Grant Programs

An Overview

Grants fall into two funding levels:

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*

For more information, click here.

Major Grants fall into two Grant Categories:

Civic Engagement Grants

Civic Engagement Grants support public programs that promote informed dialogue and civic engagement about critical issues identified by the grant applicant. Critical issues might include race relations, population growth, immigration, environmental issues, health care, wealth and poverty, crime and safety, or other issues of importance to the applicant's community.

Projects in this category can be in a variety of formats, but must use the humanities as the central resource to inform the exchange and must involve the participants in an interactive conversation that examines important issues in the community. Discussion formats should allow meaningful, respectful dialogue between scholars and participants and among participants, especially among those who have very different points of view.

For more information, click here.

Open Grants

Open Grants support high quality public humanities programs that do not fall into the Civic Engagement grant category, but strive to reach new audiences.  Programs in this category can take many forms including:  lectures, seminars, symposia, interpretive exhibits, films, media projects, reading/discussion programs, teacher institutes, local histories and living histories, public archaeology, distance learning, or other formats that effectively engage Marylanders in the humanities.

For more information, click here.

Opportunity Grants

Awards up to $1,200

Opportunity Grant deadlines are January 1, March 1, May 1, July 1, and November 1.  You must submit your application to meet one of the deadlines that is at least 10 weeks prior to the start of your project.  Notification of awards will occur five (5) weeks after the application deadline.

Project must be completed within one year of award.  Opportunity Grants are awarded under the Open Grant category.

For more information, click here.

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