West Virginia Humanities Minigrants

The West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, offers Minigrants to support small-scale public humanities programming throughout West Virginia. The Council aims to increase public access to high-quality humanities content and foster educational engagement in communities across the state. The grants are designed to fund single events, lectures, museum exhibits, brochures, consultations, and planning for more complex humanities projects. Minigrants are open to nonprofit organizations in West Virginia that offer humanities-centered programming accessible to public audiences. The definition of the humanities includes disciplines such as literature, history, art history, philosophy, comparative religion, and other related fields. Projects must involve qualified humanities scholars who contribute to the content and contextual grounding of the project. Eligible projects include workshops, lectures, educational programs, brochures, exhibits, archival efforts, planning for future projects, and media production related to the humanities. Applicants may request up to $2,000 per project, with a requirement to match the grant amount dollar-for-dollar. No 25% cash match is required for grants at or below this level. Matching funds can include in-kind support such as volunteer time or other non-cash resources. Awarded funds may be used for honoraria, temporary staff salaries, travel, supplies, publicity, printing, postage, and facility rental. The grant does not cover fundraising, permanent staffing, regular staff salaries, food, alcohol, entertainment, equipment purchases, or projects with little or no humanities content. Applications must include a Project Summary, Project Narrative, Schedule of Activities, Details on Scholars involved, a Detailed Budget, and any relevant additional material. Applicants are encouraged to contact Grants Administrator Erin Riebe at 304.346.8500 or riebe@wvhumanities.org prior to applying to ensure eligibility and strengthen their proposals. Applications are due quarterly, with deadlines on February 1, April 1, June 1, and October 1 each year. Applicants must allow at least six weeks between the application deadline and the start of project activities. The next application deadline is October 1, with the following cycle expected to open in February 2026. Recent recipients include Daniels Elementary School, which hosted workshops by West Virginia authors; the Entler Hotel museum in Shepherdstown, which developed permanent exhibits; and Wayne County, which implemented a community quilt trail project. These examples illustrate the diversity of projects supported by Minigrants and the broad potential impact of humanities programming in West Virginia communities.