General Information

All Delaware Humanities-funded projects must have:

A central focus in the humanities
A clearly defined theme
Humanities experts involved in planning/executing
No political advocacy
Open access for the public
Publicity and evaluation plans
Matching funds (waiver available for some Opportunity grants)

The Delaware Humanities proposal review process makes grants on a competitive basis. See our Types of Grants for clarifying details. Applications are reviewed and ruled on at Delaware Humanities board meetings. Applicants are notified via auto-generated emails through Foundant, our online grant portal. Applications may be funded in whole or in part, with or without conditions, returned for revision and/or resubmission, or rejected. Delaware Humanities’ return of an application for revision and resubmission does not assure approval of the revised application.

Common reasons for rejecting an application may include the following: Delaware Humanities’ limited
budget; does not fall into our Four Core Themes; lack of substantive humanities content; inadequate participation
of qualified humanities personnel; insufficient or restricted audience; lack of adequate publicity, advocacy for a particular cause and/or lack of balance in addressing issues; and insufficient
budget detail or justification.

The arts and humanities are not the same, which is why Delaware has both the Delaware Division of the Arts and Delaware Humanities. Arts programs focus on creation and performance. Humanities programs focus on the interpretive aspects of the arts: historical or philosophical contexts, analyses of methodology, or approaches to art
movements or periods. Delaware Humanities will offer funding for programs which combine performance with interpretation, such as a discussion or talk-back session following the production of a play.

Repeat proposals are allowed; however, after three consecutive years of funding one project, that project will have a lower priority than first-time proposals.

Other considerations include:

Upon accepting a grant, the applicant agrees to use awarded funds in accordance with the Delaware Humanities provisions. If any change is to be made, the grantee must contact the Grant Officer to receive permission.
Grant funds may only be spent within the period of performance, only for the purposes described in the proposal, and only on the items specified in the approved budget
Records and accounts of expenditures must be maintained; an experienced bookkeeper is suggested.
All materials publicizing or resulting from grant activities must contain appropriate acknowledgment of Delaware Humanities support.

Rights to materials (scripts, films, television/radio programs, viewer/listener guides) will remain with the grantee. Any plan for future use or distribution must be submitted to Delaware Humanities for approval prior to implementation. In addition, the utilization of grant-funded material will be sought on the basis of maximum possible rights for non-commercial use or distribution.