(CLOSED) National Endowment for the Humanities American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations

Sponsor Name: 
National Endowment for the Humanities
Description of the Award: 

Penn State is limited to a single application to this program. However, in that application, funding for multiple units of Penn State can be proposed. If you are interested in proposing funding for your organization respond to this NOI. Interested organizations will be linked to coordinate a single response.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 recognizes that the humanities sector is an essential component of economic and civic life in the United States. The Act appropriated supplemental funding to NEH to provide emergency relief to institutions and organizations working in the humanities that have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

This program invites applications from eligible organizations seeking support for humanities positions and projects that have been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Through this funding opportunity, NEH will award grants to museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, independent research institutions, academic presses, professional organizations, colleges and universities, and other humanities organizations across the country to help these entities continue to advance their mission during the interruption of their operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. In keeping with Congress’s intent in enacting the American Rescue Plan, applicants may propose new humanities projects or focus on sustaining core humanities programs and activities.

NEH program staff will host a pre-recorded technical assistance webinar that will be available on this page by April 12, 2021.

NEH has designed a simplified application process and expedited review for the distribution of these critical emergency relief funds. Funds are available to support a range of activities over a yearlong period of performance. NEH especially encourages applications from underserved and minority-serving institutions and organizations.

Allowable costs include, but are not limited to:

  • personnel costs (salaries and fringe benefits) for individuals employed by the applicant and dedicated to the proposed activities
  • fees for consultants and contractors
  • supplies and materials necessary to carry out the proposed activities
  • equipment necessary to carry out the proposed activities (not to exceed 20 percent of the total funds requested)
  • general operating support (typically recovered through indirect costs)
Sponsor Final Deadline: 
May 14, 2021
OSVPR Application or NOI Instructions: 

Submit your notification at the InfoReady Portal linked below to provide your contact information no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:

Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.

To be considered as a Penn State institutional nominee, please submit a notice of intent by the date provided directly below.
Penn State OSVPR NOI Deadline: 
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - 4:00pm
This limited submission is in downselect: 
Penn State may only submit a specific number of proposals to this funding opportunity. The number of NOIs received require that an internal competition take place, thus, a downselect process has commenced. No Penn State researchers may apply to this opportunity outside of this downselect process. To apply for this limited submission, please use this link:
Notes: 
Martha Ney (Penn State Press)