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Emily Ross, Program Officer, Grants
Camilla Sandoval, Program Coordinator, Grants
(410)-762-8663

Humanities and the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity in the United States

Maryland Humanities is accepting applications for up to $3,000 to support public programming that promotes community discussion and deep dialogue that focuses on race relations. Interested parties are required to contact Maryland Humanities to discuss the proposed project before submitting an application.

Application Opens:  October 24, 2016
Application Deadline:  November 21, 2016
Notification Date:  December 5, 2016
Grant Period:  January 1 – August 31, 2017

Request for Proposal

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  • Goals
    This grant program seeks to:

    1. Support non-profit organizations to create public programs that use the humanities (especially history, literature, the law, ethics, and philosophy) to bring people together to publicly discuss racial issues that divide communities.
    2. Support humanities programs that educate all ages about the history of structural racism throughout the state and the historic policies that frame the current conditions.
    3. Support humanities programs that provide an examination of the relationships between communities and law enforcement authorities and an opportunity for community members to share their experience with law enforcement and representatives from the criminal justice system.

    Desired outcomes:

    • Measurable and concrete results: Maryland Humanities will work closely with grantees to help identify the results they are planning for and help craft a plan to measure them.
    • Continuity across programs: We plan to gather the grantees to learn and hear from one another in an effort to build programs that will connect to produce lasting impact.
    • Grantees use the humanities to build on existing work or do new work.

  • Project requirements
    All projects must:

    • Be rooted in one or more disciplines of the humanities (e.g. history, literature, the law, ethics, and philosophy);
    • Engage communities impacted by structural racism statewide;
    • Integrate the work and participation of humanities scholars or experts;
    • Be free and open to the public;
    • Occur between January 1 and August 31, 2017.

  • Eligibility
    Nonprofit organizations, community associations, and faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for funding.

    You are eligible to apply for a grant if:

    • The sponsoring applicant is a non-profit organization; individuals are not eligible to apply for grants;
    • Your organization serves Maryland residents;
    • The humanities are a central component of your project.

  • Guidelines
    Funded programs will ideally gather residents of Maryland to connect with one another across lines of race, socio-economic background, and/or geographical boundaries for deep dialogue and reflection on the role and legacy of race and ethnicity in our contemporary lives. Programs will use the humanities as a lens through which to view the topics of race and class and encourage difficult discussions around inequity in housing, education, economic opportunities, and other subjects.

    Projects may include lectures and panel discussions, reading and discussion groups, interpretive exhibits, media projects, oral history projects, local and living histories, and other formats that engage residents of Maryland in the humanities.  The grant fund will not support book publishing, scholarly research projects, activities in the visual or performing arts, general operating expenses, the purchase of alcohol, direct social action or political advocacy, and fundraising or profit-making activities.

The Humanities and the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity in the United States initiative has been made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

  • “This Maryland Humanities grant is absolutely vital to the mission of our non-profit organization devoted to archaeological research and public education. Simply put, we could not have carried out our ambitious exhibit projects without this much-appreciated support. Maryland Humanities has enabled us to share meaningful stories and engage audiences in innovative and creative ways. The platform they have provided strengthens our organization and the community we serve. Thank you!”

    Lost Towns Project, Inc., Major Grant recipient, Anne Arundel County

  • “We have truly enjoyed every funding experience with Maryland Humanities – mostly because it feels like a collaborative relationship. The staff at (Maryland Humanities) is very helpful when preparing grant proposals and reports, and we love seeing (Maryland Humanities) administrators attending our performances and other programming.”

    Center Stage, Humanities Fund for Baltimore grantee, Baltimore City

  • “We had a great experience working with Maryland Humanities. Your team was very hands on, provided clear guidelines and seemed glad to assist us throughout our process. Thank you so much for the support we received to carry out our event and do much needed social justice work in our city.”

    New Lens, Humanities Fund for Baltimore grantee

  • “It is difficult to properly express our gratitude to Maryland Humanities for the help and support that we received through the grant-making process and through the project…The support of (Maryland Humanities) was not in funding alone. By including a spot about the initiative in (their) Humanities Connection program on WYPR, Maryland Humanities did much to help promote our initiative and alert the general public about the program that we were running in the early months of the fall.”

    Dr. Kimberly Coles ~ Chair, Education and Citizenship Project Committee, University of Maryland College Park

  • “Funding from the Maryland Humanities to distribute our first publication allowed Wide Angle Youth Media to expand our reach and share youth voice in a way we have never done before. With your support, this project has not only been successful in programmatic outcomes, but has inspired and empowered young people, giving them the platform to become published artists and share their voices in our city and beyond.”

    Wide Angle Youth Media, Humanities Fund for Baltimore grantee, Baltimore City

  • “Without support from Maryland Humanities, we never could have put together an exhibit and programming at this scale. This support allowed us to cover many more writers, artists and musicians in the exhibit than we otherwise could have done. It enabled us to offer at lease 50 percent more programming than we could have done on our own. The funds also enabled us to promote the exhibit and programs to a wider market. Furthermore, knowing there was a chance for this grant to be awarded, we felt able to apply for (even more) support from the local cultural arts board… We are enormously grateful.”

    Carol Allen, Director for the Library & Hays-Heighe House, Harford Community College, Major Grant recipient

  • “It is difficult to properly express our gratitude to Maryland Humanities for the help and support that we received through the grant-making process and through the project. The grant was crucial to the success of the project, and instrumental in bringing the poet (and 2016 MacArthur Fellow) Claudia Rankine to our campus. As the author of “Citizen: An America Lyric,” Rankine’s powerful reading and discussion of her work provided the anchor for our programming about public education and the role it plays in shaping the political citizen… (Maryland Humanities staff) were a constant source of encouragement and support–and we are proud to have been one of the projects that it recognized this year.”

    Dr. Kimberly Coles ~ Chair, Education and Citizenship Project Committee, University of Maryland College Park
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