Major Grants

Wisconsin Humanities grants are for nonprofit organizations. Some examples are historical societies, libraries, colleges, schools, civic organizations, or an ad hoc group with a nonprofit serving as programmatic partner and fiscal sponsor.

Wisconsin Humanities does not fund:

• For-profit organizations or Individuals
• Organizations based out-of-state or without a Wisconsin EIN
• Projects that don’t engage the humanities
• Book production projects
• Strictly archival projects
• Building construction or renovation
• Projects whose main purpose is advocacy

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 to get a UEI (SAM) please see this quick guide. 

To get a UEI on SAM.gov you must provide 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. 

All WH grants require matching funds or in-kind effort from applicants equal to or greater than the amount requested from Wisconsin Humanities. They include any known sources of grants or gifts, any cash or in-kind contributions, and any sources of revenue, such as admission fees. Examples of in-kind match include the dollar value of facilities, services, talents, and time contributed to the project.

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

A strong public humanities project involves a variety of people with humanities knowledge and experience relevant to the proposed project. The following are examples of people who could serve successfully as “project personnel" designing, consulting and/or implementing projects that receive WH grants.

• A community or tribal elder: someone recognized by their community as a keeper of cultural knowledge, historical or place-based knowledge or practices
• A person with a humanities degree (BA, MA, PhD)
• A culture bearer: someone with special expertise in the lifeways, traditions and worldviews of a culture
• A person with special insight and expertise from their lived experience
• A practitioner in a humanities field (for example-storyteller, poet, local historian)
• An individual who has worked on public humanities projects for a museum, library or cultural institution

We encourage project personnel to bring experience working with a public audience and a demonstrated ability to encourage empathy, multiple points of view, and shared understanding between people.

Our major grants are reviewed by our Board of Directors using the criteria listed below. Our grant program staff are not involved in funding decisions. Board members may ask questions about your proposal after it has been submitted. You most likely will receive an email with these questions and will have five business days to respond.

The following criteria are used by grant reviewers to assess applications. We understand that not every project will address every criteria and that’s ok. But we want applicants to know what reviewers are looking for.

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

We have a special interest in funding projects that encourage conversations about our values and beliefs regarding race and ethnicity. Strong projects often use stories and history to help us expand our understanding of racial and ethnic identities, and related social dynamics.

Projects should use humanities personnel to support community dialogue that may speak directly to current concerns, such as police-community relations, but may not advocate for specific legislation

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. 

If the project you seek funds for is primarily to develop an audio, visual, or digital project, you should answer the digital humanities questions on the application. These specific questions are detailed in the Major Grant Application Instructions. Please read them before applying.

We require that 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.

Sample Budget PDF  

Sample Budget Description PDF

Project Personnel Forms are required for the Project Director, humanities personnel, and anyone for whom WH funds are requested. Complete and upload the required project personnel forms as one document.

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

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.