County Well Represented in Indiana Humanities Awards in ‘24

Dozens of cultural institutions, libraries, universities and other nonprofit organizations in nearly 60 communities across the state received grants from Indiana Humanities to provide public humanities programs this year. As part of that, Hamilton County was well represented with Noblesville, Fishers and Carmel prominently on the list.

Projects supported by Indiana Humanities funding include an oral history training, an exhibition on the Potawatomi people of northwest Indiana, a celebration of Japanese language and culture, a Civil War festival, documentaries on Indiana’s Latino heritage and more.

“Indiana Humanities is committed to ensuring that all Hoosiers benefit from cultural programming,” said George Hanlin, director of grants at Indiana Humanities. “I’m pleased that we’ve awarded funds to so many groups across the state and that we’ve been able to serve such a diverse group of people.”

Indiana Humanities awarded 44 Action Grants, 51 Advancing Racial Equity Collection Development Grants, 18 Historic Preservation Education Grants, 8 INcommon Grants, 29 One State/One Story Community Read Grants, one PreservINg Main Street Grant, and 5 Wilma Gibbs Moore Fellowships totaling approximately $317,000.

Indiana Humanities will offer approximately $300,000 in grants in 2025, including funds that will enhance accessibility efforts for public programs, and help Hoosiers commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

The nonprofit plans to host webinars about its offerings and anticipates holding in-person grant workshops around the state to provide additional information about the grant guidelines and application instructions.

For more information about Indiana Humanities’ grants, contact George Hanlin, director of grants, at [email protected].

The tentative slate of grants and deadlines include:

 Accessibility and Inclusion Grants, in partnership with the Indiana Arts Commission

• Up to $1,000
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis beginning in January or February 2025
• Provide funds to help make public humanities programs open and accessible to diverse audiences

Action Grants

• Up to $3,000
• Applications due the last day of each month
• Support a broad array of projects that help people learn new information, consider different perspectives, share ideas and understand one another better

Historic Preservation Education Grants, in partnership with Indiana Landmarks

• Up to $3,000
• Applications due Feb. 28, 2025 (round 1) and Sept. 30, 2025 (round 2)
• Support programs that educate the community about historic places and properties — and particularly about the need to preserve and protect them

INcommon Grants

• Up to $5,000
• Applications due July 31, 2025
• Support programs that use humanities ideas, readings and scholars to spark in-depth thinking and conversation around the persistent social, economic, cultural and racial issues that our communities continue to face

A More Perfect Union Grants

• Up to $5,000
• Applications due in August or September (to be announced in late spring/early summer) 
• Support programs that promote civic education and help address the civic-health challenges that Indiana faces  

Wilma Gibbs Moore Fellowships

• $5,000 per fellow
• Optional draft applications due Feb. 28, 2025; final applications due April 30, 2025
• Support humanities research that explores anti-Black racial injustice and structural racism in Indiana and that considers how Black Hoosiers have responded