Deadline for a next round of mini grant applications is October 15

CHICAGO – The Illinois Humanities Council Board of Directors has awarded a total of $22,922 to 11 nonprofit organizations throughout Illinois for development and production of public humanities projects. Funded programs include a symposium on the life and work of the innovative and influential cameraman Gregg Toland, to be held in his hometown of Charleston; a discussion and lecture series on the literature of the Holocaust hosted in Rock Island; and a daylong festival in Chicago for kids and families designed to help children develop an understanding of the arts and humanities. Community support for these projects totaled $53,597. A list of grants and the organizations that are sponsoring these programs are listed below:

• Celebrating Latino Art & Literature: Shimer College, Waukegan ($2,000)
  
• Sexuality and Disability: Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago ($2,000)
  
• James Jones: “Running Back to the Roots”: James Jones Literary Society, Robinson ($2,000)
  
• Discover History at the Sherrard Library: Sherrard Public Library, Sherrard ($2,500)
  
• War After War: Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago ($2,000)
  
• Beyond the Holocaust: Quad City Arts, Rock Island ($2,500)
  
• Citizen Gregg: A Retrospective on Gregg Toland (1904-1948) and His Career: Coles County Historical Society, Mattoon ($2,500)
  
• On the Back of the Great Turtle: Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Evanston ($2,000)
  
• Local Legacies @ your library: Peoria Heights Public Library, Peoria Heights ($1,422)
  
• Community Engagement Initiative: KidFest/Discussion Series: Lifeline Productions, Chicago ($2,000)
  
• Stars, Stripes and Sousa: Celebrating the John Phillip Sousa Sesquicentennial: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign ($2,000)
  

The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) invites non-profit organizations to apply for its next cycle of mini grants of up to $2,000 by its October 15, 2004 deadline. Mini Grants are restricted to organizations with annual budgets under $1 million dollars or organizations applying for new or experimental programs. Any non-profit group, organization, or institution that meets these requirements is eligible to receive financial support from the Illinois Humanities Council for a public project in the humanities, including documentary films, local and community history projects, literary symposia, and oral history projects. The IHC makes it a priority to fund projects developed by, for, or aimed at a reaching new or historically neglected audiences.

Potential applicants may review and download grant applications and guidelines by visiting www.prairie.org and clicking on “Grants.” Copies of the grant information may also be requested by calling 312.422.5580 or by sending an email to ihc@prairie.org. IHC program officers are available for consultation at this number as well.

For further information about the IHC or our grants program, please contact us at 312.422.5580 or visit our website at www.prairie.org.

D A R E T O K N O W

# # #