through compelling public formats.

2. What is the main purpose of the program?

The program is designed to fund humanities-based public programming that is analytical and grounded in strong humanities scholarship, and that translates humanities questions or themes into formats that are accessible and meaningful to the public.

3. What is the central expectation for projects funded by this program?

NEH expects every funded project to be driven by a clear set of humanities questions or themes developed in close collaboration with scholars, and then interpreted for public audiences through engaging formats.

4. What does NEH mean by a "public humanities project" in this program?

In this context, a public humanities project is a program or product that presents humanities ideas to the public in an interpretive way (not just informational), helping people engage with those ideas in a sustained and meaningful manner.

5. What kinds of scholarly fields does NEH consider relevant for this program?

NEH highlights fields such as history, religion, anthropology, jurisprudence, and art history as examples of humanities scholarship that can ground a strong project.

6. What types of projects does NEH discourage or consider less competitive?

NEH emphasizes that projects should not be primarily celebratory, promotional, or purely educational without an interpretive humanities argument. Projects are expected to be analytical and based on humanities scholarship.

7. Who is the intended audience for funded projects?

Because NEH is a national funding agency, the program prioritizes projects that can demonstrate potential to reach and interest a broad, general public audience.

8. Can a project be designed for a specific community or group?

Yes. NEH explicitly welcomes projects designed with particular groups in mind, including families, K-12 youth, teachers, seniors, at-risk communities, and veterans, as long as the project also aims to build a more inclusive audience overall and explains the broader public relevance.

9. What does NEH expect regarding outreach and audience engagement?

Applicants should be able to explain the specific community they want to serve, the wider public relevance of the humanities content, and how the project format and outreach plan will bring people into sustained engagement with the ideas.

10. What types of organizations can apply?

The eligible applicant pool includes state, county, city or township, and special district governments; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and nonprofit organizations, including 501(c)(3) nonprofits and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education).

11. What kinds of institutions or venues does this program support?

The program supports museums, libraries, historic places, and other cultural organizations that create humanities-based public programming, including projects hosted at museums, libraries, and other venues, as well as interpretive work focused on historic places, sites, or regions.

12. What are the two main award types?

Funding is available through two main award types: Planning Grants and Implementation Grants.

13. What is a Planning Grant meant to support?

Planning Grants support early-stage development and foundational work leading to a strong final public project. This includes consulting with humanities scholars, refining interpretive themes, preliminary design work, testing concepts, audience research, and evaluation planning.

14. What is an Implementation Grant meant to support?

Implementation Grants support later-stage work when a project is ready to be fully realized for public presentation. This can include final research and scholarly consultation, design development, production, and installation or delivery of the finished program.

15. What project formats are supported under Planning Grants?

Planning Grants support development of exhibitions; interpretive projects focused on historic places, sites, or regions; and discussion-based and live public programming such as book and film discussion programs, living history presentations, and other face-to-face programs offered in public venues like libraries and community centers.

16. What additional project formats are supported under Implementation Grants?

Implementation Grants cover the same formats as Planning Grants and also include digital public humanities deliverables such as interpretive websites, mobile applications, games, and other digital formats that present humanities content in engaging ways.

17. Does the program support digital humanities projects?

Yes. Digital public humanities deliverables are explicitly included under Implementation Grants, such as interpretive websites, mobile applications, games, and other digital formats.

18. What is the funding activity category for this opportunity?

This is a discretionary grant in the humanities funding activity category.

19. What is the CFDA number for this program?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 45.164, titled "Promotion of the Humanities: Public Programs."

20. Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is listed for this opportunity.

21. How much funding can an applicant request?

Awards range from a floor of $1 to a ceiling of $1,000,000, allowing for projects of many sizes, from small planning efforts to major national-scale implementations.

22. When was this opportunity posted?

The posted date for this specific listing is November 13, 2014.

23. What is the application deadline for this posting?

The application deadline (Original and Current Closing Date) is January 14, 2015.

24. Where can applicants find the full program guidelines and requirements?

Applicants are directed to the NEH program page at http://www.neh.gov/grants/mlco for more details, including program guidelines and requirements.

25. Who can be contacted for help or to access the full announcement?

For assistance, applicants can contact the NEH Division of Public Programs, National Endowment for the Humanities, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20506, phone 202-606-8269, email publicpgms@neh.gov.

26. What does NEH mean by projects being "analytical" rather than "celebratory"?

Based on the program description, NEH is looking for projects that interpret and examine humanities ideas through a clear argument, theme, or set of questions, rather than projects that mainly commemorate, promote, or present information without an interpretive humanities framework.

27. How important is scholar involvement in a proposal?

Scholar involvement is a core expectation: humanities questions or themes should be developed in close collaboration with scholars and grounded in strong humanities scholarship.

28. Can small organizations apply, or is this only for large national institutions?

The stated award range and the availability of Planning Grants suggest the program can support projects of many sizes, from small early-stage planning efforts to major national-scale implementation projects.

29. What kinds of public venues are mentioned for live or discussion-based programming?

The description mentions libraries, community centers, and similar public venues as examples of places where face-to-face programs can be offered.

30. What is the name of the program offering this opportunity?

The program is referred to as "Museums, Libraries, and Cultural Organizations" and is administered through NEH's Division of Public Programs.