Before beginning the application process, applicants should contact grants administrator Erin Riebe at 304.346.8500 or riebe@wvhumanities.org. Plan to talk in detail about your idea and find out if it is eligible for funding.
The West Virginia Humanities Council serves West Virginia through grants and direct programs in the humanities. The Council seeks proposals from nonprofit organizations that offer public humanities programming for West Virginia audiences.
The humanities include the study of language, both modem and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; art history; and some aspects of the social sciences. See About Our Grants for a definition of the humanities.
Eligible projects must:
What we fund
Allowable expenses for projects include the following:
Honoraria for scholars; salaries; travel costs including per diems, mileage and lodging; supplies and materials; publicity and printing costs; postage; telephone; and equipment and facilities rental. Projects include, but are not limited to:
If your proposed project is not listed above, contact the Council regarding eligibility.
We cannot fund
Humanities Council policy prohibits funding regular staff salaries. Further, regular staff salaries may only be included in the project budget as in-kind match; such salaries may not be used to meet the Council’s 25% cash match requirement for major grants.
The Council defines regular staff as anyone who will be paid whether the grant is awarded or not. This includes part-time and temporary staff, graduate assistants, AmeriCorps and Vistas. The grant award can pay contractors hired specifically for the grant project or others employed temporarily for that purpose. It is the applicant’s responsibility to adequately explain the salary expense line in the budget narrative.
Additional Guidelines and Grant Application Instructions
For Fellowship or Travel Assistance Program grants, refer to the specific application for instructions. Also, see additional guidelines below.
This information pertains to the nonprofit organization that will be responsible for overseeing the grant, if awarded. Publication grants must be sponsored by an established nonprofit press or academic press. Teacher Institute grants must be sponsored by a college, university, RESA, or the West Virginia Department of Education. Travel Assistance Program grants and Fellowships do not require a sponsoring organization.
This is the CEO of the sponsoring organization and the person that will submit the application.
This person is responsible for the management of the project and has the responsibility of submitting progress and final reports to the West Virginia Humanities Council. For a Teacher Institute, this is the Institute Director. This person may NOT serve as the fiscal officer.
This is the person responsible for record-keeping and accounting for the grant funds and cost share. This person will complete and submit the required financial reports. The fiscal officer may NOT serve as the project director.
The project summary section requires the project title, grant request amount, proposed start/end date, estimate of audience size, target audience, and humanities discipline. It also requires a brief project description summarizing the grant project and providing the reviewers a snapshot of the details inside the application.
The project narrative should explain, in detail, the project outlined in the project summary. Project narrative guidelines vary for each type of application. Please review the appropriate instructions for the application being completed. Each objective must be addressed. Applicants should not assume specialized knowledge by the grant reviewer. Narratives should be free of jargon, and technical terms should be explained, if used.
Insofar as possible, provide a general schedule of work, activities, and events associated with the grant project. At least one activity is required for all grants, and dates may be estimated. If you are applying for a planning grant, list the meeting or research for the project. If the grant is awarded, you will receive instructions to complete a schedule of events with full details. You may enter up to 15 activities or events.
The project must involve at least one humanities scholar. Scholars provide oversight on topics, facts, information and research. Required information for each scholar includes name, contact information, and role in the project. If known, the Council highly recommends including current employment, academic degrees/disciplines, and major publications. Such information helps confirm that the scholar is qualified to address the humanities discipline of the project.
The detailed budget must provide a clear description noting how the applicant arrived at the grant request and cost share amounts. When completing your budget, keep in mind the following:
The budget narrative explains how the applicant arrived at the expenditure category amounts for the grant amount requested and the cost share amounts (including in-kind and cash). The budget narrative should list each expenditure category as a separate line item and include a short description of each item, and how it is calculated. The detailed budget section of the application should also list other sources of funds pending or secured if applicable.
Some grants require attachments and/or additional material. Please review the appropriate application carefully before beginning. We do not accept letters of support or other miscellaneous addendums such as newspaper articles. Any information the grant review committee should know must be included in the grant application, budget narrative, or project narrative. Attachments directly related to the project may be included (e.g., a sample brochure to demonstrate previous work when you are applying for funding a brochure). Materials that must be mailed to the Humanities Council must be postmarked on or before the grant deadline.
The authorizing official must sign and submit the application.
Some grants have additional guidelines and/or requirements. Click the links below.
Please read the General Grant Guidelines and How to Apply pages before completing an application. Additional grant information is available on our About Our Grants page.
