(Use the Public Humanities Grant Application Form)

These programs, like the majority of LEH programs, should be designed for the general out-of-school, adult public. Public Humanities Grants support carefully planned public presentations, which have a clear and central humanities component. They should involve audience participation and discussion – the backbone of the humanities themselves – and they should seek to incorporate new audiences and approaches in making the humanities a part of daily experience.

Public Humanities Grant deadlines are twice each year, spaced approximately at six-month intervals–May 1 and October 1 for projects beginning after July 1 and January 1 respectively.

All Public Humanities Grant applications follow a standard application and review process. Applicants are encouraged to submit a Preliminary Application (by mail, fax or email) to the LEH staff at least 4-6 weeks prior to the appropriate grant deadline. This draft is circulated among the staff who probe the proposal for weaknesses and strengths. These attributes are then communicated to the project director in writing. This written response is followed by telephone consultations as needed and, where necessary and feasible, a personal meeting. Public Humanities Grant applicants who submit preliminary applications at least 4 weeks before the deadline are eligible for $10,001 or more in funding; applicants who do not submit a preliminary proposal are limited to a maximum request of $10,000 in funds.

The final application consists of:

• The Face Sheet provides information about the sponsoring organization and has space for the required signatures of applicants. Space is provided for an abstract or summary of the proposed project and for an audience estimate.
  
  
• The Project Narrative should answer specific questions regarding the structure and operation of the project. This narrative section is limited to 10 pages and should address the following items:
  
  
  1. Brief history of the sponsoring organization, including its current fiscal profile. If sponsoring organization is a university department, please include information on the most recent department operating budget (limit one page);
  2. Justification of format selected for the project;
  3. Discussion by specific example of the humanities content of the project and what humanities disciplines will be used during the project’s activities;
  4. Identification of the participating scholars, their qualifications and how their expertise will be brought to bear on the project;
  5. Outline of the project, including a timetable with tentative dates and locations for specific events;
  6. Identification of supplementary materials to be created to complement the program activities (i.e. bibliographies, study guides, posters, etc.);
  7. Short and long term effects of the project;
  8. Description of the targeted audiences (if specific audiences are sought, justify the reasons for targeting such an audience);
  9. Description of publicity and promotion plans to be used to gather the targeted audience;
  10. Outline of the project evaluation process, including the type of information sought, who will gather this information and the evaluation methods employed (i.e. audience evaluation, scholarly evaluations, outside evaluator, etc.).
      
      
• The Budget Summary provides space for an overview of LEH and other funds to be used to mount the program. This summary should be accompanied by an Itemized Budget Breakdown. Where needed, include a Budget Narrative which explains in detail (with basis of calculation or unit cost) how LEH funds will be expended, the sources and amounts of the applicant’s share of the cost of the project (both cash and in-kind services), and the sources and receipt dates for any Gift Funds that are necessary for the project’s viability. Applicant cost share must be equal to or greater than the LEH amount requested for Public Humanities Grants. However, applicant cost share may be all in-kind. The average Public Humanities Grant award is $15,000.
  
  
• The Support Materials section should include signed one-page LEH resume sheets of the project director, project staff and participating scholars. Other items could include cost estimates for major expense requests (i.e. printed materials, framing, etc.), letters of support from institutions and organizations impacted by the program and letters from supportive and interested individuals.

Final Proposal Submission: No proposal should exceed 30 pages in length (15 pages if double-sided). Fifteen copies, including one with original signatures, must be received in the LEH office by 5 p.m. on the day of the selected deadline. All pages should be numbered sequentially. Proposals must be collated and either stapled or paper clipped. DO NOT bind or rubber band proposals. DO NOT place proposals in individual folders or envelopes. The Face Sheet must be the cover page of each proposal. The proposal must be ordered exactly as laid out by the grant application form: 1) Face Sheet, 2) Background Information, 3) Project Narrative, 4) Budget and 5) Support Materials.

Review Process: All Public Humanities Grants are subject to the same review process, which begins with the staff evaluating proposals prior to mailing them out to the full LEH board. The staff makes comments in four categories:

1. Omitted materials;
2. Program guideline violations;
3. Applicant’s history with the LEH (including scholars, sponsors and project directors); and
4. LEH priorities (including region of the state, special audiences and responses to RFPs).

The LEH Board’s Grant Review Committee (GRC) screens Public Humanities Grant applications and provides recommendations to the Full Board. The GRC itself is composed of members of the Executive Committee, three rotating Board members and four guest scholars. This procedure was established to focus discussion during the Board meetings and allow time for considering policy issues. All Public Humanities Grants are subject to the same review process for each of the LEH’s deadlines. After reviewing proposals, the LEH staff mails them out to the GRC (approximately one week after the deadline). After two to three weeks for individual review, GRC members send in their numerical ratings for the staff to average. Then the GRC meets to consider and discuss proposals, and to prepare a list of recommendations. These recommendations include decision rationales for the Full Board meeting two to three weeks later.

When proposals are sent to the full membership, they also receive in a separate envelope the recommendations of the GRC and staff comments. At the full Board meeting, the recommendations of the GRC are presented as a motion. The full Board then considers substitutions, additions, deletions, and other changes to the proposals recommended for funding, keeping in mind the individual merits of each application, as well as its role in the LEH program. The LEH Board may make one of five funding decisions:

1. Fund in full as proposed;
2. Fund with conditions;
3. Revise and resubmit;
4. Reject/resubmit; or
5. Reject.

All applications which are not approved for funding may be resubmitted at a future deadline. The Revise/Resubmit decision is a conditional award, which obligates the funding subject to the review and approval of the LEH. The revised proposal is submitted within 45 days to a panel consisting of the LEH Chair and two other members of the Grant Review Committee and requires a two-thirds vote.

All funding decisions are made by a simple majority vote of the present and voting LEH Board members; the staff does not vote on proposals. Decisions to accept or reject proposals are contingent upon the number and quality of proposals received, and the availability of grant funds.

The Grant Period: Award dates for Public Humanities Grants are July 1 and December 15 respectively. The grant term for any Public Humanities Grant may not extend beyond June 30 of the following year. Project directors delinquent in submitting final report materials by July 31 will forfeit the final grant payment of 25%.

For more information, contact:
John Kemp, kemp@leh.org • 504.620.2481
Walker Lasiter, lasiter@leh.org • 504.620.2631
Rachel Norman, norman@leh.org • 504.620.2479
Erik Charpentier, PhD, charpentier@leh.org • 504.620.2478