NEH Cuts Frequently Asked Questions
NEH Cuts FAQs
We understand that many of our community members have questions regarding the cuts to the National Endowment for Humanities funding. We have gathered some of our most frequently asked questions below. If you have any questions that are not answered below, please reach out to Delaware Humanities here.
What is the NEH?
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent government agency that supports the humanities in every state and U.S. jurisdiction. The NEH was established in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson under the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act . For sixty years, the NEH has stood with strong bipartisan support for the history, literature, linguistics, law, philosophy, archaeology, language, comparative religion, and ethics of the United States of America. Since its founding, the NEH has given out over $6 billion (which is 0.08% of what this year’s federal budget was) in federal grants to schools, museums, libraries, public television, individuals, and state humanities councils – among many other different types of organizations.
Why are cuts to the NEH impacting Delaware Humanities?
Delaware Humanities is the nonprofit state affiliate of the NEH. Since the early 1970s, Delaware Humanities, along with the other 55 state and jurisdictional humanities councils, has received general operating support from the NEH through a grant issued every three years. We use this grant funding to pay for our grantmaking and operations and a portion of our programs. Grant funding from other sources and private donations also pay for some of our programs. When the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) terminated general operating support grants to the state humanities councils, Delaware Humanities lost access to vital funding. Approximately 85-90% of our annual budget is funded through our NEH grant.
Each year, Congress authorizes an appropriation to the NEH which in turn distributes funding to the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils. When a Continuing Resolution (CR) is issued to keep the federal government operational until a federal budget is passed, a portion of funding is issued to humanities councils based on the length of the CR and the funding provided to the council the previous year. Delaware Humanities was granted access to a portion of funding under two CRs. Then in March a final CR was issued to keep funding at the current level through the balance of the federal fiscal year. Delaware Humanities had not yet received its official notice granting access to the balance of funding Congress appropriated. On the evening of April 2, the Delaware Humanities executive director was notified via email that our grant was terminated, effective immediately, without even the ability to be reimbursed for expenditures made in March.
This termination notice has drastically cut our total funding.
As a direct result of this unprecedented and unexpected change, we are forced to pause programs and grantmaking until additional funding is secured or federal funding is restored.
Are you supported by the State of Delaware?
Delaware Humanities receives approximately 4 % of our annual funding via Grant-In-Aid (GIA) from the State of Delaware. We are thankful for the support offered by the State. However, the funding that we receive covers only a fraction of our total operational costs.
Delaware is a small state with many, many valuable organizations and groups that rely on GIA funding for essential expenses. GIA funding helps offset program costs primarily for our Speakers program. For fifty years, NEH funding has been used for other program expenses, our grantmaking, and our operational expenses.
Will you be closing?/When does your organization close?
Delaware Humanities remains operational at this time. We are not closing our doors or ceasing our business.
Our staff, alongside dedicated organizations like the Federation of State Humanities Councils, are fighting to regain this vital funding and keep doors open for every single humanities council across the nation. Without the restoration of federal funding, however, we will have to downsize our operations.
In addition to fighting the unprecedented loss of our Congressionally appropriated NEH funding, Delaware Humanities is seeking additional state and private funding to continue to provide our educational services and grant funding to Delawareans and organizations across the state.
While there is work to be done, Delaware Humanities will continue to do it. We may be small in size, but we are mighty in spirit.
How does this impact my community?
Delaware Humanities has been serving the state for over 50 years. Annually, we provide over 100 lectures to libraries, schools, and other nonprofits via our Speakers Bureau Program, and over $200,000 in grant funding to small, local non-profit organizations across the state.
In 2023, over 2.5 million people attended our programs. This means that, statistically, you or someone you know attended, saw, listened to, or read something funded or sponsored by Delaware Humanities. We provide free lectures in libraries, free exhibits for organizations and schools, and funding for documentaries, humanities events, programs, and cultural festivals.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s recommended cuts of NEH funding means these programs either substantially decrease or entirely disappear. Either outcome means that our ability to support the humanities in Delaware, and in your community, is greatly diminished.
Can I request a program? / Why is the Speaker request form unavailable?
Unfortunately, due to the federal funding cut, we are currently unable to send our Speakers to your organization until we know whether we will receive GIA funding at the end of June.
Delaware Humanities programs are made accessible to organizations throughout our state through significant subsidization from NEH and GIA funds. To illustrate: Delaware Humanities only charges nonprofits $75 to host our Speakers. This is only 25% of the real cost of a Speaker program. We cover the remaining 75% of that cost with our NEH and GIA funding. Without this funding, the average Speaker program would cost a host organization $300 plus mileage costs for the Speaker to travel to your location. Without access to our NEH funding, we are unable to book new Speakers programs for your organization at this time. The same cost is incurred by Delaware Humanities for our Community Conversations program.
As we seek additional funding, this decision may change. Please continue to check our website for more updates.
Will Prime Time Family Reading continue?
If you are a site hoping to host Prime Time Family Reading in the future, please reach out to Rebecca Olsen, Senior Programs Officer.
Can I apply for a grant? / Why are the grant applications unavailable?
The Delaware Humanities grant program was funded entirely by the National Endowment for the Humanities. In previous years, we awarded up to approximately $300,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations in all three counties. These grants provided vital funding for projects and programs that served hundreds of thousands of Delawareans. Without access to these funds, we are unable to provide either our Opportunity or our Action/Innovation grants to organizations.
Is Delaware Humanities the only state impacted?
Unfortunately, Delaware Humanities is only one of the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils that have had their funding terminated by the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE)’s cuts at the NEH. Every single humanities council in every single state and jurisdiction (meaning all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands) has been impacted.
Many of these organizations may be forced to close their doors before the end of the year. Some of them will be forced to close their doors before the end of next month.
The same impacts to our communities in Delaware are being felt across our nation. Americans in every single state and territory will lose access to free educational programs, funding, local history initiatives, and literacy projects and the dedicated employees at these councils will lose their livelihoods.
There is no guarantee that once these organizations are forced to close, they will be able to open again.
We at Delaware Humanities are fighting not only for our own council and communities – but for the 55 other councils too, and the education, history, culture, and communities that they serve.
For information on the greater impact of the NEH cuts through the U.S., click below:
Is this legal / What is being done?
The funding given to the state humanities councils is part of a legally mandated formula that determines what percentage of the total NEH budget is provided to these councils. Delaware Humanities’ funding was promised by the NEH on the basis of this formula, as well as the formula that fairly divides funding between all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils.
The state humanities councils are considered statutory, or required by written law, activities of the NEH.
Currently, similar actions undertaken and recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are being heard in court, including the defunding of the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS).