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Grant recipients are asked to display the Nebraska Humanities Council logo on all printed promotional materials and grant-supported products, such as books, films or exhibits. If you are unable to download the logo, contact the NHC at 402-474-2131.
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Grant Policies

Grant applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with NHC staff BEFORE completing an application. Contact Program Officer Erika Hamilton at (402) 474-2131 ext. 104 or erika@nebraskahumanities.org or Program Officer Mary Yager at ext. 103 or mary@nebraskahumanities.org. 

Failure to abide by NHC policies may result in your organization being ineligible for NHC funding.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Grant types:

  • Mini Grants are for $1,500 or less.
  • Major Grants are for more than $1,500.
  • Media (Film/Radio/Television and Website/Digital) projects are treated as major grants but they have additional requirements (see Appendix A or C of application form) such as (1) the submission of the initial application, script or script treatment and work sample 1½ months before the major grant deadline and (2) a different budget format (see Appendix B or C of application form).
Grant deadlines:

Grant applications must be in the NHC office on the due date or be postmarked by that date. If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the grant is due the next business day.

  • Mini Grants: Jan. 1, March 1, May 1, July 1, Sept. 1 and Nov. 1
  • Major Grant: March 1 and Aug. 1.
  • Media and Website/Digital Grants: Jan. 15 for the March 1 round and June 15 for the Aug. 1 round.
Eligibility:
  • Any nonprofit group is eligible to apply for grants, including schools, libraries, museums, civic groups, government agencies, service clubs, tribal organizations, professional associations, historical societies, educational institutions and community organizations. For-profit entities and individuals are not eligible.
  • Grants are given only for projects or programs that take place in Nebraska and/or have direct significance to Nebraska.
  • Nebraskans must be a primary target audience for all grant projects or events.
  • Grant applications from organizations outside of Nebraska will only be considered if (1) their proposed project is about Nebraska and/or has direct relevance to Nebraskans and (2) there is a well-developed plan to provide Nebraskans with access to the results of the project.
  • Applications must demonstrate that the humanities are central to the project. The National Endowment for the Humanities has defined the humanities as including, but not limited to, history, literature, languages, jurisprudence, philosophy, comparative religion, archaeology, ethics, the social sciences when they employ humanistic perspectives, and the history, theory, and criticism of the arts.
  • All projects must include at least one humanities resource person or “humanist.” Typically, the humanist is a college or university professor in a humanities discipline. If a non-academic humanist is chosen for a project, the applicant must provide sufficient background information on the individual to demonstrate that he or she will capably represent the humanities. A resume of no more than two pages and a letter from the scholar explaining his or her involvement in the project must be included for every scholar.
  • Grant applications will not be reviewed if they (1) are incomplete (2) do not have the required number of copies (3) use outdated application forms, and/or (4) are from organizations with overdue reports.
Speakers Bureau:

Grants should not be used to bring in speakers who are part of the Nebraska Humanities Council Speakers Bureau, unless the program they are going to present is substantially different from their Speakers Bureau program(s).

Ineligible programs and projects:

The following are not eligible for NHC grant support:

  • Individuals (must be a nonprofit organization)
  • Programs, projects or events with advocacy or partisan objectives
  • Direct action campaigns
  • Operating costs, construction or renovation
  • Travel to professional meetings
  • Profit-making projects
  • Creative or performing arts (unless their primary role is to illustrate humanities issues)
  • Book publishing
  • Alcoholic beverages, food or entertainment for audiences
  • Scholarships and fellowships
  • Occupational training
  • Printing costs not related to public project
  • Institutional planning and development
  • Museum or library acquisitions
  • Academic credit
  • Research for solely scholarly purposes
GRANT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must disclose all plans to access NHC resources:

  • Grant applicants must identify all other assistance or resources from the Nebraska Humanities Council (such as the Speakers Bureau) that will support or be part of their project, program or event (whether applied for by their organization or some other organization).
  • The NHC discourages multiple grant applications for a single project/program. Applicants should combine all parts of a project/program into a single grant application.
Funding and budget:
  • The grant must be received and approved prior to the date of the program. The applicant should allow at least one month for mini grant processing and approval between the application deadline and the time of the event. For major grants, the applicant should allow at least two months for processing and approval. (Project expenses covered under the grant should not be incurred earlier than one month after the due date for mini grants and two months after the due date for major grants).
  • The grant applicant must provide at least half of the total project costs, either through cash or in-kind contributions.
  • Ordinarily, the NHC does not look favorably on proposals that request a large amount of funds (more than 20 percent of the total NHC funds requested) to support administrative expenses. Some exception may be made in areas of program emphasis. The bulk of funds should be used to pay for humanities scholars and resources, travel and per diem when necessary, publicity to develop an audience and production costs.
  • Use of NHC grant funds for indirect costs (overhead) is not allowed. These expenses should be listed as in-kind cost share.
  • While the NHC has no fixed scale, stipends paid to humanities scholars usually amount to $100-$200 for an eight-hour day, with a ceiling of $500.
  • Except when necessary to the project (for out-of-town speakers), food and lodging costs will not be covered by NHC grant funds. No NHC funds may be expended for entertainment, social activities or liquor. NHC funds may not be used for meals or refreshments for audience participants. These items, however, may be listed as in-kind cost share.
  • The NHC does not ordinarily pay for media advertising (television and radio).
  • Grantees may move up to 10 percent of the approved grant budget to some other expense without checking with the NHC. Changes to the grant budget greater than 10 percent must be approved in writing by the NHC.
Fees: Programs supported by NHC grants should be open to the public and free of charge or at a nominal fee. If an admission fee is charged it must be used to cover project costs (anticipated revenue must be accounted for in the budget to show the costs it will cover).

Mileage, per diem and honorarium rates:

  • Necessary travel is allowed at a rate not to exceed 42 cents a mile for privately owned automobiles.
  • Maximum per diem (daily allowance for meals and lodging) may not exceed $75 per day per person.
  • The NHC funds cannot contribute to more than $500 per day honorarium (the grantee can pay a higher honorarium if they choose by adding funding from some other source).
  • Air travel, where necessary, should be figured at economy rates, including a Saturday night stay-over if that lowers the cost.
  • Per diem and mileage rates may change. Applicants are responsible for knowing the current rates. Staff will adjust per diem and mileage totals downward if figured on rates that exceed NHC current rates but will not adjust rates upward.
Copies: Applicants are required to submit the following numbers of copies of grant applications (application without the required number of copies will not be reviewed):
  • Mini Grants: The original and five copies (a total of six applications).
  • Major Grants: The original and 20 copies (a total of 21 applications).
  • Media and Website/Digital Grants: (1) pre-review submission: The original and five copies of application, script treatment and work sample; and (2) regular submission is the same as a major grant (the original and 20 copies).
GRANT AWARDS

Repeat funding:  Everything else being equal, new applicants and/or applicants that have not received funding recently will be given priority consideration. 

Grant awards:

  • The NHC may choose to not fund a grant, fund a grant at a lesser amount, fund only certain aspects of a grant, and/or fund a grant with certain stipulations.
  • NHC normally does not send out grant money until one month prior to the project’s beginning date.
THE PROGRAM OR EVENT

Promotion and publicity: Grantees are required to coordinate promotion and publicity of programs and events with the NHC. Acknowledgement of NHC support is required in all publicity. The use of the current NHC logo is required on all promotional material.

Admission fees: Programs should be open to the public and free of charge or at a nominal fee. If an admission fee is charged, anticipated revenue must be accounted for in the budget to shows the costs it will cover.

Acknowledgement of NHC support: Grantees are required to give proper credit to the NHC for its support. This includes printing an acknowledgement of NHC support and use of the NHC logo on all promotional and program material, making an announcement crediting the NHC with support at the beginning of any public program or event, display the NHC poster at the program, and noting NHC support in any interviews with the press. 

Sign-up sheets: The NHC will provide the grantee sign-up sheets and evaluation sheets. The grantee is required to gather information from attendees on the sign-up sheets as they enter the program or event. Evaluation sheets should be passed out at the beginning of the program or event and collected at the end. Both the sign-up and evaluation sheets should be sent to the NHC along with the final grant report.

Changes to the budget: Grantees are allowed to move up to 10 percent of the grant budget from one category to another without prior approval. Any budget change greater than 10 percent must be requested in writing and approved by the Nebraska Humanities Council.

AFTER THE PROGRAM

Unused funds: Funds not used for the specific purposes spelled out in the grant application must be returned to the Nebraska Humanities Council within 90 days of the ending of the grant period.

Reporting: Organizations receiving NHC grant support are required to submit a final report on their project within three months after the project’s end date. For major grants 10 percent of the grant award will be withheld by the NHC until a satisfactory final report has been received.

Retention of Grant Files: The NHC will keep grant files for 10 years. At a minimum, the grant folder will contain the grant proposal, the signed grant contract, the final project report, and the final fiscal report.

Products/Copyright: While the grantee may copyright products (book, video, CD, etc.) that are produced through the assistance of NHC grant funding, at least one copy must be provided to the NHC with the expressed understanding that said product will be made available to the public through the NHC Humanities Resource Center and excerpts from said product may be used in NHC publications.

Revised 2-15-08

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