The West Virginia Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, supports public humanities programming throughout West Virginia. Through its Teacher Institutes grant program, the Council provides funding to colleges, universities, and the state Department of Education to develop summer seminars on humanities topics for K–12 teachers.
The primary objective of the Teacher Institutes is to promote in-depth exploration of humanities subjects among elementary and secondary educators. Grants of up to $20,000 are available to support seminar planning and delivery. Funded projects must be grounded in one or more humanities disciplines and actively involve qualified humanities scholars who contribute to the project's content and direction. The initiative encourages collaboration between scholars and teachers to foster enhanced educational outcomes.
Acceptable uses of grant funds include honoraria for scholars, project-specific staff salaries, travel costs, supplies, publicity, and other project-related expenses. A dollar-for-dollar match is required, with a minimum of 25 percent of the match provided in cash for grants exceeding $2,000. Projects must be open to the public or accessible to broader audiences, and provide a clear plan for publicity and evaluation.
Eligible applicants include West Virginia colleges and universities, as well as the West Virginia Department of Education. Individual schools, nonprofit organizations, and out-of-state entities are not eligible. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Grants Administrator Erin Riebe prior to submission to discuss their project’s eligibility and design.
Applications must include detailed project information, including a project narrative, budget, schedule of activities, and scholar involvement. The application deadline is September 1. Applicants should allow twelve weeks between the deadline and the start of grant-supported project activities. Successful applicants will be notified following Council review.
For questions, applicants may contact Erin Riebe at riebe@wvhumanities.org or 304-346-8500.
