Opportunity Information: Apply for 20200812 TD TR
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), through its Division of Public Programs, offered the Media Projects grant opportunity to support the creation of public-facing humanities media. The core aim is to fund strong collaborations between media professionals (such as filmmakers, audio producers, and other content creators) and humanities scholars so that projects are both creatively compelling and intellectually grounded. The program is designed for documentary-style storytelling and related formats that can bring humanities ideas to broad audiences in engaging, accessible ways. A key requirement is that every project must be firmly based in humanities scholarship, meaning the historical, cultural, philosophical, literary, or interpretive content should be shaped by expert research and scholarly input rather than treated as a purely journalistic or entertainment product.
This opportunity supports multiple media formats, specifically documentary film and television, radio, and podcasts. In practical terms, the grant is meant to help teams develop humanities content and move projects toward completion in ways that meet professional standards for public distribution. The program is structured with two distinct funding stages: Development and Production. Development funding typically aligns with the work needed to refine the concept and evidence base of a project, strengthen the narrative approach, confirm scholarly framing, and assemble materials that make a project ready for production. Production funding is intended for later-stage work that brings a project to completion, supporting the full creation of the media piece and preparing it for release to public audiences.
The grant is a discretionary federal funding opportunity offered as a grant (rather than a contract or cooperative agreement) within the humanities funding activity category (CFDA 45.164). Eligible applicants include a wide range of public and nonprofit entities: state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions when applying under the nonprofit category). This eligibility reflects NEH's intention to support projects coming from educational institutions, cultural and civic organizations, public agencies, and tribal governments, as long as they can demonstrate the capacity to manage a grant and deliver a high-quality humanities media project.
For this particular cycle, the opportunity was created on June 25, 2020, with an original application deadline of January 6, 2021. NEH listed an award ceiling of up to $1,000,000 and anticipated making approximately 12 awards. Taken together, these details signal a competitive national program focused on a relatively small number of projects with significant public reach, substantial scholarly grounding, and the potential to present humanities themes to wide audiences through professionally produced film, broadcast, and audio/podcast platforms.Apply for 20200812 TD TR
- The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Media Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.164.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 25, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 06, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Media Projects (NEH Division of Public Programs) - FAQs
What is the NEH Media Projects grant?
The Media Projects grant is a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funding opportunity offered through the Division of Public Programs to support the creation of public-facing humanities media. It is aimed at documentary-style storytelling and related formats that bring humanities ideas to broad audiences in engaging, accessible ways.
What is the main goal of this grant program?
The core aim is to fund strong collaborations between media professionals (for example, filmmakers and audio producers) and humanities scholars so projects are both creatively compelling and intellectually grounded.
What does NEH mean by "public-facing humanities media"?
Based on the description provided, this refers to media designed for public audiences (not just academic audiences) that communicates humanities scholarship through accessible storytelling, with professional standards appropriate for public distribution.
What kinds of projects does the program support?
The opportunity is designed for documentary-style storytelling and related formats that can present humanities themes to wide audiences.
Which media formats are eligible under this opportunity?
The opportunity supports multiple formats: documentary film and television, radio, and podcasts.
Does a project have to be based in humanities scholarship?
Yes. A key requirement is that every project must be firmly based in humanities scholarship. The historical, cultural, philosophical, literary, or interpretive content should be shaped by expert research and scholarly input.
How is this different from a journalistic or entertainment project?
The description indicates projects should not treat the content as purely journalistic or purely entertainment. Instead, the intellectual framing and interpretive content should be grounded in humanities scholarship and shaped by scholarly expertise.
Are collaborations required?
The program emphasizes strong collaborations between media professionals and humanities scholars. The intent is to combine professional media production capacity with rigorous humanities research and interpretation.
What kinds of professionals are expected on the project team?
The opportunity specifically references media professionals such as filmmakers, audio producers, and other content creators, working in collaboration with humanities scholars.
What kinds of scholars or scholarship are relevant?
The opportunity describes humanities scholarship in terms of historical, cultural, philosophical, literary, or interpretive content supported by expert research and scholarly input.
What are the two funding stages under this program?
The program is structured with two distinct stages: Development and Production.
What is Development funding intended to support?
Development funding typically aligns with work to refine the concept and evidence base, strengthen the narrative approach, confirm the scholarly framing, and assemble materials that make a project ready for production.
What is Production funding intended to support?
Production funding is intended for later-stage work that brings a project to completion, supporting full creation of the media piece and preparing it for release to public audiences.
Is this a grant, a contract, or a cooperative agreement?
This is a discretionary federal funding opportunity offered as a grant (not a contract or cooperative agreement).
What is the funding activity category and CFDA number?
The opportunity is in the humanities funding activity category and is identified as CFDA 45.164.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include: state governments; county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions when applying under the nonprofit category).
Can public agencies apply?
Yes. Eligibility includes state, county, city/township, and special district governments, indicating that public agencies can be eligible applicants.
Can colleges and universities apply?
Yes. Both public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are listed as eligible applicants.
Can federally recognized tribal governments apply?
Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are included in the eligible applicant list.
Can a nonprofit organization apply?
Yes. Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status are eligible, with the noted exception that higher education institutions should not apply under the nonprofit category.
What does NEH appear to be looking for in applicants?
Based on the description, NEH intends to support projects from educational institutions, cultural and civic organizations, public agencies, and tribal governments, as long as they can demonstrate capacity to manage a grant and deliver a high-quality humanities media project.
What was the maximum award amount (award ceiling) for this cycle?
NEH listed an award ceiling of up to $1,000,000 for this cycle.
How many awards did NEH expect to make?
NEH anticipated making approximately 12 awards.
When was this opportunity created and what was the application deadline?
For this cycle, the opportunity was created on June 25, 2020, with an original application deadline of January 6, 2021.
How competitive is this program likely to be?
The details provided suggest a competitive national program: it anticipated approximately 12 awards and supports projects positioned for significant public reach, substantial scholarly grounding, and professional production standards.
What kinds of outcomes does the grant aim to support?
The grant is meant to help teams develop humanities content and move projects toward completion in ways that meet professional standards for public distribution, ultimately preparing projects for release to public audiences.
Does the program support both film/broadcast and audio?
Yes. The eligible formats listed include documentary film and television as well as radio and podcasts.
What kinds of content areas qualify as "humanities" for this program?
The opportunity describes humanities content as historical, cultural, philosophical, literary, or interpretive, and emphasizes that the content should be grounded in expert research and scholarly input.
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