Consider This Mini Grant for Rural Libraries

Oregon Humanities will award $25,000 in funding to enable rural and rural-adjacent Oregon libraries to create and host events in their own communities, in partnership with our Consider This program. Events should reflect the theme of our 2022–23 Consider This series: People, Place, and Power. Grantees are welcome to interpret this theme and develop topics that are relevant to their communities. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, community care, collective power, and civic engagement in rural areas. Libraries, including branches, located in (or adjacent to and serving) rural or frontier zip codes that have annual operating budgets of less than $1.5 million are eligible.

Funding Details

The maximum funding award is $2,000 per event. Oregon Humanities will fund a total of 12 events annually. Libraries can apply for funding for up to three events.

Timeline

• Applications open: November 7 at 9:00 a.m. PT
• Open office hour (virtual): November 11, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT. Please email grants@oregonhumanities.org to receive the link to attend.
• Applications due: January 13, 2023 by 5:00 p.m. PT
• Awards announced: late January 2023
• Funded programs/events held: February 1 through September 30, 2023
• Final grant report due: October 15, 2023

Applications

Currently closed for applications.

Eligibility

Organizations Eligible for This Funding

• Public, tribal, or volunteer libraries (or library branches) in Oregon 
• Applicants must have an organizational budget under $1.5 million for their most recently completed fiscal year, unless the applicant is a federally recognized tribe.
• If the applicant is a library branch, the $1.5 million budget cap applies to the branch’s organizational budget.
• Libraries/library branches must be located in, or adjacent to and serving, rural or frontier Oregon zip codes. (We use the Oregon Office of Rural Health’s definition of rural and frontier communities as locations in Oregon ten or more miles from the center of a population center of 40,000 people or more.) See this list of zip codes to determine whether your library is located in a rural or frontier area. If your library is not located in these zip codes but is adjacent to them, our grant application will provide the opportunity for you to tell us how you serve rural/frontier zip codes/communities.
• All current and past Oregon Humanities grant awardees must be in good standing with past awards in order to be eligible to apply for funding.
• Have a current Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number at the time of grant application submission.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As of April 4, 2022, the US federal government switched from requiring that our grantees have a DUNS number to requiring that our grantees have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued by SAM.gov. It can take anywhere from a few days to months to receive your UEI number. We recommend applying for your UEI when this grant opens for applications.

• Website for UEI registration and further instructions: sam.gov/content/entity-registration
• Video instructions: Get A Unique Entity ID (SAM)

Please note that you do not have to do a full entity registration in order to get your UEI. If you do not already have an entity registration in SAM.gov and you simply want to obtain a UEI number, begin watching the short video at timecode 2:30 for instructions.

Approved Activities for Awards

The Consider This Mini Grant for Rural Libraries can support program-related expenses that may include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

• Honoraria for conversation facilitators and featured conversation participants (excluding audience members)
• Costs of hosting of up to three events
• Program/event planning costs, including planning and management labor
• Event space rental costs
• Labor and technical support for online events
• COVID-19 safety supplies for hosting in-person events (masks, cleaning supplies, etc.)
• Event advertising
• Documenting the program through production of video, audio, digital/print publication

Note: If the applicant is a library branch, all grant-funded activities and events need to be held within the branch’s zip code.

Criteria and Selection Standards

• The following criteria will be used by Oregon Humanities’ grant reviewing committee:
• How well the proposed events are in alignment with the theme, People, Place and Power, and the program’s goals stated above
• Clear articulation of descriptions for the event(s)
• Clear articulation of how funding would be used
• Costs are reasonable and appropriate to applicant’s operating budget and to the program/events being proposed for funding
• Anticipated back-up plan in case in-person gatherings are restricted by state or local authorities
• Alignment with Oregon Humanities’ mission, vision, and core values
• Alignment with Oregon Humanities’ funding priority values and funding priority groups

Review ineligibility, restrictions, and compliance standards

Review answers to frequently asked questions

Oregon Humanities offers programs and publications that help Oregonians connect, reflect, and learn from one another. To be notified when Oregon Humanities grants open for submissions, and to learn about opportunities for grant application assistance, please sign up for our e-newsletter.

Questions about applying or eligibility? Want to share feedback or ideas about this grant? Please contact Dawn Smallman, grants and programs coordinator, at d.smallman@oregonhumanities.org or (503) 241-0543 ext. 123.

Please note that Oregon Humanities staff are available to answer questions Monday through Friday, during normal business hours.

Funding for this program is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Oregon Cultural Trust, Susan Hammer Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, and Oregon Humanities' corporate supporters.