Promotion of the Humanities Research (45.161)
Promotion of the Humanities Research (Assistance Listing 45.161) is run by the National Endowment for the Humanities. It awarded $47.7 million in 285 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $167,383 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $150,000. Half of the 285 awards fell between $49,999 and $250,000, and they ranged from $5,608 to $550,000.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$47.7 million
- Grant awards285
- Typical award$150,000
- Awarded in FY 2025$3.5 million
- Size rank1055 of 1824
- Type of assistanceProject grants
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $9.5 million in fiscal 2021 to $3.5 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 1055th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 37% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 42 states and territories.
What the program funds
Humanities Research awards advance knowledge and understanding of the humanities and strengthen their intellectual foundations. The Scholarly Editions and Translations program supports collaborative teams who are editing, annotating, and translating foundational texts and documents that are vital to generating new scholarship in the humanities. Project outputs are publications in printed or digital form.
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
U.S. public and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (including institutions of higher education), state and local governments, 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
See https://www.neh.gov/divisions/research.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
In FY22, awards ranged from $5,000 to $315,000. The average award was $50,725.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2023: You can find past recipients by using the NEH's Funded Projects Query Form available online at https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx.Fiscal Year2025: George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition is an international, collaborative project that aims to produce the first-ever accurate and academically rigorous critical scores of the complete works of George and Ira Gershwin, including some fifty volumes of the brothers’ songs, film scores, operas, Broadway and Hollywood musicals, writings, and correspondence, as well as George Gershwin’s instrumental works for orchestra, string quartet, and keyboard.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Promotion of the Humanities Research (45.161) awarded$47.7 million across 285 grant awards, an average of $167,383 per award.
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 54% of the money, tribes 0.8%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 149 | $25.6 million | 54% |
| Other | 131 | $21.7 million | 45% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 5 | $376,634 | 0.8% |
By state
15 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 38 | $6.8 million |
| Massachusetts | 17 | $3.8 million |
| California | 18 | $3.6 million |
| Virginia | 22 | $3.6 million |
| North Carolina | 16 | $3.1 million |
| New Jersey | 11 | $2.7 million |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | $2.5 million |
| Illinois | 11 | $2.4 million |
| Indiana | 11 | $2.3 million |
| Tennessee | 9 | $1.8 million |
| Florida | 8 | $1.5 million |
| Michigan | 9 | $1.5 million |
| Texas | 10 | $1.4 million |
| District of Columbia | 14 | $1.2 million |
| Washington | 5 | $1.0 million |
| Wisconsin | 5 | $959,240 |
| Delaware | 4 | $896,149 |
| Hawaii | 5 | $782,068 |
| Kentucky | 3 | $610,793 |
| Alaska | 7 | $574,443 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | $548,129 |
| Nebraska | 3 | $525,714 |
| Arizona | 4 | $457,460 |
| Missouri | 2 | $452,037 |
| Maryland | 5 | $377,076 |
| Colorado | 7 | $350,001 |
| Connecticut | 4 | $338,076 |
| Alabama | 1 | $249,995 |
| Arkansas | 1 | $200,000 |
| Oregon | 3 | $198,227 |
| Mississippi | 2 | $194,000 |
| Maine | 1 | $187,373 |
| Montana | 1 | $151,238 |
| South Dakota | 2 | $128,683 |
| Idaho | 1 | $93,550 |
| New Mexico | 1 | $50,000 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | $49,938 |
| Nevada | 1 | $30,000 |
| Wyoming | 1 | $30,000 |
| Ohio | 1 | $24,977 |
| South Carolina | 1 | $14,850 |
| Georgia | 1 | $5,368 |