Press Release

ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL AWARDS MINI GRANT

Applications for next round of mini grant applications due January 15, 2006

CHICAGO -The Illinois Humanities Council Board of Directors has awarded a total of $18,380 to 9 nonprofit organizations for development and production of public humanities projects. Funded programs include a series of lectures and dramatic readings with playwright Kostas Ostrauskas at the Lithuanian Museum in Chicago, a series of Latino short films and post-screening discussions sponsored by Shimer College (Waukegan), and a CD-ROM project on the African American settlement of the Ohio River region of Southeastern Illinois (Brookport). Community support for these projects totaled $76,108. A list of grants and the organizations that are sponsoring these programs are listed below:



  • African American Settlement of Massar County: Documenting Historical Structures, Brookport Library, Brookport ($2,000)
  • Art of Survival: Women, Healing, and the Arts, The Women’s Center Inc., Carbondale ($2,000)
  • War Letters: Historian Lectures, Charleston Community Theatre Company, Charleston ($1,980)
  • “Black is…” Thick Routes Performance Collage, Chicago ($2,000)
  • Community Engagement Initiative: Discussion Series and Arts Festival: Lifeline Productions, Inc., Chicago ($2,000)
  • The Postmodern Theater: The Mirror of the World, Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago ($2,000)
  • The 1960’s: A Multi-media View From Capitol Hill, The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin ($2,000)
  • Peoria Reads! Developing Understanding of the Working Poor, Common Place, Peoria ($2,500)
  • Latino Film Festival, Shimer College, Waukegan ($1,900)

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 January 15, 2006 deadline. The deadline for the next cycle of major grants (up to $10,000) is February 15, 2006.

Any non-profit group, organization, or institution is eligible to apply for 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. Mini Grants are restricted to organizations with annual budgets under $1 million dollars or organizations applying for new or experimental programs. The IHC makes it a priority to fund projects developed by, for, or aimed at reaching new or historically neglected audiences.

Potential applicants may review and download grant applications and guidelines by visiting www.prairie.org/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, and new applicants are encouraged to seek consultation.

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

The Illinois Humanities Council is an educational organization dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. Through its programs and grants, the IHC promotes greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans, regardless of their economic resources, cultural background, or geographic location. Organized as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1973, the IHC is now a private nonprofit (501 [c] 3) organization that is funded by contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations; by the Illinois General Assembly; and by the NEH.

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