NEH Grant Programs
America's Media Makers: Development Grants; Receipt Deadline: January 28, 2008 (for projects beginning September 2009)
Date posted: November 24, 2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) Number: 45.164
Questions?
Contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Public Programs at 202-606-8269 and publicpgms@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
Grant Program Description
Grants for America’s Media Makers support media projects that explore significant events, figures, or developments in the humanities in creative and new ways. America’s Media Makers projects promote active exploration and engagement for broad public audiences in history, literature, archaeology, art history, comparative religion, philosophy, and other fields of the humanities. NEH supports the development of humanities content and interactivity that excites, informs, and stirs thoughtful reflection. To that end, NEH urges applicants to consider more than one format for presenting humanities ideas to the public. Grants for America’s Media Makers should encourage audiences to engage with the humanities, promote dialogue and discussion, and foster learning among people of all ages.
NEH offers two categories of grants for media projects, Development Grants and Production Grants.
Development grants enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and format and to prepare programs for production. These grants cover a wide range of activities that include, but are not limited to, meetings and individual consultations with scholars, location and archival research, preliminary interviews, preparation of program scripts, designs for interactivity and digital distribution, and the creation of partnerships for outreach activities and public engagement with the humanities. Development grants should culminate in the refinement of the humanities ideas, a script, or a design document for (or a prototype of) digital media components or projects. Development grants may also result in a detailed plan for outreach and public engagement in collaboration with partner organizations.
Before applying, applicants must have a solid command of the major humanities scholarship on the subject, have clarified the ideas that the project will consider, and have consulted with a team of scholarly advisers to work out the intellectual issues that the program will explore. Applicants must also have made preliminary decisions about the format and storyline and located essential materials for the program(s). Finally, they must have recruited the appropriate media professionals, especially the producer, writer, or interactive designer.
Production grants support the preparation of a program for distribution. Applicants must submit a script for a radio or television program, or a prototype or storyboard for a digital media project, that demonstrates a solid command of the humanities ideas and scholarship about the subject. See application guidelines for Production Grants.
Applications may be submitted for any phase of a project. Applicants are not required to obtain a development grant before applying for a production grant. Applicants may not, however, submit multiple applications for the same project at the same deadline. An applicant must choose whether to apply for development or production of a particular project. If an application for a project is already under review, another application for the same project cannot be accepted.
NEH encourages radio, television, and digital media projects that
Radio projects may feature documentary programs or historical dramatizations and involve single programs, limited series, or segments within an existing, ongoing program vehicle. They may also develop new humanities content to augment existing radio programming or add greater historical background or humanities analysis to the subjects of existing programs. They may be intended for regional or national distribution.
Television projects may be documentary programs or historical dramatizations that address significant figures, events, or developments in the humanities and draw their content from humanities scholarship. They must be intended for national distribution.
Digital technology projects may expand the content of a radio or television program or they may be components of a larger, nonbroadcast project or be projects in their own right.
All projects should
To ensure that the humanities ideas are well conceived, projects must use a team of scholars who represent major fields relevant to the subject matter and offer diverse perspectives and approaches. As needed, projects may also include other participants with experience and knowledge appropriate to the project’s formats or technical requirements.
Sample projects:
In partnership with a museum and a national library organization, the producers of a leading history series on public television created a project that includes a five-part television series, an extensive Web site, an oral history project using the latest video cell phone technology, and reading and discussion programs to illuminate the Native American experience from early European settlement to the late twentieth century.
A nonprofit radio production company produced a nationally distributed weekly radio program on African music that uses digital media technologies, including user-directed media, to disseminate humanities knowledge to new audiences, beyond those who traditionally listen to public radio. The grantee organization also collaborated with major humanities institutions such as museums and universities to enable them to use the radio series and live musical performances to expand their traditional audiences for exhibitions, scholarly presentations, and collections.
A media producer created a Web site that introduces users to the challenges of producing historical narrative by interpreting a variety of documentary sources and leads them through the investigative work of historians and filmmakers that produced both the book and the film, A Midwife’s Tale.
Grants for America’s Media Makers may not be used for
Providing Access to Grant Products
As a taxpayer-supported federal agency, NEH endeavors to make the products of its awards available to the broadest possible audience. Our goal is for scholars, educators, students, and the American public to have ready and easy access to the wide range of NEH award products. For the America’s Media Makers program, such products may include radio and television programs and digital media products. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public. Detailed guidance on access and dissemination matters can be found in the “Distribution Expectations and Rights” section below.
Distribution Expectations and Rights
Once production is completed, NEH expects that projects will be offered for distribution to broad public audiences, so that the American public will have ready and easy access to the products of NEH awards. NEH must approve all distribution arrangements before they are finalized.
While the grantee owns the rights to the products of the grant, such as program scripts and radio and television programs, NEH reserves a nonexclusive and irrevocable right to use materials produced under a grant and to authorize others to use these materials for federal purposes. For more information on NEH’s rights to grant products, please see Article 23 of the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations.
Program Income
Award recipients are required to report income earned from grant products during the grant period and for seven years following the end of the grant. In addition, a percentage of income earned during this period must be returned to NEH. The percentage is based upon the proportion of NEH support of the total project costs. For further information, please see the NEH Program Income Policy.
III. Award Information
Successful applicants will be awarded a grant in outright funds, matching funds, or a combination of the two, depending on the applicant’s preference and the availability of funds.
Awards for development range from $40,000 to $75,000, depending on the complexity of the project, and are usually made for a period of six to twelve months. Basic development grants of up to $40,000 are available for activities that include collaboration with scholars to refine the humanities content, undertake archival research, and conduct preliminary interviews.
Awards of up to $75,000 are available for the scripting of a radio or television program or the creation of a prototype for a digital media project, and for more complex projects that would have exceptionally wide reach to audiences through either of the following:
Cost Sharing
Cost sharing is not required for America’s Media Makers grants at the development stage. But if proposed project costs exceed the limits of NEH funding as shown above, applicants will need to show cost sharing on the project budget. Cost sharing includes cash contributions to the project by the applicant and third parties as well as in-kind contributions, such as donated goods and services. Cost sharing also includes gift money raised to release federal matching funds.
Other Award Information
An NEH grant for one stage of a project does not commit NEH to continued support. Applications for each stage are evaluated independently.
Eligibility
Any U.S. nonprofit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Independent producers who wish to apply for NEH funding are advised to seek an eligible organization to sponsor the project and submit the application to NEH.
NEH generally does not award grants to other federal entities or to applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities. This does not preclude applicants from using grant funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in their projects.
If an application for a project is already under review, another application for the same project cannot be accepted.
Ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
Application and Submission Information

Application advice and proposal drafts
Applicants are encouraged to contact program officers, who may answer questions about the review process, supply samples of funded applications, and review preliminary drafts. NEH recommends that drafts be submitted at least six weeks before the deadline so that the staff will have adequate time to respond. A response cannot be guaranteed if drafts arrive after this date. Staff comments are not part of the formal review process and have no bearing on the final outcome of the application. Previous applicants have, however, found them helpful in strengthening their applications. Draft proposals should not be submitted via Grants.gov.
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION
The following required elements must be submitted through Grants.gov:
  1. Table of contents
    List all parts of the application with corresponding page numbers.
  2. Budget form
    Using the instructions, complete the budget form (PDF). Applicants may use their own budget form or the standard industry budget format in place of Section A of the budget form. However, applicants must also provide a budget summary similar to Section B (Summary Budget and Project Funding) of the NEH budget form (PDF). If you wish, you may include separate pages with notes to explain any of the budget items in more detail. Applicants are advised to retain a copy of the PDF containing their budget form.
    • Compensation
      Please identify all key project personnel by name on the budget form.
      Indicate in the budget if any of these individuals will perform different and separately budgeted functions.
      Compensation for key project positions, such as the project director, producer, director, and scriptwriter, will be considered as fixed fees for service, even though the amount of compensation requested is calculated on the basis of the projected length of the project.
    • Department of Labor regulations
      U.S. Department of Labor regulations require that all professional performers, scriptwriters, and related or supporting professional personnel employed on projects or productions supported in whole or in part by NEH be paid not less than the minimum union or guild rates.
      A copy of the applicable regulations, “Labor Standards on Projects or Productions Assisted by Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities; Final Rule,” may be accessed online or obtained from NEH’s Office of Grant Management, Room 311, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506 (202-606-8494).
    • Equipment
      Normally, NEH does not allow the purchase of equipment, but applicants may use their own equipment and include charges for this use, subject to the following:
      • for equipment and facilities that are not fully depreciated, determine actual costs on the basis of the acquisition costs, divided by the useful life, times the period of use on the project; and
      • for equipment and facilities that have been fully depreciated, charges to operate the asset, including the cost of maintenance, insurance, and other related expenses, are allowable.
    • Administrative fee in lieu of indirect costs for umbrella organizations
      Under certain circumstances, a nonprofit organization may sponsor an independent producer, filmmaker, or group that, without tax-exempt status, is not eligible to apply directly for a grant from NEH. The sponsoring organization, also called an “umbrella” organization, may provide the project with accounting services, office and editing facilities, fundraising assistance, and other administrative support, but may not carry out the project activities itself. Under this arrangement the umbrella organization is considered the grantee of record and assumes all attendant responsibilities of a grantee. For further information, please see Requirements for Grant Recipients that Serve as Sponsors of Projects (2-page PDF).
      NEH will allow an umbrella organization to recover its costs for administering the award by charging an administrative fee of 5 percent of total project costs. This administrative fee may be charged instead of negotiating an indirect cost rate with NEH.
      Applicants that are umbrella organizations and wish to budget for the 5 percent administrative fee should do so in the “indirect costs” section of the NEH budget form.
  3. Narrative
    The narrative portion of the proposal should not be more than twenty-five single-spaced pages with one-inch margins and at least 11-point font. The narrative should address the following points:
    1. Program Description:
      State in one or two paragraphs the subject and format of the project, the intended outcome of the grant, the amount of funds requested from NEH, and the anticipated total budget for the production of the project. Also briefly describe any multiformat components to be developed.
      Briefly describe any ancillary activities and products that are related to the project but will not be funded by the grant.
      If support is requested for one program in a radio or television series, indicate the number and length of programs planned for the series. Also indicate where the proposed program fits into the overall series and the total projected cost to produce the series.
      If support is requested for a digital media project, describe how the project makes the best use of digital distribution opportunities available at the intended time of the project’s distribution and how the content and interactivity will be adapted as new opportunities arise with the further development of digital technology.
    2. Content and creative approach:
      Introduce the subject of the program and the ideas, themes, and questions that it will address. Describe how the subject is significant to the humanities and discuss the humanities scholarship that informs the project. Describe in general the resources available for the program, including interviews, archival materials, and other audio and visual materials. Also, briefly describe reenactments, if they are planned. Discuss how this project relates to other productions on similar or related subjects and explain any duplication of the subject.
      If applying for support of repurposing of previously funded, previously released content, discuss the rationale for the project, describe the added value of this content for audiences, and explain how new audiences would be reached.
    3. Storyline:
      Briefly describe how the program would unfold from beginning to end, including the program’s story structure, theme, style, voice, and point of view. Describe each episode if the project is a series.
    4. Audience:
      Describe the intended audience, how the subject is interesting to this audience, and what this audience will learn from the program.
    5. Format:
      Describe in detail the relationship between the presentation and the project’s intellectual goals.
      For digital media projects, describe also the nature and the structure of the interactivity proposed and how it will facilitate the audience’s experience of the humanities content. If the digital media project will accompany a broadcast program, describe the relationship between the interactivity and the broadcast, and explain how the digital format will enhance the audience’s understanding of the humanities content.
      If the project is multiformat, explain the relationship between the content of the different components and what the multiformat organization will add to the audience’s understanding of the subject. Provide a thorough description of the specific resources available for the multiformat digital components, such as audio and visual materials, historical documents, and interviews. Discuss the concept for organizing and presenting the material to advance the project’s intellectual goals.
      Applicants may provide visuals that illustrate the format in the “Images” appendix described below.
    6. Rights and permissions:
      Indicate who controls the rights to the materials to be used. Discuss the potential for obtaining permissions to use materials and the likely costs of obtaining permissions and clearing the rights.
    7. Distribution plan:
      Discuss plans for distributing the program and its multiformat components, if applicable. Identify the audiences for the project and explain the strategy for bringing this audience to the digital components and other outreach activities. Discuss the plan for creating an audience for the digital product. What is the strategy for reaching this audience? Identify other organizations as potential partners for audience outreach.
    8. Humanities advisers:
      List the humanities advisers and briefly discuss the rationale for their choice and the specific contributions that each advisor will make to the creation of the project’s content.
    9. Media staff:
      Provide information about the principal members of the media team. In a paragraph, summarize each person’s qualifications and contributions to the project. Discuss the media team’s experience and suitability for the proposed project.
    10. Progress:
      Discuss the work that has been accomplished to date on the project. Indicate the remaining work that will be done during the NEH grant period. If the request is for a program in a broadcast series, indicate how much of the work on the entire series has been completed and what remains to be done.
    11. Work plan:
      Provide a detailed, month-by-month schedule of the major work to be done, the amount of time it will require, and the specific people involved. Be especially clear about when the meetings of the media team with the scholars and other consultants will occur and how these activities will advance the project.
    12. Fundraising plan (if applicable):
      Specify the source and amount of all funds raised to date for all aspects of the program and related projects. Include information about any previous NEH grants, as well as support for this project received from state humanities councils, foundations, individuals, and other sources. Estimate the project’s total cost, and discuss specific plans for raising funds from outside sources to cover the costs that will exceed NEH support. Discuss plans for the sale of rights for distribution.
    13. Organization history:
      Describe briefly the applicant institution and, if different, the production organization. Provide information about each organization’s aims, origin, special characteristics, current activities, and experience with humanities programs. Each profile should be only one paragraph.
    14. Bibliography of humanities scholarship that informs the project
    15. List of collections of materials to be used by the project
  4. Treatment or design document:
    If applying for support to script a radio or television program, include a brief treatment or program description. The treatment should demonstrate how the story line or narrative of the program combines the principal materials available for the program and integrates the analysis and interpretive content. If requesting support for all or part of a series, include at least one treatment and shorter descriptions of all remaining episodes.
    If applying for support to develop a prototype for a digital media project, include a brief design document. The design document should describe the project’s architecture, navigation, style of interactivity, and the overall look and feel of the project. It should describe how the interactivity combines the principal materials available for the project and integrates the analysis and interpretive content. In the “Images” attachment (described below), applicants must illustrate the format by providing visuals, such as storyboards and computer screen captures.
  5. Documentation:
    Include
    • résumés of the media team, no longer than two pages each, arranged alphabetically;
    • résumés of all consultants, no longer than two pages each, arranged alphabetically; and
    • letters of commitment from key members of the media team, consultants, and participating organizations.
  6. Work samples:
    All applicants must submit either a sample of previous work or a pilot program. Samples will not be retained by NEH, and they will not be returned to the applicant. See the additional instructions in the How to Submit Work Samples section below.
    Create an attachment section describing the sample or samples and indicate the roles played by members of the current media team.
    For television projects, the media team must choose a sample of previous work that best represents the visual approach and format of the project under review. A DVD, which should play in standard personal computers (with DVD drives) and DVD players, is the preferred format for work samples. If a DVD is not available, VHS tape is acceptable. Eight copies must be submitted.
    If a pilot program exists, eight copies must be submitted.
    For radio projects, the work sample may be on either audiotape or CD. The media team must choose a sample of a previous project and submit eight copies of that project. If a pilot program exists, eight copies must be submitted. If funding is requested for additional support of an ongoing series that has received previous production support from NEH, submit eight copies of at least one complete program supported under the previous NEH grant.
    For companion Web sites of both radio and television projects, submit eight copies of CD-ROMs or DVDs if they are used as samples, or include the URL addresses if they are used as samples.
    For digital media projects, provide examples of previously completed work and (if applicable) prototypes of the proposed digital project. The media team must choose a sample of a previous project and submit eight copies of that project. If the prototype is on CD or DVD, submit eight copies.
    In the attachment section provide a description of the sample or samples of the companion digital component, and indicate the roles played by each person on the digital team. In addition, please specify the platform on which the sample component is designed to operate.
    If the digital work is on a Web site, provide the URL and clearly indicate that this Web site is your work sample. If the sample work is on a DVD or CD, submit eight copies.
    Please see the additional instructions in the How to Submit Work Samples section.
  7. Images (if applicable):
    If you would like to include photos, storyboards, computer screen captures, and other graphics with your application, you may do so by grouping images in a single attachment. Include a list of images in this attachment.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION VIA GRANTS.GOV
Register or Verify Registration with Grants.gov
Applications for this program must be submitted via Grants.gov. Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register with the Web site to create an institutional profile. Once registered, your organization can then apply for any government grant on the Grants.gov Web site.
If your organization has already registered and you have verified that your registration is still valid, you may skip this step. If not, please see our handy checklist to guide you through the registration process. We strongly recommend that you complete your registration at least two weeks before the application deadline, as it takes time for your registration to be processed. If you have problems registering with Grants.gov, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726.
Download the Free Adobe Reader software
To fill out a Grants.gov application package, you will need to download and install the current version of Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader, which is designed to function with PCs and Macintosh computers using a variety of popular operating systems, is available at no charge from the Adobe Web site (www.adobe.com).
Once installed, the current version of Adobe Reader will allow you to view and fill out Grants.gov application packages for any federal agency. If you have a problem installing Adobe Reader, it may be because you do not have permission to install a new program on your computer. Many organizations have rules about installing new programs. If you encounter a problem, contact your system administrator.
Download the Application Package
To submit your application, you will need to download the application package from the Grants.gov Web site. You can download the application package at any time. (You do not have to wait for your Grants.gov registration to be complete.) Click the button at the right to download the package.
Save the application package to your computer’s hard drive. To open the application package, select the file and double click. You do not have to be online to work on it.
You can save your application package at any time by clicking the “Save” button at the top of your screen. Tip: If you choose to save your application package before you have completed it, you may receive an error message indicating that your application is not valid if all of the forms have not been completed. Click “OK” to save your work and complete the package another time. You can also use e-mail to share the application package with members of your organization or project team.
The application package contains three forms that you must complete in order to submit your application:
  1. Application for Federal Domestic Assistance - Short Organizational (SF-424 Short)—this form asks for basic information about the project, the project director, and the institution.
  2. Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs—this form asks for additional information about the project director, the institution, and the budget.
  3. NEH Attachment Form—this form allows you to attach your narrative, budget, and the other parts of your application.
HOW TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE SF-424 SHORT FORM
Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please provide the following information:
  1. Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically with “National Endowment for the Humanities.”
  2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This will be filled in automatically with the CFDA number and title of the NEH program to which you are applying.
  3. Date Received: Please leave blank.
  4. Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
  5. Applicant Information: In this section, please supply the name, address, employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN), DUNS number, Web site address, and congressional district of the institution. Also choose the “type” that best describes your institution (you only need to select one).
    If your institution is located, for example, in the 5th Congressional District of your state, put a “5.” If your institution doesn’t have a congressional district (e.g., it is in a state or U.S. territory that doesn’t have districts or is in a foreign country), put a “0” (zero).
    All institutions applying to federal grant programs are required to provide a DUNS number, issued by Dun & Bradstreet, as part of their application. Project directors should contact their institution’s grant administrator or chief financial officer to obtain their institution’s DUNS number. Federal grant applicants can obtain a DUNS number free of charge by calling 1-866-705-5711. (Learn more about the requirement.)
  6. Project Information: Provide the title of your project. Your title should be brief, descriptive, and substantive. It should also be informative to a nonspecialist audience. Provide a brief description of your project. The description should be written for a nonspecialist audience and clearly state the importance of the proposed work and its relation to larger issues in the humanities. List the starting and ending dates for your project.
  7. Project Director: Provide the Social Security Number, name, title, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers for the project director.
    Disclosure of Social Security Numbers is optional. NEH uses them for internal application processing only.
  8. Primary Contact/Grants Administrator: Provide the contact information for the official responsible for the administration of the grant (i.e., negotiating the project budget and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of the award). This person is often a grants or research officer, or a sponsored programs official. Normally, the Institutional Grants Administrator is not the same person as the Project Director. If the project director and the grants administrator are the same person, skip to Item 9.
  9. Authorized Representative: Provide the contact information for the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) who is submitting the application on behalf of the institution. This person, often called an “Authorizing Official,” is typically the president, vice president, executive director, provost, or chancellor. In order to become an AOR, the person must be designated by the institution’s E-Business Point of Contact. For more information, please consult the Grants.gov user guide, which is available at: www07.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp.
HOW TO FILL OUT THE SUPPLEMENTARY COVER SHEET FOR NEH GRANT PROGRAMS
Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please provide the following information:
  1. Project Director: Use the pull-down menu to select the major field of study for the project director.
  2. Institution Information: Use the pull-down menu to select your type of institution.
  3. Project Funding: Enter your project funding information. Note that applicants for Challenge Grants should use the right column only; applicants to all other programs should use the left column only.
  4. Application Information: Indicate whether the proposal will be submitted to other NEH grant programs, government agencies, or private entities for funding. If so, please indicate where and when. NEH frequently cosponsors projects with other funding sources. Providing this information will not prejudice the review of your application.
    For Type of Application, check “new” if the application requests a new period of funding, whether for a new project or the next phase of a project previously funded by NEH. Check “supplement” if the application requests additional funding for a current NEH grant. If requesting a supplement, provide the current grant number (applicants should discuss their request with an NEH program officer before submitting such an application).
    For Project Field Code, use the pull-down menu to select the humanities field of the project. If the project is multidisciplinary, choose the field that corresponds to the project’s predominant discipline.
HOW TO USE THE NEH ATTACHMENT FORM
You will use this form to attach the files that make up your application.
Your attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). We cannot accept attachments in their original word processing or spreadsheet formats. If you don’t already have software to convert your files into PDFs, there are many low-cost and free software packages available. To learn more, go to www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html.
When you open the NEH Attachment Form, you will find 15 attachment buttons, labeled “Attachment 1” through “Attachment 15.” By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order so that we can identify them. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below:
ATTACHMENT 1: To this button, please attach your table of contents. Please name the file “contents.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your budget. Please name the file “budget.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your narrative. Please name the file “narrative.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your treatment or design document. Please name the file “script.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your documentation for project. Please name the file “documentation.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 6: To this button, please attach your description of work samples. Please name the file “worksamples.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 7: To this button, please attach your images. Please name the file “images.pdf”.
Use the remaining buttons to attach any additional materials (if appropriate). Please give these attachments meaningful file names and ensure that they are PDFs.
UPLOADING YOUR APPLICATION TO GRANTS.GOV
When you have completed all three forms, use the right-facing arrow to move each of them to the “Mandatory Documents for Submission” column. Once they have been moved over, the “Submit” button will activate. You are now ready to upload your application package to Grants.gov.
During the registration process, your institution designated one or more AORs (Authorized Organization Representatives). These AORs typically work in your institution’s Sponsored Research Office or Grants Office. When you have completed your application, you must ask your AOR to submit the application, using the special username and password that was assigned to him or her during the registration process.
To submit your application, your computer must have an active connection to the Internet. To begin the submission process, click the “submit” button. A page will appear, asking you to sign and submit your application. At this point, your AOR will enter his or her username and password. When you click the “sign and submit application” button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov. Please note that it may take some time to upload your application package, depending on the size of your files and the speed of your Internet connection.
After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a tracking number, will appear, indicating that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this page for your records. The AOR will also receive a confirmation e-mail.
NEH suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the day of the deadline. That way, should you encounter a technical problem of some kind, you will still have time to contact the Grants.gov help desk for support. The Grants.gov help desk is open Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) at 1-800-518-4726. You can also send an e-mail to support@grants.gov.
HOW TO SUBMIT WORK SAMPLES
To identify the proposal that the samples accompany, indicate the title of the project, the name of the project director, and the applicant institution. Send the materials to:
Grants for America’s Media Makers
Division of Public Programs
National Endowment for the Humanities
Room 426
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506
NEH continues to experience lengthy delays in the delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service, and in some cases materials are damaged by the irradiation process. We recommend that supplementary materials be sent by a commercial delivery service to ensure that they arrive intact by the receipt deadline.
Deadlines
Applications must be received by Grants.gov by January 28, 2009. Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded. Applications submitted after that date will not be accepted.
Supplementary materials must also arrive at NEH by January 28, 2009, to be considered as part of the application.
Application Review
Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:
  1. Intellectual content
    The likely contribution of the project to public understanding of the humanities, including the significance of the subject and the humanities ideas; the quality and relevance of the humanities scholarship informing the project; the appeal of the subject to a general audience; and the accessibility of the ideas.
  2. Format
    The appropriateness, quality, and creativity of the concept for organizing and presenting the material to advance the project’s intellectual goals; and the likelihood that the chosen format will effectively convey the humanities content to the audience.
  3. Humanities team
    The qualifications and potential contributions of the advising scholars.
  4. Media team
    The experience of the media team, quality of the team’s previous work, and likelihood of timely and successful completion of the proposed project.
  5. Distribution arrangements
    The likelihood that the proposed project will achieve broad distribution.
  6. Work plan
    The design of the work plan and likelihood that the plan will enable the applicant to achieve the project’s goals.
  7. Budget
    The allocation and justification of the projected costs.
Late applications will not be reviewed.
All other considerations being equal, preference will be given to projects that provide free online access to digital materials produced with grant funds.
Review and Selection Process
Knowledgeable persons outside NEH will read each application and advise the agency about its merits. The Endowment’s staff comments on matters of fact or on significant issues that otherwise would be missing from these reviews, then makes recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.
Award Administration Information
Award notices
Applicants will be notified by e-mail of the decision in September 2009. Institutional grants administrators and project directors of successful applications will also receive at that time award documents by mail. Applicants may obtain the reasons for funding decisions on their applications by sending an e-mail to publicpgms@neh.gov.
Administrative requirements
Before submitting an application, applicants should review their responsibilities as an award recipient.
Award Conditions
The requirements for awards are contained in the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations, any specific terms and conditions contained in the award document, and the applicable OMB circulars governing federal grants management.
Reporting Requirements
A schedule of report due dates will be included with the award document.
Interim and final performance reports will be required. Further details can be found in Performance Reporting Requirements (formerly Enclosure 2).
A Federal Cash Transactions Report (2-page PDF) will be due within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. A final Financial Status Report (2-page PDF) will be due within 90 days after the completion date of the award period. Further details can be found in Financial Reporting Requirements (formerly Enclosure 1).
Points of Contact
If you have questions about the program, contact
Division of Public Programs
National Endowment for the Humanities
Room 426
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8269
publicpgms@neh.gov
If you need help using Grants.gov, contact
Grants.gov: http://www.grants.gov
Grants.gov help desk: support@grants.gov
Grants.gov customer support tutorials and manuals : http://www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp
Grant.gov support line: 1-800-518-GRANTS (4726)
Grants.gov troubleshooting tips
Other Information
Privacy Policy
Information in these guidelines is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 956. The principal purpose for which the information will be used is to process the grant application. The information may also be used for statistical research, analysis of trends, and Congressional oversight. Failure to provide the information may result in the delay or rejection of the application.
Application Completion Time
The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden. NEH estimates the average time to complete this application is fifteen hours per response. This estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, researching, gathering, and maintaining the information needed, and completing and reviewing the application.
Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, D.C. 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.