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Office of Challenge Grants

Image of Mannie Jackson

Harlem Globetrotter, Business Executive, and .... Humanities Philanthropist

It’s unlikely Mannie Jackson dreamed, while attending racially-segregated schools in 1950s downstate Illinois, that one day he would be involved in an educational endowment designed to encourage humanities exploration.

By Brandon Johnson
Child playing phonograph in cabin home

From Chopin to Public Enemy

Some people can wax philosophical about a CD.

Post-renovation Byrne-Reed House

Hidden Treasure

When looking for a new home to replace its cramped office condo in a suburban strip mall far from downtown Austin, Humanities Texas director, Michael Gillette, liked the location of the Texas Oil Company building, just blocks from the state capitoI.   But while it had abundant space, access to parking, and a fair price, it was ugly: its cheap stucco façade was only surpassed by a bland interior.

painting of North Haven, ME in 1907

Preserving an Island's History

North Haven is a small island community off the coast of Maine, with a history dating back to 1762 when the first permanent settler arrived. Thanks to a $60,000 NEH challenge grant, matched by $180,000 in nonfederal donations, North Haven was able to build an archives building to safeguard the community’s historical documents.

Moose in snow

Moving Off the "Moose Highway"

How a new home brought greater visibility to the Vermont Humanities Council--and a safer drive to the council's friends and staff.

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Posted: December 5, 2012

Challenge Grant Offers, Fall 2012

The National Endowment for the Humanities Office of Challenge Grants made fifteen grant offers to institutions following the November 2012 meeting of the National Council on the Humanities.

Posted: November 28, 2012

Call for Proposals: Challenge Grants for Two-year Colleges

The National Endowment for the Humanities invites two-year colleges to apply in a special Challenge Grant competition to strengthen their long-term humanities programs and resources. Two-year colleges are major educational assets that have too often been overlooked, even though over half of students in post-secondary education attend two-year institutions.

Posted: September 8, 2012

Challenge Grant Offers, Summer 2012

The National Endowment for the Humanities Office of Challenge Grants made six grant offers to two-year colleges following the July 2012 meeting of the National Council on the Humanities.

Posted: January 19, 2012

Challenge Grant Offers, Fall 2011

The National Endowment for the Humanities Office of Challenge Grants made twenty-one grant offers following the fall meeting of the National Council on the Humanities:

Posted: January 19, 2012

Guiding Principles for Independent Status

Whether an affiliated or consortial organization may apply for a challenge grant, independent of its parent or member organizations, depends on three criteria for assessing the autonomy of the appl

Posted: June 30, 2011

How Challenge Grants Differ from Other NEH Awards

The Challenge Grants program, like others at NEH, supports scholarship, education, public programming, and preservation in the humanities, but it differs from other NEH programs in how humanities activities are supported, including a substantial matching-funds requirement.

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