About
Illinois Humanities is committed to ensuring access to free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois. COVID-19 has put an unprecedented strain on non-profit organizations in Illinois and on the people who make public humanities happen. With the support of funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the CARES Act, Illinois Humanities COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grants provided 189 awards, $710,000 in general operating and program support to 177 humanities and cultural nonprofits throughout Illinois.
Below are lists of the organizations receiving support in each category: General Operating, Program Innovation & Adaptation, and Community Resilience. A complete directory of the grantee partners is available to download.
For more information, visit ilhumanities.org/reliefgrants or reach out to Mark Hallett, Director, Grant Programs, at mark.hallett@ilhumanities.org.
Illinois Humanities COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Recipients
General Operating Round 1 Grant Recipients
24 Award Recipients, Totaling $60,000
Champaign County:
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center – Urbana, IL
Cook County:
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian – Evanston, IL
DeKalb County:
Glidden Homestead and Historical Center – DeKalb, IL
Shabonna-Lee-Rollo Historical Museum – Shabonna, IL
DeKalb County History Center – Sycamore, IL
Gallatin County:
Gallatin County Historical Society – Shawneetown, IL
Henry County:
Bishop Hill Heritage Association – Bishop Hill, IL
Jackson County:
General John A. Logan Museum – Murphysboro, IL
Kane County:
Aurora Historical Society – Aurora, IL
LaSalle County:
LaSalle County Historical Society – Utica, IL
Lee County:
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home – Dixon, IL
Livingston County:
Livingston County Historical Society – Pontiac, IL
Madison County:
1820 Col. Benjamin Stephenson House – Edwardsville, IL
McDonough County:
Western Illinois Museum – Macomb, IL
McLean County:
David Davis Mansion Foundation – Bloomington, IL
Rock Island County:
Midwest Writing Center – Rock Island, IL
Schuyler County:
The Hub Arts and Cultural Center – Rushville, IL
Scott County:
Old School Museum – Winchester, IL
St. Clair County:
St. Clair County Historical Society – Belleville, IL
Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities – East St. Louis, IL
Union County:
P.A.S.T. of Union County – Jonesboro, IL
Washington County:
Washington County Historical Society – Nashville, IL
Williamson County:
Williamson County Historical Society – Marion, IL
Winnebago County:
Ethnic Heritage Museum – Rockford, IL
General Operating Round 2 Grant Recipients Within Cook County
63 Award Recipients, Totaling $247,500
Buffalo Grove, IL:
Buffalo Grove Park District
Chicago, IL:
6018North, NFP
826CHI, Inc. NFP
About Face Theatre Collective
Al Raby Foundation
American Blues Theater, NFP
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
Barrel of Monkeys Productions (PlayMakers Laboratory Theatre)
Bronzeville Black Chicagoan Historical Society
Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation
Chicago Blues Museum
Chicago for Chicagoans
Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA)
Chicago Youth Shakespeare, Inc.
CivicLab, Inc.
Collaboraction Theatre Company
Contratiempo, NFP
Crossing Borders Music Collective
Deeply Rooted Productions, Inc. (Deeply Rooted Dance Theater)
Definition Theatre Company
Design Museum of Chicago
eta Creative Arts Foundation
Fifth House Ensemble
Firebrand Theatre
Free Write Arts & Literacy, NFP
Full Spectrum Features, NFP
Fund for Innovative TV (Media Burn Archive)
Gilloury Institute (Silk Road Rising)
Glessner House Museum (Glessner House)
Global Girls, Inc.
Guild Literary Complex
Haitian American Museum of Chicago
In My Brothers Shoes
International Children’s Media Center
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
Kartemquin Educational Films
Kuumba Lynx
Lithuanian Archives Project
Logan Square Chamber of Arts
Musical Arts Institute
Muslim American Leadership Alliance
NAJWA Dance Corps
NON-OP, Inc.
OPEN Center for the Arts
The Paper Machete Show Inc, NFP
Pilot Light
Poetry Center of Chicago
Public Media Institute
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA)
Que4, LLC
The Rebuild Foundation, NFP
Silent Theatre Company
Sixty Inches from Center
South Side Community Art Center
South Side Weekly, NFP
Still Point Theatre Collective
Strategy for Access Foundation, NFP
Third Coast International Audio Festival
Ukrainian National Museum
Young Chicago Authors
La Grange, IL:
La Grange Area Historical Society
Robbins, IL:
Robbins Historical Society Museum
Wheeling, IL:
Korean Cultural Center of Chicago
General Operating Round 2 Grant Recipients Outside Cook County
67 Award Recipients, Totaling $212,500
Adams County:
Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County – Quincy, IL
Bond County:
American Farm Heritage, NFP – Greenville, IL
Bureau County:
Bureau County Historical Society – Princeton, IL
Carroll County:
Savanna Historical Society, NFP – Savanna, IL
Champaign County:
Preservation and Conservation Association of Champaign County – Champaign, IL
Champaign County Forest Preserve District – Mahomet, IL
Coles County:
Lincoln Log Cabin Foundation – Lerna, IL
Cumberland County:
Cumberland County Historical & Genealogical Society – Greenup, IL
DeKalb County:
Preservation of Egyptian Theatre, Inc. (Egyptian Theatre) – Dekalb, IL
Hinckley Historical Society – Hinckley, IL
DuPage County:
MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe – Elmhurst, IL
St. Charles History Museum – Saint Charles, IL
Fulton County:
Easley Pioneer Museum Foundation, Inc. – Ipava, IL
Iroquois County:
Iroquois County Historical Society – Watseka, IL
Jackson County:
Carbondale Community Arts, Inc. – Carbondale, IL
Heterodyne Broadcasting Company – Carbondale, IL
Jefferson County:
Jefferson County Historical Society – Mount Vernon, IL
Jo Daviess County:
Galena Center for the Arts, Inc. – Galena, IL
Kane County:
Aurora Fire Station Preservation Corps (Aurora Regional Fire Museum) – Aurora, IL
Children’s Theatre of Elgin – Elgin, IL
Elgin Area Historical Society (Elgin History Museum) – Elgin, IL
Hamilton Wings – Elgin, IL
Knox County:
Galesburg Civic Art Center, Inc. – Galesburg, IL
Lake County:
David Adler Cultural Center (David Adler Music and Arts Center) – Libertyville, IL
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods – Riverwoods, IL
LaSalle County:
Canal Corridor Association – Lasalle, IL
Hegeler-Carus Foundation – LaSalle, IL
Reddick Mansion Association – Ottawa, IL
Lawrence County:
Lawrence County, Illinois, Historical Society – Lawrenceville, IL
Livingston County:
Greater Livingston County Arts Council – Pontiac, IL
Logan County:
Atlanta Public Library District – Atlanta, IL
Lincoln Heritage Museum (Lincoln College) – Lincoln, IL
Macon County:
African-American Cultural & Genealogical Society of Illinois, Inc. – Decatur, IL
Macoupin County:
Macoupin County Historical Society – Carlinville, IL
Madison County:
Madison County Historical Society – Edwardsville, IL
Marion County:
Centralia Area Historical Society – Centralia, IL
McLean County:
McLean County Historical Society – Bloomington, IL
Montgomery County:
Imagine Hillsboro – Hillsboro, IL
Morgan County:
Jacksonville Main Street – Jacksonville, IL
Ogle County:
Crossroads Blues Society, Inc. – Byron, IL
Peoria County:
Wheels O’ Time Museum – Dunlap, IL
Artists Reenvisioning Tomorrow, Inc. – Peoria, IL
East Bluff Community Center – Peoria, IL
The Corn Stock Theatre – West Peoria, IL
Perry County:
Illinois Rural Heritage Museum – Pinckneyville, IL
Pike County:
Abe Lincoln Project – Pittsfield, IL
Putnam County:
Magnolia Township Preservation Association – Magnolia, IL
Rock Island County:
Quad Cities Jazz Festival, LTD – East Moline, IL
Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation – Rock Island, IL
Theatre Foundation – Rock Island, IL
Sangamon County:
Hoogland Center for the Arts, Inc. – Springfield, IL
Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project, Inc. (Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, Inc.) – Springfield, IL
Illinois State Historical Society – Springfield, IL
Illinois State Museum Society – Springfield, IL
Springfield Theatre Centre – Springfield, IL
St. Clair County:
Center for Racial Harmony – Belleville, IL
Stark County:
Stark County Historical Society – Toulon, IL
Stephenson County:
Cedarville Area Historical Society – Cedarville, IL
Stephenson County Historical Society – Freeport, IL
Tazwell County:
Eastlight Theatre – East Peoria, IL
Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society – Pekin, IL
Union County:
McHenry County Historical Society – Union, IL
Vermilion County:
Red Mask Players – Danville, IL
Wabash County:
Market Street MTC, Inc. – Mount Carmel, IL
Will County:
Joliet Area Historical Museum – Joliet, IL
Williamson County:
Thebes Historical Society – Marion, IL
Winnebago County:
Midway Village & Museum Center – Rockford, IL
Program Innovation & Adaptation Grant Recipients
20 Award Recipients, Totaling $100,000
Champaign County:
Museum of the Grant Prairie – Mahomet, IL
Cook County:
Changing Worlds – Chicago, IL
Chicago Collections Consortium, Inc. NFP – Chicago, IL
Chicago Public Art Group – Chicago, IL
Go Veggie, Inc. (National Vegetarian Museum) – Chicago, IL
Honey Pot Performance – Chicago, IL
Public Housing Museum – Chicago, IL
Repertorio Latino Theater Company – Chicago, IL
The Voices and Faces Project – Chicago, IL
BACKBONES – Prospect Heights, IL
DuPage County:
Mexican Cultural Center – West Chicago, IL
Jackson County:
Libre – Carbondale, IL
Southern Illinois Achievers (African American Museum of Southern Illinois) – Carbondale, IL
Knox County:
Galesburg Museums, Inc. (Discovery Depot Children’s Museum) – Galesburg, IL
Lake County:
History Center Lake Forest Lake Bluff – Lake Forest, IL
Ray Bradbury Experience Museum – Waukegan, IL
Lee County:
Lincoln Highway Association, Inc. (Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center) – Franklin Grove, IL
Peoria County:
Peoria Historical Society – Peoria, IL
Rock Island County:
Ballet Quad Cities – Rock Island, IL
Sangamon County:
Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition – Springfield, IL
Community Resilience Grant Recipients
15 Award Recipients, Totaling $90,000
Carroll County:
Savanna Historical Society – Savanna, IL
Cook County:
BECOME: Center for Community Engagement and Social Change – Chicago, IL
Changing Worlds – Chicago, IL
Chicago Cultural Alliance – Chicago, IL
Collaboraction Theatre Company – Chicago, IL
ConTextos – Chicago, IL
Full Spectrum Features, NFP – Chicago, IL
Kuumba Lynx – Chicago, IL
South Side Weekly, NFP – Chicago, IL
Effingham County:
Effingham Public Library — Effingham, IL
Jackson County:
Carbondale Community Arts – Carbondale, IL
Kane County:
Aurora Fire Station Preservation Corp (Aurora Regional Fire Museum) – Aurora, IL
Jo Daviess County:
Galena Center for the Arts – Galena, IL
Lake County:
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods – Riverwoods, IL
Logan County:
Atlanta Public Library District – Atlanta, IL