Grants Program

Our grants support public programming with the humanities at its heart — inspiring organizations to explore innovative programs that spark dialogue, strive to engage new audiences, and stimulate the thoughtful exchange of ideas.

Programs can take many forms, including lectures, new media projects, reading and discussion programs, seminars, interpretive exhibits, local and living histories, spoken word programs, and interpreting oral histories.

The humanities include the study and interpretation of history, literature (including novels, poetry, drama, and other forms of written expression, both modern and classical), philosophy, ethics, jurisprudence, comparative religion, archaeology, cultural anthropology, and the interpretation (not the creation) of the arts.  These humanities disciplines are tools that can help us to explore what makes us human, connect us with others, and discover meaning and richness in our lives and for our communities.

Grant Timing and Deadlines

  • Major Grants (awards up to $10,000)

    Our Major Grants Program supports innovative projects that use the humanities as the central resource to engage diverse groups and individuals through programming like exhibits, community dialogues, and documentary films, and include a wide variety of perspectives exploring critical issues.

    DEADLINES:

    Spring  For projects beginning on or after July 1

    Letters of Intent Due: March 1*

    Grant Proposals Due: April 15*

    Notification: Early June

    Fall   For projects beginning on or after January 1 of the following year

    Letters of Intent Due: September 1*

    Grant Proposals Due: October 15*

    Notification: Early December

    * All materials must be submitted through the online grants portal by 11:59 pm EST on the day of the deadline. Deadlines that fall on weekends or holidays are honored on the next business day. 

  • Mini Grants (awards up to $1,200)
    Our Mini Grants Program invites nonprofit organizations and schools to apply for funding in support of public humanities projects, documentary film, and civic education initiatives.

    DEADLINES:

    Mini Grant deadlines are March 1, July 1, and November 1.

    Submit your application to meet one of the deadlines, which is at least ten (10) weeks prior to the start of your project. Notification of awards will occur five (5) weeks after the application deadline. The project must be completed within one year of the award.

    All materials must be submitted through the online grants portal by 11:59 pm EST on the day of the deadline. Deadlines that fall on weekends or holidays are honored on the next business day. 

All grant applications and LOIs are submitted through our Online Grants Portal. Please pay close attention to our grant deadlines. We want your proposal to get its fair consideration, but in fairness to other applicants and to the process, we cannot make any exceptions to our deadlines.

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  • “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

  • “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

  • “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

  • “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

  • “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
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About Us
Maryland Humanities is a statewide, educational nonprofit organization that creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities.
Maryland Humanities
108 West Centre Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-4565
(410) 685-0095
(410) 685-0795 fax
info@mdhumanities.org
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