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Annual Report

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We are pleased to present our 2016 Annual Report, covering the period November 1, 2015–October 31, 2016. During this time, we offered 1,602 events in a dozen programs to over 880,000 Marylanders! Inside you’ll find wonderful photos, striking and informative infographics, details of all the grants we awarded, many of our partner organizations, our financial statement, and a list of our generous donors.

To learn more about how we opened ears, eyes, and minds, you can view, download, or print the report.

Enjoy!

“Over the past few years, I have noticed a decline in the number of students who read for pleasure. This type of contest certainly fosters that love of reading.”

Letters About Literature teacher
We were enabled to go into the community and get information from real people. Also, the assignment was pretty subjective so we were able to take it in any way we liked. We led the projects and each one is so different from the next.

Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant
“The program gave me new insights and reinforced many of my attitudes and commitments to the care of the seniors whom I see in my clinic. Interacting with colleagues whom I have now had a different and delightful “book club” experience with improves my work performance and work enjoyment.”

Literature & Medicine participant
“[My favorite part of the tour was] learning about the literary giants who lived and visited Baltimore!”

Literary Mount Vernon Walking Tour Participant
“Humanities are the core of everything. You cannot be a good scientist or computer programmer, if you cannot communicate clearly with others and understand others. Humanities studies and scholarships are the essential element in learning how to relate to each other AND how to better communicate with one another.”

Maryland Humanities survey participant
“Lifelong learning is a philosophy, practice, and lifestyle that I’ve long advocated for in both my professional and personal lives. In the rapid pace, constantly changing, technological, social, and cultural environments we find ourselves in, a continuous adjustment to change is necessary. Lifelong learning is essential to understanding where we’ve been, where we are, and where we want to go, both as individuals and as a society.”

Maryland Humanities survey participant
“[I enjoyed the] thoughtful discussion about complex social issues that gave me hope for our future.”

Pulitzer 100 event attendee
“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
“[Humanities] are the gateway to our souls, and to understanding each other. They enable us to avoid repeating our mistakes, and are a tool for teaching compassion.”

Maryland Humanities survey participant
“The project definitely raised the visibility of our organization in western Maryland. Spruce Forest Artisan Village has become a fixture in Garrett County, but it does become taken for granted. This project gave local residents a new reason to make the effort to make a return visit to the Village. Moreover, the programs hosted by the adjacent Penn Alps Restaurant helped us in reaching a new audience.”

Kara Rogers Thomas ~ Frostburg State University faculty, and Board Member at Spruce Forest Artisan Village, Grantsville, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street
“Across three months of programming, Kent County witnessed an explosion of 39 free public humanities and arts program presented by more than 20 community partners. Hosted by local churches, businesses, storefronts, art galleries, environmental groups and government agencies, these programs included lectures, exhibitions, walking tours, poster contests, book discussions, school field trips and oral history projects. This wide-ranging and grassroots approach to fostering civic dialogue created a moment for the community to pause and reflect – to consider together its diverse work experiences and shared economic histories while also discussing the county’s economic potential and planning policies moving forward.”

Barbara Foster, Vice President, G.A.R. Post #25 Sumner Hall, Chestertown, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street
“Left on my own, I would choose the same kind of books over and over again. Now, [participating in One Maryland One Book,] my reading experience is broader and richer and all the more enjoyable.”

One Maryland One Book 2016 participant
“It was an interesting thing to do. The process of digging through photos, souvenirs, copies of old orders, and other memorabilia was meaningful after 43 years. I WAS impressed with all of the students I met.”

Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, veteran participant
“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
“[This panel provided] interesting insights into areas of our community that I don’t get by direct observation.”

Pulitzer Panel attendee

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