Big News!
All across the state, 52 different historical societies, museums, libraries, and other nonprofits have been awarded Wisconsin Humanities Recovery Grant funds! These are funds to help Wisconsinites prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the pandemic. The awards represent the first round of funds provided to Wisconsin Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
“We received 114 applications expressing more than $1.6 million in need.” says Dena Wortzel, Executive Director of Wisconsin Humanities. “We weighed factors including need, location, the strength of their public humanities work, the audience that organizations serve and how they would use these funds to help them address the impacts of the pandemic.”
The funds awarded will help organizations with everything from salary support and utility bills to improving access through digitization of collections and programming. “We saw so much need,” says Wortzel. “We hope these funds can help these Wisconsin nonprofits that provide cultural programming remain resilient as we try to emerge from the pandemic.” None of these funds were used to cover the cost of administering this special grant program.
A second (and final) grant round closed on October 15.
Learn more on the Wisconsin Humanities’ Recovery Grants website.
Got questions? There was an online info session with Grant Program Director Meg Turville-Heitz from 3-4 PM on September 21.
- Recovery grants of $2,000 - $20,000 are intended for nonprofit organizations, accredited public or nonprofit institutions of higher education, state or local governmental agencies, or federally recognized Native American tribal governments.
- Organizations offering humanities programs that reach underserved audiences are strongly encouraged to apply.
The following organizations were awarded grants in the first round.
- Adams County Historical Society
- Alfred & Lois Kelch Aviation Museum
- Appleton Historical Society
- Badger History Group
- Bayfield Heritage Association
- Beloit Historical Society
- Black Earth Historical Society
- Chippewa Valley Museum
- Coloma Area Historical Society
- D.R. Moon Memorial Library
- Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation (America’s Black Holocaust Museum)
- Dunn County Historical Society
- Eagle River Historical Society
- Farnsworth Public Library
- Friends of Hearthstone
- Hawks Inn Historical Society
- Historic Milwaukee
- History Museum at the Castle
- Irvin L Young Memorial Library
- Jewish Museum Milwaukee
- Kenosha Public Library
- Kenosha Public Museums
- La Crosse County Historical Society
- Langlade County Historical Society
- Madison Children's Museum
- Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
- Manitowoc County Historical Society
- Marathon County Historical Society
- McIntosh Memorial Library
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
- Milton Historical Society
- Namur Belgian Heritage Foundation Inc
- National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Fort Winnebago Surgeon’s Quarters)
- National Society of the Colonial Dames of America - State of Wisconsin (Historic Indian Agency House)
- Neenah Historical Society
- Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center
- Ozaukee County Historical Society
- Princeton Public Library
- Reedsburg Area Historical Society
- Sauk County Historical Society, Inc.
- The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums
- Tomah Area Historical Society Inc
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (Museum of Natural History)
- University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Wisconsin Farms Oral History Project - Lands We Share)
- Vaughn Public Library
- Vernon County Historical Society
- Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum
- Waupaca Historical Society
- Westby Area Historical Society
- Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum
- Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS)
- Wisconsin Logging Museum
