Guidelines

ALL GRANT FUNDS HAVE BEEN AWARDED AS OF 10/7/24.

WE ARE CURRENTLY WAITING FOR OUR 2024-2025 CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS AND WILL NOT BE AWARDING GRANTS UNTIL EARLY 2025.

You may submit applications for projects taking place after March 2025, but we will not be able to award grants until after we have received our federal funds. Contact Zoe Kaylor for more information.

Below are some guidelines to consider when applying for a grant from Kentucky Humanities. Included is a list of what Kentucky Humanities cannot fund and some basics to keep in mind as you prepare an application for funding of a public humanities program.

Keep these basics in mind when preparing an application:

Projects present humanities topics and issues to Kentucky audiences.
All grantees must have a UEI number (Unique Entity Identification number) and be registered in SAM.gov.
The humanities, and humanities scholars, are central to the planning and execution of a project.
Grants are awarded only to non-profit organizations, institutions, and groups, whether or not they are incorporated or tax-exempt. Informal community groups can be represented by a responsible organization or bookkeeping agent who will handle financial transactions.
Grants are for specific projects.
Projects funded by the KH should represent the ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity of the Commonwealth and be made accessible to persons with disabilities.
Events supported by KH minigrants must take place at least 8 weeks after the FINAL application deadline.
Projects are aimed at out-of-school adults and families.

KH cannot provide support for:

proposals submitted by individuals
proposals submitted by for-profit organizations
classroom projects
projects by students
scholarships or fellowships
scholarly research projects
development or publication of book manuscripts
projects with a "how to do it" focus
general operating expenses
arts performances
major museum acquisitions
equipment purchases
construction or renovation
historical preservation of buildings
work completed prior to the start of a grant period
political or religious advocacy

Local Match

To encourage local support for projects, Kentucky Humanities requires grantees to match their grant request with cash and/or in-kind contributions.

Availability

All grants are dependent upon availability of federal funds.

What are the humanities

According to the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to
the current conditions of national life.”

About the Humanities Scholar

Kentucky Humanities requires the involvement of humanities scholars to support a broad humanistic perspective as well as in-depth knowledge in a particular field of study.

As defined by Kentucky Humanities, a humanities scholar meets one or more of the following qualifications:

Holds an advanced degree (M.A. or higher) in a humanities discipline, i.e. anthropology, archaeology, art history & criticism, comparative religion, ethics, history, jurisprudence, language, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and certain aspects of the social sciences.
Is a recognized expert with a verifiable record of working, teaching, and publishing in a humanities discipline and/or is acknowledged as such by other scholars in the field.
Is a Native American elder or traditional teacher involved in a project whose focus is on their particular tribe.

Every proposal is required to have at least one consulting Humanities Scholar and the consulting Humanities Scholar should be involved in the planning of the project and be able to represent to the Grants Review Committee how they will help make sense of the humanities content in your program.

Unique Entity Identification number and registering in SAM.gov

Since the funds that we use to make grants originate from the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are regranting federal funds. All grantees must have a Unique Entity Identifier Number and be registered in Sam.gov. Here is a link to get you started. SAM.gov | Duns - Sam UEI.