Montana Humanities Grants

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and public institutions in Montana for innovative community projects that promote humanities themes through storytelling, discussions, and public engagement.

This grant provides financial support for projects that preserve and restore historically significant sites and cultural assets in Gallatin County, Montana.

This funding opportunity supports nonprofit organizations in Montana that are dedicated to preserving and interpreting the state's historical resources through community-focused projects.

The Film + Video grant is a competitive grant program intended to support the development, production, and distribution of documentary films or series that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Donor Name: Humanities Montana State: Montana County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/19/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: 1 Year Details: The Film + Video program supports the development, production, and distribution of documentary films or series that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship and incorporate an approach that is thoughtful, balanced, and analytical; proposals must demonstrate the potential to attract a broad general audience. Humanities Montana’s Film + Video grants offer multiyear support or one-time-only funding for major projects in film and video. Film and television projects may be standalone documentaries or series of programs. Major projects are those requiring multiple stages of research and development, production, and post-production and which generally require a script and a year or more to complete. Projects may also include supplementary components such as discussion programs and public screenings. Humanities Montana-funded projects must: focus on clearly defined humanities theme(s) build on sound humanities scholarship deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions approach a subject analytically, presenting a variety of perspectives involve humanities scholars (academic, professional, or expert) in all aspects of the project employ appealing and accessible formats that will actively engage the general public in learning demonstrate support and involvement of communities and cultures represented in project content and activities or specifically address why they are not involved (e.g., projects that involve Native American communities or cultures must include letters of support from participating scholars, researchers, program participants from that specific community outlining their involvement.) Funding Categories  Stage One: Research and script development award (up to $8,000) enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and other program elements. Awards must result in a script or detailed treatment, which is required to progress to Stage Two funding. Applicants must submit an example of previous work Prior to applying for Stage One, you should have: assessed the major humanities scholarship related to the subject identified humanities themes assembled a group of humanities scholars to serve as advisers, and other experts if applicable consulted with the humanities scholars to identity the project’s interpretive ideas formed a media team to see the project through its development period Stage Two: Production awards (up to $10,000), including principal photography, source material acquisition, and rights clearance, result in a rough cut of film /video or equivalent (required to progress to Stage Three funding). Applicants must submit a completed script or detailed narrative treatment Prior to applying for Stage Two, you should have: completed all required components of Stage One conducted extensive research on your subject, including archival work and preliminary interviews drafted the script or detailed treatment(s) Stage Three: Post-production awards (up to $10,000) support completion of product and public distribution. Applicants must submit a rough cut of the project Prior to applying for Stage Three, you should have: completed all required components of Stage One and Stage Two designed your plans for distribution, outreach, and partnerships. Period of Performance 12 months Eligible Activities Stage One awards may support activities such as: meetings with scholars preliminary interviews preparation of program treatments or scripts production of a work-in-progress or trailer creation of partnerships for outreach activities and public engagement archival and other scholarly research to further development of script and humanities themes Stage Two awards may support activities such as: archival research and rights clearances meetings with scholars additional script development production (including filming, recording, and editing) and distribution Stage Three awards may support activities such as: development of related resources that explore the humanities content and themes central to the project (e.g., websites and curriculum materials) post-production outreach and public engagement. Eligibility Criteria  To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types: a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit) a state or local government or one of their agencies a federally recognized Native American Tribal government If your organization is eligible, you are encouraged to partner with independent producers and other skilled professionals to carry out programmatic activities. Under this arrangement, the applicant organization submits the application on behalf of the partnership(s). Applicant organizations must not function solely as fiscal agents or fiscal sponsors but must make substantive contributions to the success of the project. If Humanities Montana makes an award, the applicant organization is considered the recipient of record and assumes all programmatic, financial, and legal responsibilities associated with the award, including adherence to, and compliance with, federal regulations and the terms and conditions of the award. In addition, Film + Video Grants must: involve appropriate media professionals appeal to a broad audience demonstrate a plan for statewide, regional, or national audience involvement and of secondary non-broadcast distribution and long-term utilization include a 1:1 cost-share of in-kind or other funds include public programming such as discussions, lectures, screenings include outreach/publicity and evaluation plans where appropriate. For more information, visit  Humanities Montana.

The Humanities Montana’s Community Project Grants support public humanities programming that strengthens community and culture by promoting civic engagement, sparking thoughtful community dialogue, and reflecting on the human experience across the Big Sky State. Donor Name: Humanities Montana State: Montana County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline:  08/01/2024 Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details:   These grants are designed to support a vast array of bold and innovative projects that are meaningful to local communities and inspire timely community conversations, from film screenings and panel discussions to cultural festivals and youth literacy programs Focus Areas Festivals Literary Programs Lectures & Discussions Podcasts & Radio Shows New Ideas Funding Information Maximum Award: $2,000-$10,000 All Humanities Montana-funded projects must: Focus on clearly defined humanities theme(s) Build on sound humanities scholarship Deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions Approach a subject analytically, presenting a variety of perspectives Involve humanities scholars (academic, professional, or subject-expert) in all aspects of the project; all projects require at least one confirmed subject-expert Employ appealing and accessible formats that will actively engage the general public in learning Demonstrate support and involvement of communities and cultures represented in project content and activities or specifically address why they are not involved (e.g., projects that involve Native American communities or cultures must include letters of support from participating scholars, researchers, and/or program participants from that specific community outlining their involvement) Community Project formats & methods content (this list is not exhaustive): Storytelling Historical Analysis Public Writing Workshops Literacy Programs Ethical Inquiry Interpretation at Historic Sites Book Festivals Exhibits Lectures Speaker Series Panel Discussions Teacher Institutes & Workshops Humanities Program Planning Reading & Discussion Programs Humanities Events (conferences, symposia, Chautauqua, workshops, humanities labs) Eligibility Criteria To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types: A nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code An accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit) A state or local government or one of their agencies A federally recognized Native American Tribal government A tribal organization Ineligibility Fiscal agents or fiscal sponsors may not apply on behalf of ineligible applicants. Only applicant organizations meeting some or all the requirements of substantive involvement listed below are eligible to apply. For more information, visit Humanities Montana.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and public institutions in Montana for innovative public humanities projects that promote community engagement and cultural collaboration.

Humanities Montana Research Fellowship supports projects with a central focus in the humanities, a clearly defined theme, and involvement of professional humanists. Projects must include a public program, publicity, and evaluation plans where appropriate. There is a 1:1 cost-share requirement and applications involving Native American communities or cultures must demonstrate their involvement or address why they are not involved. Humanities Montana cannot fund projects focusing on personal concerns, non-public meetings, construction or operating expenses of existing organizations, lobbying or direct social action, one-sided treatment of an issue, fundraising for profit-making groups, alcoholic beverages or entertainment costs, and candidates running for political office.