Virginia Humanities Regular Grants

The Virginia Humanities Regular Grants program is designed to support public humanities projects that engage diverse communities across Virginia through education, dialogue, and access to cultural resources. Administered by Virginia Humanities, the Regular Grants provide financial assistance to nonprofit and qualifying organizations conducting projects that explore history, culture, and the human experience. Grants range from $3,500 to $15,000 and support a wide variety of formats including media, exhibitions, research, and public programming. The Regular Grants cycle is held twice annually, alternating with the Rapid Grants program. For the upcoming cycle, the application portal will open on September 1, 2025. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required and must be submitted by September 30, 2025. Only applicants whose LOIs are approved will be invited to submit a full application, which is due by October 31, 2025. Funding decisions will be announced on December 15, 2025. Approved grant amounts will be paid in full following the award date. The period of performance for each grant is twelve months. To qualify, applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or other eligible entities as defined in the grant FAQs. Organizations may not apply to more than one grant cycle at a time and cannot hold two open grants concurrently. Those awarded in the immediately prior cycle are ineligible for the current one. All applicants must complete and receive approval for their final report before becoming eligible to apply again. A single project may be funded twice across different grant cycles, but never more than twice. Eligible project types include public discussions and forums, oral history and community documentation projects, interpretive performances, festivals, K–12 curriculum resources, academic conferences with public components, lectures, exhibits, teacher institutes, media production, and publication development. Projects must demonstrate strong public engagement and humanities content. While the program supports a broad range of activities, funding cannot be used for advocacy, partisan programming, creative arts for their own sake, building renovations, alcoholic beverages, or international travel. Indirect costs are not permitted. Applicants must provide a cost share as part of their budget. This may include cash contributions from external sources or in-kind contributions such as volunteer labor, staff time not paid by the grant, facilities use, or materials. Grant applications must use the provided budget forms and all project costs must align with the grant request. Sample budgets and budget guidance are available in the FAQ section of the grant portal. An informational virtual open house will be hosted by Virginia Humanities Grants Staff on September 3, 2025, at 12:00 PM. A recording will be made available for those unable to attend. Applications must be submitted through the online grants portal, where applicants may create or log into their accounts to begin the LOI process.

Attend open house. Use grant-provided forms. Explain cost match clearly. Public benefit is critical.