Press Release

Illinois Humanities Council Awards $36,653 in Grants; Next Cycle Ends Soon

CHICAGO, IL- December 17, 2013—The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) Board of Directors has awarded a total of $36,653  to nine nonprofit organizations across Illinois for development and production of public humanities projects. Community support for these projects totaled $359,372. The grantees are:

  • Moving Dialogs – Audience Architects ($5,000) Funding to extend the series Moving Dialogs: Global Exchange to a series of six public conversations, focusing this time on communities where English is a second language.
  • Carl Sandburg in Elmhurst – Elmhurst Heritage Foundation ($3,300) Funding to support a series of programs between December 2013 and April 2014 commemorating the author and poet’s connection to Elmhurst, Illinois.
  • “Displaced” to “This Place” – Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture ($5,000) Funding to support a year-long exhibition and accompanying series of public programs called Displaced this Place beginning April 2014. 
  • Reconstructing Haiti – Northern Illinois University ($4,850) Funding to support a series of public forums beginning January 2014, complementing an exhibition on the 2010 earthquake in Haiti at the Anthropology Museum in Dekalb, Illinois.
  • General Support Grant – Lincoln-Sargent Farm Foundation ($5,000) Funding to support a year-long series of activities for students and the community, at the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historical Site, beginning January 2014.
  • Peoria Reads “Warriors Don’t Cry” – Peoria Public Library ($2,500) Funding to support public programs related to Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High, the selection for the 2014 edition of Peoria Reads.
  • General Support Grant – The Poetry Center of Chicago ($5,000) Funding to support the work of the Poetry Center of Chicago, which provides programs year-wide that use poetry as a catalyst for community achievement.

The IHC invites nonprofit organizations to apply for its next cycle of grant awards by January 15, 2014. Any nonprofit group, organization, or institution is eligible to apply for financial support from the lHC. The IHC funds public projects in the humanities, including documentary films, local and community history projects, literary symposia, and oral history projects. Nonprofits with annual budgets of $250,000 or less can apply for technical assistance grants, and nonprofits with a primary focus on the humanities can apply for general support grants. 

Potential applicants may review and download grant applications and guidelines by visiting www.prairie.org/grants. Please call 312.422.5580 or send an email to ihc@prairie.org. IHC program officers are available for consultation, and new applicants are encouraged to contact program officers for grant advice. 

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.

For more information about the IHC or the grants program, please call 312.422.5580 or visit www.prairie.org. 

About the Illinois Humanities Council

The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) is an educational organization dedicated to making the humanities a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities in Illinois, regardless of their economic resources, cultural background, or geographic location. This year, it marks 40 years of developing or funding educational activities and programs throughout the state, including lectures, seminars, performances, exhibitions, films, library discussions, and written materials – all free and open to the public. Organized as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1973, the IHC is now a private nonprofit (501 [c] 3) supported by state, federal, and private funds. 

Media Contact:
Carlos Velázquez
(312) 422-5580, x233
cav@prairie.org