Affected institutions can apply immediately for emergency grants of up to $20,000 to salvage, protect, and treat historical collections damaged by the flooding. Application details are available on the NEH website here: http://www.neh.gov/Flood_Assistance.html.

“When flooding ravages a region, it not only damages homes and businesses, but a community’s historical and cultural resources as well,” said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. “These emergency grants will help rescue, restore, and ensure the survival of significant collections of our cultural heritage threatened by the current floods.”

Additionally, grants will also be made to NEH-affiliated state humanities councils in affected states to help them assess the extent of the damage and to assist in the recovery efforts of hard-hit areas.

In 2005, the Endowment offered disaster recovery assistance within days of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall and awarded more than $1 million in the first 9 months after. To date, NEH has awarded over $2 million to Gulf Coast state councils, museums, historical sites, libraries, and educational institutions to help rescue the region's history and better protect it in the case of any future disasters.

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Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, museum exhibitions, and programs in libraries and other community places. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available on the Internet at www.neh.gov.