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Grants

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

Grants

Championing the humanities across a state as diverse as Maryland requires many contributors and much collaboration. That’s where our Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program comes in: Strengthening the Humanities Investment in Nonprofits for Equity

Maryland Humanities’ grants program funds general operating support to humanities nonprofits in Maryland. We have been actively adjusting our grant practices over the past few years with a focus on equity and accessibility. With the Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program, Maryland Humanities takes the next step in our grantmaking evolution and aims to lower barriers and provide funding in a more equitable way to organizations statewide. Thank you to the State of Maryland via the Maryland Historical Trust for providing the Hatza SHINE seed money and helping to invest in a healthier humanities landscape statewide.

Spring 2024 Updates

Maryland Humanities is gearing up for the next round of the Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program, expected to open in July 2024. If you are a small nonprofit conducting humanities work in Maryland you may be eligible to apply for general operating support through this grant.

In anticipation of the next round of Hatza SHINE funding, we are conducting a survey and listening session to hear from current and potential grantees and inform our application process. 

We appreciate any and all feedback about the Hatza SHINE grant at this survey before May 3, 2024. 

On Tuesday, April 30 at 1pm we will hold a Hatza SHINE grant virtual listening session. The purpose of the listening session is to inform the application process by gathering feedback on how organizations define the humanities and what forms of non-monetary support organizations would be interested in. The listening session will also include a brief introduction to the guidelines and eligibility requirements of the Hatza SHINE grant for organizations new to Maryland Humanities.

To register for the listening session, enter your name and email here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqdeGuqT0qHtdw54Gc0St1qmkLezOh7v2y

Goals of the Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program

  • Continue and expand general operating support funding, awarding $950,000 in grants.
  • Focus on small and mid‐size humanities, arts, cultural, and educational nonprofits that may not have staff capacity or resources to be competitive in fundraising.
  • Ensure a broad geographic reach, similar to what we were able to realize from our COVID‐relief grants, which funded organizations in all 23 of Maryland’s counties, plus Baltimore City.
  • Continue to refine lessons learned on how to evaluate applicants and distribute funds equitably, while ensuring accountability and responsible fiscal stewardship.
  • Convene annual cohorts of grantees in new networks of engagement and common purpose to amplify the state’s investment, strengthening both the organizations and communities.

The application period closed on September 1, 2023.

FY24 Grant Recipients by County

  • Allegany County

    Allegany Museum

    Emmanuel Episcopal Church

    Evergreen Heritage Center Foundation

    Historic Frostburg, a Maryland Main Street Community

  • Anne Arundel County

    Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation

    Captain Avery Museum

    Chesapeake Children’s Museum

    Lost Towns Project

  • Baltimore City

    Baltimore Architecture Foundation

    Baltimore Heritage

    CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth (Fund for Educational Excellence)

    CityLit Project

    Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center

    Friends of 612-614 S. Wolfe Street

    Friends of President Street Station 

    Greenmount Senior Center

    Komite Ayiti

    Makeup Museum

    Maryland Museums Association

    Maryland Women’s Heritage Center

    Mount Clare Museum House

    Moving History

    Writers in Baltimore Schools

    Muse 360 Arts

    Raymond Banks ‘A Way With Words’ Foundation

    Sankofa Children’s Museum of African Cultures

    Yellow Arrow Publishing Co.

  • Baltimore County

    Baltimore Association of Nepalese in America

    Baltimore County Historical Society, Inc. (dba Historical Society of Baltimore County)

    Maryland Lynching Memorial Project 

    NeighborSpace of Baltimore County

    Sisterhood Agenda

    Todd’s Inheritance Historic Site

  • Calvert County

    Bayside History Museum

    Launching Educational Assistance Program Forward (LEAP) Forward

  • Carroll County

    Downtown Sykesville Connection

    Historical Society of Carroll County Maryland

    The Union Mills Homestead

  • Cecil County

    Historical Society of Cecil County

  • Charles County

    Farm Heritage Conservancy

    The Historical Society of Charles County

    Life Journeys Writers Club

  • Dorchester County

    Dorchester County Historical Society

    Groove City Black Heritage & Culture Group

    Harrisville Malone Cemetery Maintenance Fund

    Nanticoke Historic Preservation Alliance (NHPA)

  • Frederick County

    African-American Resources Cultural Heritage Society (AARCH)

    Catoctin Furnace Historical Society

    City Youth Matrix

    Global Z Recording Project

    Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area

    Maryland Foreign Language Association

    Women Solve

  • Garrett County

    Garrett County Historical Society

    Mountain Lake Park Historical Association

  • Harford County

    Harmer’s Town Art Center

    The Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center

    The Havre Grace Maritime Museum

    Hosanna Community House (dba Hosanna School Museum)

    Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway

  • Howard County

    Chinese American Parent Association of Howard County

    Cultura Plenera

    Howard County Historical Society

    Indian Cultural Association of Howard County

    Korean Culture and Art of MD

    League of Korean Americans

  • Kent County

    G.A.R. Post #25 (Sumner Hall)

  • Montgomery County

    Bethesda Historical Society

    The Civic Circle

    Docs in Progress

    The Giving Square

    Sugarland Ethno History Project

  • Prince George's County

    Bold Beautiful Brilliant Girls Youth Empowerment Group

    Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts

    EducArte

    Fuel Incorporated

    National Capital Radio and Television Museum

    National Museum of Language

  • Queen Anne's County

    Grasonville Community Center

    Kennard Alumni Association

    Touchstones Discussion Project

  • Somerset County

    Somerset County Historical Society

  • St. Mary's County

    Friends of the St. Clement’s Island and Piney Point Museums

    Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions

  • Talbot County

    Chesapeake Film Festival

    Mid-Shore Community Foundation – Bellevue Passage Museum

    St. Michaels Museum

    The Water’s Edge Museum

  • Washington County

    Camp Ritchie Museum

    Urban Rural Action

  • Wicomico County

    Eleven 21

  • Worcester County

    Beach to Bay Heritage Area

    Berlin Heritage Foundation

    Delmarva Discovery Center & Museum

    Furnace Town Foundation

  • “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

  • “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

  • “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

  • “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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