Grants

Scott Klavan plays Peter Cooper in the new film "Mechanic to Millionaire: The Peter Cooper Story," directed by Janet Gardner seen here aboard the first American steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb.

Maryland Humanities Council provides grants to non profit organizations to fund projects that use the humanities to engage Marylanders in discussions. Definition of humanities

Maryland Humanities Council programs will use the insights, knowledge, and wisdom of the humanities to inform discussions about issues that we face in our daily lives. Conversations about complex issues are too often reduced to sound bites in the popular media or short opinion pieces in a newspaper. These simplistic dialogues do not explore the deeper history, thinking, and traditions that are often intertwined with the different sides of an issue. Grant categories and criteria encourage discussions, forums, and other interactive formats using the humanities as the central tools to explore and understand the complexity of an issue.

General Goals for the Maryland Humanities Council Grant Program

• Support public programs that use the humanities as the central resource to engage diverse audiences in discussions about the critical matters in their communities
• Promote high quality public programs that effectively engage Maryland residents
• Support programs throughout Maryland, including projects by institutions and organizations not previously involved with MHC
• Reach the public of Maryland, including audiences and communities (socio-economic, ethnic, and geographic) that are not served by other MHC programs

Grant categories are:
Major Grants

• Awards up to $10,000
  
• Letters of Inquiry due September 1 and March 1 of each year*
  
• Final grant applications are due October 15 and April 15 of each year*

Opportunity Grants

• Awards up to $1,200
• Final grant applications are due January 1, March 1, May 1, July 1, and November 1 of each year* with notification within 30 days
• Project must be completed within one year of award

To get started on your grant application, review the Application Instructions and General Guidelines.

*Deadlines falling on the weekend or a holiday will be moved to the next business day.