• For-profit organizations
• Individuals
• Organizations based out-of-state or without a Wisconsin EIN

The humanities are the ideas and knowledge about human history and culture that prompt us to examine our shared past, present, and future. The humanities ask us to consider how and why humans think and act as we do. Inquiry, observation, reflection, analysis, and discussion are the tools of the humanities. A good public humanities program encourages participants to think imaginatively and critically about the world.

The humanities include archaeology, art history, cultural anthropology, ethics, ethnic studies, folklore, gender studies, history, jurisprudence, languages, law, linguistics, philosophy, and religious studies. Social sciences, such as political science and sociology, are closely allied with the humanities and may provide expertise for public humanities programs. The arts and the humanities go hand-in-hand, but there are some difference. Read more here.

All grants require matching funds or in-kind effort from applicants equal to or greater than the amount requested from Wisconsin Humanities. In-kind effort may be volunteer time or labor, or other contributions to which an applicant can attribute a dollar value.

Funds cannot be awarded retroactively. To be eligible for a Wisconsin Humanities grant, all expenses and all of the required match must occur after the award date of the grant.

A humanities expert must be part of your planned program. A humanities expert is someone with an M.A. or Ph.D. in a humanities discipline or someone who is otherwise well-qualified to bring a humanities perspective to a project, such as a museum curator, tribal elder, or individual who is an acknowledged cultural expert within their community.

In considering the suitability of a humanities expert for a project, Wisconsin Humanities looks for breadth and depth of relevant knowledge. We encourage the use of experts who have worked with a public audience and have demonstrated the capacity for encouraging multiple points of view.

• Projects that don’t engage the humanities
• Projects whose main purpose is advocacy
• Book production projects
• Strictly archival projects
• Building construction or renovation

Completing your application involves gathering information from the personnel involved with the project, collecting letters of support, writing a budget and budget description, and getting signatures from the Project Director and Fiscal Agent. You will also be asked to identify a project period for the grant (it must begin after the potential award date), as well as a description of any public events you may be scheduling.

The project proposal has several narrative questions listed below. We recommend that you compose your answers offline in a separate document before beginning the online application.

1. SPONSORING/PROGRAMMING ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION: Describe the organization, its mission, activities and public programs, and cite any previous experience with Wisconsin Humanities. Character limit: 1,000 characters.
2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Describe your project including research, planning, and public programs. Character limit: 7,000 characters.
   In your description please address the following:
   • Provide a preview of the subject matter you will be sharing with participants. Help us understand the ideas your project explores.
   • What are two or three of the key humanities-based questions your project addresses?
   • What format and venue will you use for your public program(s)?
   • How will this format help your participants engage with the subject matter?
3. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND GOALS: Why is your organization developing this project? What need or interest in the community do you intend to address? What goals have you set for the project? Character limit: 4,000 characters.
4. PROJECT PROMOTION AND AUDIENCE: How do you intend to publicize the project to your intended audiences? Estimate the number of people who will attend your programs. Character limit: 4,000 characters.
5. PROJECT PARTNERS: Describe the organizations with which you are collaborating on this project and why. What are their roles? Cite established or new organizational partnerships. Character limit: 4,000 characters.
6. PROJECT PERSONNEL FORMS & HUMANITIES EXPERTISE: Project Personnel Forms are required for the Project Director, humanities expert(s), and other key personnel. Forms are also required for anyone for whom WH funds are requested. Complete and upload the required project personnel forms as one document.
7. EVALUATION: How will you evaluate the impacts of your project on your audience, participants, and partners?
   What kinds of feedback will you collect and how will you use it?
   What outcomes do you anticipate within the community and in your organization as a result of the project?
   Character limit: 2,000 characters.

• It reflects the interests or needs of the community.
• It builds or strengthens connections between communities and their organizations.
• It brings people together to explore and share ideas and to reflect on what we hold in common, as well as where we differ.
• It fosters observation, inquiry, analysis, and reflection.
• It has its feet firmly planted in the humanities and engages the skills of experts and community members in ways that promote insight and meaning, and it respects local knowledge and ways of knowing.
• It promotes Wisconsinites’ understanding of the character and conditions – past, present, and future – of our lifestyles and landscapes.
• It helps institutions do what they do better.

Visit our Grants Awarded page to view our recent grant recipients.

Recent events have raised a national call for a more consequential public discussion of the persistent racial and cultural issues that divide our communities. As part of that conversation, Wisconsin Humanities has a special interest in funding projects that engage in or foster meaningful community conversations about race and ethnicity.

Projects may articulate our shared and conflicting values and beliefs about race and ethnicity, use stories to help us connect or deepen our understanding, or draw on the history that shapes racial and ethnic identities and the life experiences of United States residents.

Projects should use humanities expertise to support community dialogue that does not advocate for political positions but may speak directly to current concerns, such as police-community relations.

Wisconsin Humanities funds digital humanities projects such as short videos, full-length film documentaries, websites, video games, podcasts, and other audio projects. Digital projects may also be part of a larger project such as an exhibit, or the cumulative effort of a larger humanities-based program. A digital humanities project should not be strictly archival. Instead, it must engage the public and be publicly accessible.

Detailed instructions are included in the Grant Application Instructions. Please read them before applying. We also offer tips and best practices here.

If the project you seek funds for is primarily to develop a website, digital game, film, or podcast you should answer the digital humanities question on the application to address the following:

1. Provide a preview of the subject matter you will be sharing with participants. Help us understand the ideas your project explores.
2. What are two or three of the key questions that your project addresses?
3. Provide a treatment that describes the structure, theme, style, format, voice and point of view of your project.
4. When available provide a script/scenario.
5. Please include a justification for this format and the distribution plan for this project.
6. Use the supporting materials section to provide a link to sample work.

As of April 4, 2022 the federal government requires a 12-character UEI (Unique Entity Identification) for all Wisconsin Humanities grant recipients. Organizations that have an active or inactive registration in the federal government's "System for Award Management" already have been assigned a UEI (SAM) and that ID is viewable on the organization's registration record at https://sam.gov/content/home. All other applicants will need to go to https://sam.gov/content/home to request a UEI (SAM). For more information on how get a UEI (SAM) please see this quick guide.

The data fields required to get a UEI on SAM.gov are your entity’s legal business name and physical address. A post office box may not be used as your physical address. The system may also ask for your organization’s date and state of incorporation for validation. Some organizations (entities) may be asked to provide additional business documents to establish their identity.

If you have received a grant from us before, you will need to edit your organization in the grant portal to add the UEI (SAM). You can go into edit mode by clicking on the little plencil icon. If you have difficulty doing this you can contact us for assistance editing your account.

We require you use our Budget Form to itemize your expenses. You will also be able to describe your budget request in the budget description section in the online application.

Complete forms for the Project Director, each humanities expert, and other key personnel. A Project Personnel Form is required for every person for whom WH funds are requested, but we also like to have forms for anyone who is critical to the success of the project.

The IRS W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number form should match the Fiscal Sponsor Organization that has a Wisconsin EIN and DUNS number.

Both the Project Director and the Fiscal Agent must sign this form. The signed form certifies the participation of project personnel identified in the Project Personnel Forms.