Office of Challenge Grants

The programs for institutional development administered through the NEH Office of Challenge Grants contribute to the strength of the humanities throughout the nation. The title program, Challenge Grants, encourages nonfederal support for the humanities to assist cultural organizations and academic institutions in strengthening their humanities resources over the long term. These grants involve three types of challenges. Applicants are challenged to engage in long-term strategic planning for improved research, teaching, preservation, and public programming in the humanities. Grantees are also challenged to raise, in nonfederal contributions, three or four times the amount of federal funds offered. Finally, potential donors are challenged to recognize and support excellent humanities activities crucial to the educational and cultural life of their communities and the nation.

NEH Challenge Grants are most commonly used to establish new or augment existing endowments, which will support humanities needs permanently. For example, Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota received in fiscal year 2000 the first installment of its $500,000 challenge (matching $1.5 million in nonfederal donations) to establish an endowment that will fund professorships in Lakota studies and Lakota language. This tribal college prepares Lakota language teachers for twenty-two schools on Lakota/Dakota reservations. Another project at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University in Fairfax,Virginia, explores ways new technology can enhance teaching and research in history. Its grant of $500,000 with its matching $1.5 million in nonfederal funds will create an endowment of $2 million to support postdoctoral, graduate, and faculty fellowships as well as software acquisitions and upgrades. Another endowment began when Alabama State University received this year the first $83,000 of its $500,000 Challenge Grant to endow a Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African American Culture. The endowment income will enable the center to preserve manuscripts and artifacts and gather oral histories documenting the contributions of African American activists, churches, benevolent societies, and other organizations central to the Civil Rights Movement.

Grantees use challenge funds for acquisitions, construction and renovation, and technological enhancement when the need is related to long-term improvements in the humanities. For example, the Peter White Public Library in Marquette, Michigan, received in FY 2000 the first of three installments of its $300,000 challenge grant (to match $900,000 in nonfederal donations) for construction and furnishing of a new wing for the library, the largest on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. These improvements to the 1904 facility will help the library meet increased demand for service and new technology as well as restore historic portions of the building to their original appearance. Direct expenditures are often combined with endowments, as in the case of Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire. It received a challenge offer of $500,000, matching $2 million in nonfederal funds, to endow humanities programming, construct a visitor education center, and help restore the Shakerd dwelling house.

The Office of Challenge Grants also administers the grant competition to establish ten Regional Humanities Centers across the nation. Through programs of regional studies in collaboration with other humanities organizations in the region--such as state humanities councils, museums, libraries, and schools--each center will serve as a locus for understanding regional culture and history and their place in American and world culture. Two planning grants of $50,000 were awarded in each of ten regions in fiscal year 2000. From these, one will be selected in each region for an implementation award requiring a three-to-one match; the award will provide permanent support for the center's activities.

A new program in the Office of Challenge Grants began, with the first awards to be given in 2001. Extending the Reach Institutional Grants will help strengthen the humanities at Historically Black, Hispanic-Serving, and Tribal Colleges and Universities by providing outright grants of up to $25,000. Like other programs in the Office of Challenge Grants, these awards will contribute to the enduring strength of institutions vital to the overall health of the humanities throughout the nation.

Stephen M. Ross
Director
Office of Challenge Grants

Challenge Grants

Abbe Museum
Bar Harbor, ME
$125,000* Endowment for Humanities Programmer/Educator and Capital Construction of Facility for Expanded Humanities Programming

Alabama State University
Montgomery, AL
$83,000* Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African American Culture

Alaska Native Heritage Center, Inc.
Anchorage, AK
$50,000* Construction of Welcome House and Education Endowment

Albright Institute of Archaeological Research
Israel
$150,000* Centennial Campaign: Endowment for the Director and Library

Amarillo College Foundation, Inc.
Amarillo, TX
$20,000* Humanities Endowment for Students, Faculty, and Community Enrichment

American Antiquarian Society
Worcester, MA
$150,000* Building Endowment for Acquisitions

American Council of Learned Societies
New York, NY
$167,000* Endowment Campaign for ACLS Fellowship Program

American School of Classical Studies
Princeton, NJ
$30,000** Emergency Grant for Repair of Earthquake Damage to American School of Classical Studies

Athens-Clarke County Library
Athens, GA
$30,000* Legacy for the Future: Humanities Programming Endowment

Berea College
Berea, KY
$150,000* Endowment of Appalachian Studies at Berea College

Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME
$175,000* Library Initiative to Enhance the Humanities Curriculum through Information Technology

Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn, NY
$75,000* BPL Humanities Endowment Fund

California State University
Long Beach, CA
$150,000* Heritage Language and Culture Program

California State University
Los Angeles, CA
$64,500* Educational Program in Identity and American Community

Canterbury Shaker Village, Inc.
Canterbury, NH
$500,000* Endowment and Capital Improvements to Support Humanities Programs

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
St. Michaels, MD
$167,000* Endowment for the Center for Chesapeake Studies

Clear Lake Public Library
Clear Lake, IA
$200,000* Library Expansion and Renovation to Increase Services and Create History Archives

Columbia College Center for Black Music Research
Chicago, IL
$50,000* Endowment to Support a Humanities Technology Specialist and a Library and Archives Cataloger

Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation
New York, NY
$167,000* Encyclopedia Iranica

Folger Shakespeare Library
Washington, DC
$200,000* Capital Campaign for the Education Center

Fort Ligonier Association
Ligonier, PA
$75,000* The Fort Ligonier Archeology Endowment Program

Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library
Saint Paul, MN
$50,000* Creation of a New Humanities Programming Endowment for the Saint Paul Public Library

Furman University
Greenville, SC
$100,000* The Humanities in the Digital Era

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
$275,000* Center for History and New Media

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village
Dearborn, MI
$200,000* A Comprehensive Renewal of the Museum's Infrastructure

Heritage Harbor Museum
Providence, RI
$208,000* Base Building Construction for Heritage Harbor Museum

Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu, HI
$125,000* Endowment for Education Programs, Humanities Scholars and Education Staff Salaries

Hood College
Frederick, MD
$100,000* Endowing the Hood College Center for the Humanities

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Boston, MA
$200,000* Endowment to Support Curatorial and Conservation Programs in the Humanities

Kona Historical Society
Captain Cook, HI
$100,000* Challenge Grant for Historic Uchida Coffee Farm

Library Company of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
$334,000* Creating a Center for Advanced Study in Early American History and Culture

Library Foundation, Inc.
Portland, OR
$100,000* Creation of a new Humanities Programming Endowment for the Multnomah County Library System

Loras College
Dubuque, IA
$114,000* Interactive Learning in the Humanities for First Year Students

Maine Humanities Council
Portland, ME
$120,000* A Home for the Maine Center for the Book

Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul, MN
$125,000* Construction of St. Anthony Falls Heritage Center

Montgomery College
Rockville, MD
$150,000* Montgomery College Humanities Institute

Museum of the Cherokee Indian
Cherokee, NC
$63,461* Education Department, Museum of the Cherokee Indian

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Washington, DC
$229,000* Establishment of the Historic Sites Interpretation and Education Endowment

Nevada Public Radio Corporation/KNPR
Las Vegas, NV
$125,000* Future Fund Endowment Challenge Grant

New Britain Public Library
New Britain, CT
$18,000* Humanities Programming Endowment

New Hampshire Humanities Council
Concord, NH
$50,000* New Choices for Teachers: A Humanities Education Initiative

New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM
$150,000* Southwest and Border Cultures Institute

New York Public Library
New York, NY
$200,000* Enriching the Collections of the New York Public Library's Center for the Humanities

Newark Public Library
Newark, NJ
$27,175* Endowment for Public Humanities Programming

Newberry Library
Chicago, IL
$250,000* Securing the Future of Public Humanities Programming at the Newberry Library

Oglala Lakota College
Kyle, SD
$200,000* Woonpse Okolakiciye (The Knowledge Team)

Ohio State University, Main Campus
Columbus, OH
$42,000* The World Media and Culture Center: Transforming Language and Culture Studies

Peter White Public Library
Marquette, MI
$100,000* Peter White Public Library Renovation/Expansion Project

Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg Center
Charlotte, NC
$100,000* Establishment of PLCMC Humanities Endowment

Queens Library Foundation
Jamaica, NY
$50,000* Endowment of Program "Literature, History and Memory"

Rice University
Houston, TX
$120,000* Endowing new Fellowship Programs at Rice University's Center for the Study of Cultures

Rockland Memorial Library Foundation
Rockland, MA
$7,000* Rockland Memorial Library Foundation Humanities Endowment

San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA
$125,000* Endowing the Jewish Studies Program at San Francisco State University.

Sandwich Glass Museum
Sandwich, MA
$90,000* Renovation/Expansion and Endowment for Humanities Interpreter.

Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, WA
$167,000* Endowment for Humanities Advisers, Teacher Resource Center, Education Staff, and Technology Initiative

Seattle Public Library Foundation
Seattle, WA
$200,000* Establishment of Humanities Endowment.

Society of Architectural Historians
Chicago, IL
$25,000* Buildings of the United States

Staten Island Botanical Garden, Inc.
Staten Island, NY
$75,000* Endowment for the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden

Studio Museum in Harlem
New York, NY
$100,000* Challenge Grant for Endowment

Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Topeka, KS
$75,000* Humanities Endowment for Acquisitions and Programming

University of California
Oakland, CA
$100,000* Building Endowment for Fellowships

University of California
Riverside, CA
$175,000* English Short Title Catalog: Past, Present, Future

University of Dayton
Dayton, OH
$100,000* Humanities Fellows Program

University of Maryland
College Park, MD
$150,000* Maryland Institute of Technology in the Humanities

University of Nebraska Foundation
Lincoln, NE
$150,000* Endowing the International Quilt Study Center

University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
$131,999* Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies

University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
$150,000* Building Medieval and Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
$167,000* Humanities Project 2001: Rare Books, Manuscripts and Other Original Sources on the Web

University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, TX
$150,000* Residential Faculty Seminar Program in the Medical Humanities

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
$25,000* Electronic Text Center Endowment

Walters Art Gallery
Baltimore, MD
$200,000* Endowment for Curatorial Position in Ancient Art, and Renovation of the Ancient Art Exhibition Galleries

West Virginia Humanities Council
Charleston, WV
$50,000* Hubbard House Humanities Center

Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC
$125,000* Endowing the Sequoyah Professor of Cherokee Studies

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Santa Fe, NM
$150,000* Endowment for Humanities Programming

Wichita Public Library Foundation, Inc.
Wichita, KS
$114,490* Establishment of Humanities Endowment

Williamsburg Public Libraries
Williamsburg, MA
$50,000* Williamsburg Libraries Construction and Endowment Challenge Grant

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Princeton, NJ
$150,000* Endowing the Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Grants in Women's Studies and the Humanities Initiatives Fund

Regional Centers Planning Grants

Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Brown University
Providence, RI
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

College of Charleston
Charleston, SC
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

North Dakota State University, Main Campus
Fargo, ND
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Ohio University
Athens, OH
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Southwest Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of California
Davis, CA
$50,000 Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Mississippi, Main Campus
University, MS
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Montana
Missoula, MT
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
$50,000*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI
$49,115*** Planning Grant for Regional Humanities Center

* Federal Matching Funds
** Chairman's/Emergency Awards
*** Denotes grants funded in whole or part by external sources