Oregon Humanities Grants support public programs designed to explore the humanities in participatory and dynamic ways. We encourage applications from a broad range of nonprofit organizations in Oregon, including those that may not define their work as being based in the humanities. We especially welcome inquiries for projects that will attract diverse audiences, engage minds, and stimulate meaningful community dialogue.
2012 Public Program Grants Awarded
Twenty-one nonprofit organizations throughout the state will receive $82,000 in grants from Oregon Humanities for public programs that create conversation about some of Oregon’s most compelling issues, including immigration, oil dependence, and the history of underrepresented groups in Oregon.
08 March 2012 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)
Meet the Funders
From March 6 through March 22, 2012, grant coordinators of the Oregon Cultural Trust, Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage Commission and Oregon Humanities will present free grants workshops in ten communities across the state. “Meet the Funders Where You Are” workshops will be held in Baker City, Enterprise, Eugene, Garibaldi, La Grande, Lincoln City, Pendleton, Portland, Salem, and Sisters.
Learn about options for arts, heritage, and humanities funding. The workshops will provide attendees with opportunities to ask questions about requirements, guidelines, and deadlines for cultural funding programs and will also provide invaluable tips on project planning and how to submit successful applications. If you have a specific project in mind, come prepared to share a short summary of your proposed project for feedback and advice. Here is a list of available grant programs.
These workshops are free but registration is required. For more information about the workshops, email or call (503) 986-0088 the Oregon Cultural Trust.
- March 6, 2-4 p.m. in Pendleton at Heritage Station Museum, 108 S.W. Frazer
- March 7, 9-11 a.m. in Baker City at Baker County Library, 2400 Resort Street
- March 7, 2-4 p.m. in La Grande at Cook Memorial Library, 2006 Fourth Street
- March 8, 9-11 a.m. in Enterprise at Chamber of Commerce, 309 South River Street, Suite B
- March 12, 1-3 p.m. in Sisters at Sisters ArtWorks, 204 W Adams Street
- March 15, 3:30-5:30 p.m. in Salem at Willamette Heritage Center, Dye House, 1313 Mill Street SE
- March 16, 8-10 a.m. in Lincoln City at Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NE Hwy 101
- March 16, 2-4 p.m. in Garibaldi at Garibaldi Museum, 112 Garibaldi Avenue
- March 21, 10 a.m. to 12 noon in Portland at World Trade Center, 121 SW Salmon St, 2WTC, SkyBridge A/B and Oregon Room
- March 22, 1-3 p.m. in Eugene at Hult Center, Studio, One Eugene Center
21 February 2012 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)
2012 Grant Guidelines Available
In 2011, Oregon Humanities Public Program Grants funded conversations between different faith communities about social justice, brought together three generations of women to talk about a century of voting, and invited Oregonians at large to reflect on Islam in America. Public Program Grants also supported community arts and culture festivals, lecture series, Everybody Reads library programs. post-performance theater talks, and guided walking tours in rural Oregon.
In the last year, Responsive Program Grant recipients led public programs about cultural diversity in Portland, political conflict in North Korea, shifting downtown development challenges, and the effect of a decade of war on American soldiers’ families and homes. Grant-funded programs ranged from community conversations to educational conferences to classes open to the general public.
Grantees include libraries, community colleges, historical societies, civic groups, and other nonprofits working not only in humanities fields like history, philosophy, or literature, but also in the areas of the arts, public policy, and natural resources. While the formats and topics of the public programs we fund may vary, all share a goal of connect Oregonians to ideas and providing them with opportunities to learn about and discuss historical, cultural, and political issues.
Oregon Humanities is pleased to announce the guidelines for 2012 Public Program Grants and Responsive Program Grants. We are particularly interested in proposals for programs that bring together diverse groups of Oregonians and reflect collaboration between organizations within a community, as well as proposals from a broad range of nonprofit organizations in Oregon, including those that may not traditionally define their work as being based exclusively in the humanities.
Public Program Grants
Once a year, Oregon Humanities awards Public Program Grants between $1,000 and $10,000 to nonprofit organizations in Oregon to support programs that are timely, relevant, accessible, and interactive. Oregon Humanities welcomes proposals for programs that use the humanities in the public sphere to meet our core mission of connecting Oregonians to ideas that change lives and transform communities. Programs must begin after April 1, 2012. Letters of Interest must be postmarked by October 31, 2011. Please do not include the 2012 Public Program Grants Cover Sheet with your letter of interest; the cover sheet is only required when submitting a full proposal. Sample successful proposals are available for download below.
*Join Oregon Humanities grants staff on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. for a webinar about Oregon Humanities Public Program Grants. Register for the webinar here.
Responsive Program Grants
Oregon Humanities awards Responsive Program Grants up to $1,000 on a rolling basis to nonprofit organizations in Oregon. Responsive Program Grants fund programs that are not part of an organization’s regular programming. Instead, these grants support programs created in response to pressing current issues or events that the applicant is uniquely qualified to help the public explore. 2012 Responsive Program Grant activities must begin after November 1, 2011. Sample successful proposals are available for download below.
Please download and review Oregon Humanities Grants Guidelines for more information. These documents also include applications. If you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer, you may fill out and submit them electronically via e-mail.
If you have questions, please contact Director of Programs Jennifer Allen at (503) 241-0543 or (800) 735-0543, ext. 118, or by e-mail..
Downloads
03 September 2009 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)
Public Program Grants
Coming Home: Japanese Americans in Portland after World War II
Oregon Nikkei Endowment, Portland
$6,000
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center’s compelling exhibit draws primarily upon the recollections of contemporary elders, individual stories, photographs, and collections to trace the reestablishment of a Japanese American community in Portland following the injustices of the war time relocation. The exhibit will open May 2012.
Voices of Patriots
Friends of the Klamath County Library, Klamath Falls
$2,000
This Klamath County Library film, conversation, and writing project series will enable veterans and members of the larger community to reflect on the challenges veterans encounter after returning home from service in the military. After viewing each film veterans, will write about their experiences returning from the military and then, following a public viewing of the same film, participate in a panel discussion chaired by humanities experts.
Panel Discussion about the Latino Experience in Oregon
Centro Cultural of Washington County, Cornelius
$2,500
This panel discussion about the history of Latinos in Oregon will take place at Pacific University. The event will center on a documentary about Centro’s founding and its 40-year history. After the film, a panel comprising experts in Latino studies will discuss the history of diversity in Oregon and answer questions from the audience.
Mac Reads 2012: Women and Homesteading in The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss
Linfield College and McMinnville Public Library, McMinnville
$1,000
MacReads will feature The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss for its 2012 community reading project culminating in an author talk on homesteading in Oregon and the West. Gloss will discuss the difference between the public perception and the reality of the lives of women homesteaders. This event will engage Yamhill County citizens in understanding their own rural identity by examining the life and hardships endured in other rural areas of Oregon. The project is part of Yamhill Enrichment Society community-building project, “McMinnville 100 Years Ago: Then, Now and Beyond.”
Perseverance: Portland's African American Railroad Journey
Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers, Salem
$5,000
Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers is partnering again with Oregon Historical Society to develop a dynamic, interactive exhibit and programming on the history of Oregon African American residents. This exhibit will focus on the work and lives of African Americans in Portland in the late 1800s to the 1940s and will highlight workers from the railroads and the culture that supported these workers. The exhibit and public programming will run from November 2012 to March 2013.
2012 Hood River Reads: The Circuit
Friends of the Hood River County Library, Hood River
$2,600
For 2012, the Friends of the Hood River County Library has selected The Circuit for Hood River County Reads. Francisco Jimenez’s autobiographical story is about an undocumented Mexican immigrant who defies the odds to pursue his passions for education and literature.
Fighting Goliath: Dispatches from the War Against the World We Live In
Media Project, Portland
$4,000
This hour-long radio documentary by Media Project examines the ethical, environmental and cultural impacts of the Tar Sands operations on the Pacific Northwest through lenses of literature, ecology, ethics, and history.
Oedipus El Rey: Gangs and the Myth of Fate
Miracle Theatre Group, Portland
$3,500
In May 2012, playwright Luis Alfaro’s “Oedipus el Rey” will be presented by Miracle Theatre. The classic Greek story is re-set in modern LA, and Oedipus’ fated rise to power happens within a gang “kingdom.” Miracle Theatre Group will host a series entitled “Oedipus El Rey: Gangs and the Myth of Fate” to draw the community into a conversation around the classic adaptation, and the current thinking surrounding gang prevention and intervention.
A Novel Idea...Read Together
Deschutes Public Library Foundation, Bend
$5,000
The Deschutes Public Library Foundation is partnering with the Deschutes Public library to offer the 9th annual “Novel Idea … Read Together” to the 150,000 residents of Deschutes County this spring. This event celebrates one novel through music, art, food, dance, lectures, discussion and reading to over 6,000 participants.
Chautauqua Poets and Writers Series
Chautauqua Poets and Writers and Friends of the Ashland Public Library, Ashland
$4,500
Chautauqua Poets and Writers brings the country’s most respected poets and writers to the Rogue Valley to give public readings and interviews on Jefferson Public Radio. In 2012, they will bring writer Barry Lopez and poet Philip Levine.
Oregon Book Awards Author Tour
Literary Arts, Portland
$6,500
With this tour, Literary Arts brings our state’s most accomplished writers to approximately eight communities that have limited access to literary events with living authors. They work with local librarians, bookstore owners, literary organizations, and writing groups to develop tour activities that actively engage readers and that create connections and conversation around contemporary local literature.
Portraits of a Place Called Home
Dill Pickle Club, Portland
$3,250
This roving presentation series presented by Dill Pickle Club uses film as a starting point to generate critical dialogue about Portland’s cultural and social history. Held at Portland cinemas of historic and cultural importance, the four-part series will be grouped by genre: narrative, experimental, animation and documentary. Lectures will be held on the last Sunday of each month, from February to May 2012.
Josephine Community Library, Grants Pass
$6,500
The Josephine Community Libraries presents this literary series for readers and authors. The program includes author events, community reads, storytelling, teen book groups, and culminates in the “Page One” weekend celebration of books in October 2012. Community members will share well-loved books and meet authors while discovering new favorites, using literature as the springboard for experiencing and discussing ideas.
Agri-Cultural Land Ethics and the Religious Imagination
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Portland
$2,510
This conference, presented by the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, will address land ethics issues at the intersection of food and culture in a religious context. A key question for the proposed conference is: “What are sources of — and what is the potential for — a renewed religious imagination to reshape land ethics and agriculture in ways that better support health, equity, and ecosystems?”
American Spring
The Arts Center, Corvallis
$6,500
In April 2012, The Arts Center in Corvallis will present this series of lectures, screenings, workshops, and conversations exploring the idea of radical change in the United States. The program uses the Occupy Wall Street movement and the recent uprisings in the Middle East as starting points to talk about the possibilities for, and repercussions of, wide-spread systemic change in America.
2012 Spring Humanities Series: Voices Less Heard
Columbia Gorge Community College, The Dalles
$2,000
To promote the concept of broad, open, and true communication, Columbia Gorge Community College presents this lecture series that will challenge us to search out, and actively listen to, voices less familiar or less available. In four public lectures, presenters representing migrant farm workers, the deaf, ethnic minorities, and those living in poverty will speak to their lives’ realities, perceptions and misperceptions, strengths and struggles.
PICA Symposium
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland
$7,000
This series of highly interactive discussions intermingled with performances addresses the issues evoked in PICA artist in residence, Keith Hennessy’s performance “Turbulence (a dance about the economy).” Five local and national panelists investigate the tensions within the world’s current economic system while delving deeper into a conversation about gender, the economy of the arts, collaboration, and the creation process.
Taking Feminism Off the Shelf: Activities Presented by the Bitch Media Community Lending Library
Bitch Media, Portland
$3,000
“Taking Feminism Off the Shelf,” presented by the Bitch Media Community Lending Library encourages dialogue in our community about important feminist topics, and introduces the library as a free community resource. Activities include community forums, book clubs, and a blog, which will allow participants to explore and debate sex and sexuality in young adult literature and reproductive justice from a feminist perspective.
High Desert Perspectives: Vibrant Traditions in Plateau Arts
High Desert Museum, Bend
$4,000
In October and November 2012, the High Desert Museum will present this four-part lecture and discussion series exploring Plateau Native American art and ceremony. The series will examine the relationship between traditional and contemporary art in Plateau culture, and encourage participants to consider the role of art, ceremony, and tradition in their own lives and communities.
Conversation Film Series
Columbia Arts, Hood River
$1,500
Columbia Arts presents this series, which includes four film screenings followed by humanities-based community conversations, scheduled to take place April, July, November 2012, and March 2013. As part of the community conversations following each screening, humanities experts wil participate in panel discussions or interviews.
History from Below: Exploring Rural Oregon's Social Movement History
Rural Organizing Project, Scappoose
$3,500
This traveling history workshop by Rural Organizing Project will engage rural Oregonians in an exploration of how ordinary and organized citizens from their own communities have shaped history. Workshops in five rural communities will bring original research to populations with limited access to humanities programming, and support participants of diverse political viewpoints in developing their own analyses, introducing historiography as a useful method for critical inquiry and civil dialogue around controversial social issues.
Responsive Program Grants
The 99%: A Teach-in on Occupy Portland
Dill Pickle Club, Portland
$1,000
The 99%: A Teach-in on Occupy Portland is a panel discussion and Q&A on the economic, political, and social factors that have led to the Occupy Wall Street movements throughout the country and the movement’s impact locally. The teach-in is scheduled for November 14, 6-8 p.m., at the Portland Building Auditorium, 1120 SW 5th Avenue.
Wallowa County in Transition: New Stories from the Old West
Wallowa Land Trust and Wallowa Resources, Joseph
$1,000
Wallowa Land Trust and Wallowa Resources will co-host a five-part lecture series aimed at engaging the public on the theme of how people in rural areas adapt to changing economies, social structures, political landscapes, and ecosystems. Fishtrap is also co-sponsoring the series. The series was conceived in part in response to a community effort to save the M. Crow store in Lostine, which has been open for 100 years and which may now close. The series consists of five lectures/readings and three panel discussions on related topics.
