Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access (45.149)
Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access (Assistance Listing 45.149) is run by the National Endowment for the Humanities. It awarded $116 million in 762 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $151,885 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $93,995. Half of the 762 awards fell between $10,000 and $319,569, and they ranged from $1,283 to $2.0 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$116 million
- Grant awards762
- Typical award$93,995
- Awarded in FY 2025$12.3 million
- Size rank766 of 1,823
- Type of assistanceProject grants
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $19.8 million in fiscal 2021 to $12.3 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 766th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 23% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 56 states and territories.
What the program funds
This program supports enhanced free, public access to historical U.S. newspapers. Recipients will digitize newspapers published in U.S. states or jurisdictions for ingest into Chronicling America, produce title essays to accompany digitized newspapers, and create educational materials and/or other digital initiatives to increase the use of Chronicling America.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, public and 501(c)(3) accredited institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American Tribal governments.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Varies by program; see https://www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Award amounts vary by program; for example the Preservation Assistance Grants program makes awards up to $10,000 while Humanities Collections and Reference Resources makes awards up to $350,000. In FY2022, the smallest award as $5,730 and the largest award was $350,000. The average award was $157,530.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2023: You can find past recipients of Preservation & Access awards using the NEH's Funded Projects Query Form, available online at https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx.Fiscal Year2025: The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program (ODNP) will digitize 100,000 pages of historic Oregon newspaper content for inclusion in NDNP’s Chronicling America website, focusing on titles related to four interconnected themes: (1) labor movements, (2) faith communities, (3) racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities, and (4) enhanced geographical and chronological coverage.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access (45.149) awarded $116 million across 762 grant awards, an average of $151,885 per award.
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 42% of the money, tribes 1.7%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 420 | $64.7 million | 56% |
| Colleges and universities | 326 | $49.1 million | 42% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 14 | $2.0 million | 1.7% |
By state
36 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 90 | $14.1 million |
| California | 62 | $11.2 million |
| Pennsylvania | 41 | $5.7 million |
| Virginia | 29 | $5.2 million |
| Massachusetts | 30 | $5.1 million |
| Iowa | 10 | $4.6 million |
| Illinois | 31 | $4.4 million |
| Minnesota | 26 | $3.7 million |
| Michigan | 25 | $3.7 million |
| Arizona | 14 | $3.4 million |
| Wisconsin | 17 | $3.0 million |
| Texas | 21 | $2.7 million |
| Ohio | 19 | $2.6 million |
| Indiana | 12 | $2.5 million |
| Florida | 20 | $2.5 million |
| District of Columbia | 16 | $2.3 million |
| Georgia | 13 | $2.1 million |
| Hawaii | 18 | $1.9 million |
| Nebraska | 10 | $1.8 million |
| Rhode Island | 13 | $1.8 million |
| New Mexico | 16 | $1.7 million |
| Oklahoma | 10 | $1.7 million |
| North Carolina | 14 | $1.7 million |
| Alabama | 7 | $1.4 million |
| Oregon | 7 | $1.4 million |
| Tennessee | 7 | $1.4 million |
| Maine | 12 | $1.3 million |
| Washington | 13 | $1.3 million |
| South Carolina | 7 | $1.2 million |
| Kentucky | 14 | $1.1 million |
| Colorado | 9 | $1.1 million |
| Maryland | 10 | $1.1 million |
| Utah | 7 | $1.0 million |
| Arkansas | 7 | $1.0 million |
| Mississippi | 5 | $975,230 |
| Puerto Rico | 10 | $962,985 |
| Alaska | 8 | $911,458 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 2 | $891,416 |
| Connecticut | 11 | $882,845 |
| New Jersey | 6 | $782,275 |
| Delaware | 4 | $780,915 |
| Missouri | 8 | $752,666 |
| Montana | 3 | $716,004 |
| South Dakota | 3 | $693,828 |
| New Hampshire | 6 | $687,758 |
| Kansas | 3 | $532,019 |
| Louisiana | 8 | $530,363 |
| West Virginia | 3 | $511,346 |
| Wyoming | 5 | $486,281 |
| Vermont | 8 | $483,916 |
| North Dakota | 2 | $467,187 |
| American Samoa | 1 | $350,000 |
| Idaho | 2 | $184,358 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1 | $149,998 |
| Nevada | 5 | $49,721 |
| Guam | 1 | $30,000 |