Available to assist nonprofit organizations that serve the public by offering programs in history, literature, philosophy, or other humanities topics.

Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Humanities announced the availability of additional OH CARES funding to help cultural nonprofit organizations affected by COVID-19 health crisis.  According to Pat Williamsen, Ohio Humanities executive director, up to $60,000 is available to assist nonprofit organizations that serve the public by offering programs in history, literature, philosophy, or other humanities topics.  Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded through a competitive application process.

Funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the grants will help Ohio’s cultural community maintain staffing and provide programming for audiences affected by continuing pandemic restrictions. OH CARES grants may be used for digital programming, humanities education staff, and supplies to maintain the safety of employees and patrons. Organizations that received OH CARES grants in the first round of funding are ineligible.

Do you belong to or support a Loveland organization that may be eligible?

Applications for OH CARES II grants will be available beginning on Friday, July 31; the deadline for submission will be Friday, August 14.  A webinar about this funding initiative will be held on July 29 at 10 a.m. To register for the webinar, go to ohiohumanities.org/CARES.

The CARES Act, passed by Congress on March 27, included $75 million of emergency funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Forty percent of that amount was distributed to the 56 state and territorial humanities councils to support local relief efforts. In late March, NEH reported that the anchors of the creative economy such as museums and historical societies were reporting losses of $1 billion every month as facilities were closed and educational programs were canceled.

Art museums, local historical societies, preservation societies, and other organizations that preserve and promote Ohio history, heritage, and culture.

Announcing the emergency appropriations available through the CARES Act, NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede observed, “To the extent that healing is to come during and after this pandemic, it will be through humanities fields from philosophy to literature to history to religious studies—through the act of documenting, preserving, sharing, and reflecting— that our communities will move toward a greater sense of wholeness.”

In its first call for OH CARES grants, Ohio Humanities awarded $690,000 to 91 organizations throughout Ohio. Recipients included art museums, local historical societies, preservation societies, and other organizations that preserve and promote Ohio history, heritage, and culture.

Ohio Humanities staff are available by email to help applicants navigate the application process to access emergency funding. Ohio Humanities will continue accepting grant applications for regular projects at deadlines listed at http://www.ohiohumanities.org/grants-2/.

Additional information about OH CARES funding can be found at ohiohumanities.org/CARES.