This article appeared in the Alton Telegraph on March 21, 2016. You may access the original article here.
EDWARDSVILLE — Illinois Humanities, formerly the Illinois Humanities Council, will hold a workshop about grants and programs for representatives of nonprofit organizations involved in cultural activity.
The session will run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, at the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities, 1210 N. Main St., Edwardsville.
The workshop will be open to anyone affiliated with libraries, museums, colleges or universities, historical societies, arts councils, tourism bureaus or other groups that contribute to humanities-related activity in Illinois. Teachers and school administrators also are welcome to attend.
Members of the staff of Illinois Humanities will provide information about the organization’s newly revamped community grants program. The grants fund projects throughout the state that bring people together for inquiry and conversation — discussing and learning about the digital humanities, targeting and engaging new audiences, making public humanities programming more engaging and interactive, and increasing strategic planning and sustainable collaboration.
Illinois Humanities representatives also will discuss Illinois Speaks, a new grants initiative meant to spark conversations in communities across the state. More information on the new grants guidelines can be found at www.ilhumanities.org/grants.
Staff also will offer advice about the grant application process, including potential projects for which participants might wish to seek funding and provide information on several other Illinois Humanities’ programs open to people and organizations throughout the state, including:
Capitol Forum, a year-long civic education program for high school social studies classes that culminates in a statewide gathering;
The Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau, which enables local cultural organizations to host compelling, free-admission humanities presentations at little cost to them; and
Museum on Main Street, a partnership between Illinois Humanities and the Smithsonian Institutions that offers organizations in small communities the opportunity to present Smithsonian-designed exhibits on major themes in American culture.
Additionally, the workshop will be an opportunity for representatives of local and regional cultural organizations to both make contacts with Illinois Humanities and with one another to discuss potential opportunities to collaborate. A staff member fluent in Spanish will be available to talk with any attendees who prefer to speak Spanish.
This event is free, but Illinois Humanities advises anyone who wishes to participate to register in advance at www.ilhumanities.org/events/2016-grants-and-programs-workshop-in-edwardsville/ or by sending a message toevents@ilhumanities.org or calling 312-422-5580. People with questions about the workshop can contact Matt Meacham at 312-422-5589 or matt.meacham@ilhumanities.org; or Mark Hallett, program manager, at 312-374-1555 ormark.hallett@ilhumanities.org.