Press Release

ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL AWARDS GRANTS TO EIGHT LOCAL NON-PROFITS

Next mini grants due January 15, 2008; next major grants due February 15, 2008

CHICAGO -The Illinois Humanities Council Board of Directors has awarded a total of $15,000 to eight nonprofit organizations for development and production of public humanities projects. Funded programs include an exhibition on Lincoln and the Civil War (Palos Park), an Italian American heritage conference (Stone Park), and a contemporary Cuban film and video series (Chicago). Community support for these projects totaled $96,515. A complete list of grants and the organizations that are sponsoring these programs is listed below:

  • Clandestinos: Contemporary Cuban Film and Video: The Nineteenth Step, Chicago($2,500)
  • Hallyu: The Korean Wave: Korean American Community Services, Chicago ($2,000)
  • Women’s Work Lives: Is the Struggle for Equity Still Necessary?: Working Women’s History Project, Chicago ($2,000)
  • Lincoln/Civil War Collection Exhibition: McCord Gallery and Cultural Center, Palos Park ($2,000)
  • Peoria Reads 2008: Common Place Family Learning Center, Peoria ($2,500)
  • Reconstructing Italians in Chicago: Twenty Authors in Search of Roots and Branches: Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia, Stone Park ($2,000)
  • A Quiet Place in the Woods: Parker, Illinois and The Railroad: Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society, Vienna ($1,500)

The Council also awarded a technical assistance grant in this cycle to:

The Savanna Historical Society, Savanna ($500)

The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) invites non-profit organizations to apply for its next cycle of mini grants of up to $2,500 by its January 15, 2008 deadline. The deadline for the next cycle of major grants (up to $10,000) is February 15, 2008. 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 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. The IHC also encourages applications for projects about American history and culture.

Potential applicants may review and download grant applications and guidelines by visiting prairie.org/grants. 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 and submit a draft proposal prior to the final deadline. 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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