Humanities Councils Serve all Americans
Councils serve every state and territory, benefiting millions of Americans every year.
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Crisis Continues for Humanities Councils
On April 3, all 56 humanities councils received notices from the National Endowment for the Humanities that their operating grants had been terminated, effective immediately. This network is critical to the cultural health of states and territories, yet councils are having to take unprecedented steps to survive.
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation’s cultural life and imagine its shared future.
Cinco de Mayo parade in Mount Vernon, WA. Photo courtesy of Humanities Washington/WACultures.
Humanities Councils Serve Your Community
Federal investment in humanities councils has a direct impact locally in nearly every US legislative district. This public-private partnership means councils double the impact of each dollar received in federal funding with a matching ratio of 2 to 1, often more.
Humanities Councils Serve All of America
More than 80% of councils collaborate with rural communities to create exhibits and programs to highlight and preserve unique local histories. Councils invest in heritage organizations across the
nation to strengthen ties between residents.
Humanities Councils Serve All Americans
Council programs benefit all Americans, including seniors, parents with young children, students, and teachers. More than 60% of councils deliver programs that serve veterans, active-duty military, and their families.
Humanities Councils Serve American Institutions
Councils are already planning activities for the nation’s 250th. Leaders in their state 250th commissions, councils are connect people through speakers, discussions, and free public programs in libraries and museums. Documentary films, local exhibits, online encyclopedias, and oral history projects will preserve and tell these stories for generations.
Maryland students participate in National History Day. Photo courtesy of Maryland Humanities.
Federation Statement on Passage of Level Funding for NEH and Humanities Councils
On January 15, the Senate passed the 2026 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which includes level funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the humanities councils—$207 million for the NEH, with $65 million of that budget allocated to the 56 state and territorial humanities councils. The bill will now go to the President for his signature.
Humanities = Higher Education for All
Illinois Humanities believes education is liberatory and should be accessible to all. That belief led them, 25 years ago, to partner with The Clemente Course in the Humanities to offer free college courses to low-income adults in the Chicago area through a program called the Odyssey Project or Proyecto Odisea.
Humanities = Poetry in the Great Outdoors
Every summer, Vermont Humanities hold a series of poetry readings in Vermont state parks called Words in the Woods, which connects participants with the state’s natural resources and its living literary legacy. Dive into the relevance of poetry in our modern world, the relationship between nature and poetry, and the importance of supporting living poets.
