 In celebration of the upcoming 160th anniversary of Juneteenth, the NEH Chair invites Chair’s Grant requests of up to $30,000 to support free Juneteenth Open House events exploring African American history and culture.
The deadline for applications is January 15, 2025
The public programming offered by your organization should be for a general audience and explore the theme of freedom and/or examine aspects of the progress toward and challenges to African American freedom throughout American history.
Events must be free to the public and take place between Friday, June 13 and Sunday, July 6, 2025 (you may choose to offer events on more than one day during this period).
Eligible Activities
NEH funding may be used only for these activities related to Juneteenth or African American history (you may offer a single activity or a combination):
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Docent-led tours: Docents will provide structured tours of museum exhibitions, historic sites, cities, or neighborhoods. At least five free opportunities to attend a tour must be available.
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Lecture series: Schedule a minimum of three lectures or panel discussion programs that include the participation of at least one scholar from a humanities discipline in an accessible setting appropriate for the general public
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Literary discussions: Design a minimum of three events, such as book club style discussions, panel presentations, or author readings that use fiction or non-fiction books, a selection of poems, or a group of essays to anchor conversations. Experienced dialogue facilitators or scholars from humanities disciplines must be included in each program.
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Documentary film screenings & discussions: Host three or more events that include the screening of a full documentary film(s) or curated selections of a film(s) as the jumping off point for thematic discussions. Experienced dialogue facilitators or scholars from humanities disciplines must be included in each program.
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Community archiving: Host an event or series of events inviting the public to share personal materials significant to their family and/or community history around a chosen theme. The event will provide opportunities to digitize their materials and collect information from each participant. Events must provide contributors with a free digital copy of their materials and, when appropriate, gain their permission to retain a digital copy for archival use. You may also include talks on genealogical research or local history, provide oral history collection stations where community members can interview each other and capture their stories using provided prompts, and create events where humanities experts such as scholars and curators share and interpret the digitized materials.
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Living history: Produce first-person interpretation of historical figures or living history performances and interactive living history activities that are available to the public for at least eight hours and that include accompanying structured analytical interpretation. Storytelling, craft, music, and theatrical events without interpretation are not eligible.
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Transcribe-a-thon: Host an event lasting one or more days in which community members learn how to transcribe archival materials and work on transcribing a focused selection of documents from your collection to make them more accessible.
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Expanding accessibility: Provide transportation and free admission to your site and activities related to Juneteenth for underserved groups, such as residents of a group home, seniors from a local retirement community, or summer camps for low-income youth. You may also apply this support to existing programs that are responsive to the theme of this call provided those programs are not typically offered for free and the award is used to open access to those programs to the public for free on at least four days between Friday, June 13 and Sunday, July 6, 2025.
Eligible Applicants
- nonprofit organizations recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- accredited institutions of higher education (public or nonprofit)
- state and local governments and their agencies
- federally recognized Native American Tribal governments
More information about how to apply, including application guidelines, are available on NEH's website.
Questions about the program? Send an email to publicchairrequest@neh.gov
Image: Martha Yates Jones (left) and Pinkie Yates (right), daughters of Rev. Jack Yates, celebrate Juneteenth in a decorated carriage parked in front of the Antioch Baptist Church located in Houston's Fourth Ward, 1908 (Houston Public Library).
To apply for this grant, your organization needs to be registered with a series of websites that make you part of the federal grantmaking ecosystem. If you are a first-time applicant, we recommend you start the registration process immediately; it can take up to several weeks for the entire process. If you’ve applied with us before, please be aware that there are some changes to the process.
If you have not already done so, you must create a Login.gov user account. Login.gov is a secure sign-in service used by the public to sign in to participating government agencies. Your Login.gov account will be used to register and log in to SAM.gov and Grants.gov. Create and link your account now.
Your organization must also register with the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintain an up-to-date SAM registration while you have an application under consideration or have an active award with NEH or another federal agency. Previous applicants should confirm that their registration is current. Check the status of your SAM.gov registration here. Through SAM, you must also obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Remember that DUNS numbers have been discontinued.
Your application will be submitted to NEH through Grants.gov. To register with Grants.gov, you will need to use your Login.gov credentials.
The best way to reach us is by email at publicpgms@neh.gov. From there, we'll match you with a staff member who can answer your questions. Notice of funding opportunities (application guidelines) and more about what we fund are available here.
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